What dishes make up Wazwan, Kashmir’s famous multi-course festive meal

The meat for the meatball dishes, part of Kashmir Wazwan, such as Rista and Gushtaba, needs to be laboriously pounded into a fine, velvety mince paste. (Photo by Irfan Amin Malik)

Wazwan is the pride of the Kashmir Valley and no festivity is complete in Kashmir without the feast of wazwan. The origin of Kashmiri wazwan can be traced back to the 14th century, when Mongols invaded India.

Waza literally means cook and wan means shop. Wazwan, a multi-course meal is cooked in special nickel-plated copper vessels over simmering fires of wood, preferably from old fruit trees.

Wazwan Kashmiri dishes (Photo by Irfan Amin Malik)

All dishes are eaten by hand, as Kashmiris believe in an intimate relationship with food, and served with hot, steaming rice. Wazwan mainly includes non-vegetarian dishes like Methi Maaz, Kebab, Waza Kokur, Tabakh Maaz, Rista, Rogan Josh, Aab Gosht, Marchhwangan Korma and Gushtaba.

However, in the middle of the feast, vegetarian dishes such as large chunks of cottage cheese cooked in thick tomato gravy and mushrooms are served to create a variety.

Wazwan is almost exclusively cooked with lamb meat. Each part of the sheep, barring its testes and feet that are otherwise consumed, is used to prepare specific dishes in accordance with the recipes.

In making wazwan, spices such as fennel, asafoetida, shallots, cardamom, black cardamom, red chillies, cockscomb, cinnamon and garlic paste are added.

Dressed up in a white kurta and cap over their heads, waza, traditional chefs of Kashmir, known for making wazwan.

1. Methi maaz: This dish is made with lamb intestine and fenugreek. It uses different cuts of meat, the intestine being the main piece which is carefully cleaned,  washed and boiled and used in the dish, the stomach is also used sometimes.

2. Daeni phoul: A large mutton piece, lamb shanks, is cooked in a rich onion gravy.

Wazwan dish Daeni phoul. (Photo by Irfan Amin Malik)

3. Tabakh maaz: The ribs of lamb is simmered in yogurt and spices till tender and are then fried in ghee until golden brown.

4. Seekh kebab: Kebabs are made with lean ground meat that is minced on a butcher block/chopping block with a cleaver. Eggs are mixed along with spice blends while mincing. The minced meat is then wrapped around iron bars or skewers and grilled on hot coals, grilling on a coal fire gives them a lovely smoky flavour. Kebabs are cooked directly on charcoal.

Seekh kebabs. (Photo by Irfan Amin Malik)

5. Shaami kebab: Though it's not a part of Kashmiri wazwan cuisine but over the years chefs have introduced it in wazwan. Shaami kebab is composed of a small patty of minced meat with ground chickpeas, egg to hold it together, and spices.

6. Waza kokur: Two halves or two full chicken are cooked whole and then garnished with coriander and melon seeds.

7. Rista: Small meatballs are cooked in a fiery red gravy, made with mutton stock, mild spices like cardamom and cloves, garlic and Kashmiri chillies which add more colour than heat quotient to the food. Each traem (large plate) is topped with four ristas for four people.

Wazwan dish Rista being prepared. (Photo by Irfan Amin Malik)

8. Rogan josh: Rogan means “oil or fat” and josh means “high, intense heat”. Thus, Rogan Josh means made in oil on intense heat. The shoulder meat is cooked in praan (bulb onion) paste, mawal flower essence, curd, and Kashmiri mirch-diluted essence. The vibrant red colour comes from the dried red cockscomb flower and Kashmiri red chili powder. Sometimes, saffron is used to get the colour.

9. Mushroom yakhni: Not traditionally a part of wazwan, but are sometimes included, this curd-based gravy is simmered and infused with mushrooms. At times, mushrooms are made in a red gravy.

Mushrooms being prepared. (Photo by Irfan Amin Malik)

10. Aab gosht: The aab gosht, a single large chunk of meat from the sheep’s lower back, is slow cooked till tender in milk and just the right amount of cloves are sauteed in pure ghee and then added to give it a sweet flavour.

11. Ruwangan chhaman: Paneer (cottage cheese), or chhaman in Kashmiri, is simmered in a tomato gravy, flavoured with spices and fennel seeds.

Wazwan dish or Ruwangan chhaman tamatar paneer (Photo by Irfan Amin Malik)

12. Marchwangan korma: Mutton korma is cooked with fiery hot Kashmiri chillies and spices. This extremely spicy dish made with smaller chunks of the meat than is used in Rogan Josh and cooked in a thick chilli gravy.

13. Gushtaba: Meatballs with cheesecake-like texture minced with fat and dipped in a velvety textured mutton broth and curd-based gravy, and spices, including cardamom, dry ginger, and fennel.