Just like how Kashmir is associated with images of everything picturesque and beautiful, the war apart, the food from this part of the country is also redolent with unique flavour that provides for a satisfying culinary journey. Even though there are quite a number of non-vegetarian dishes here there are some vegetarian preparations that are equally delicious. One of the things that sets Kashmiri cuisine apart is that not too much of onion and garlic are used to flavour the dish, many meat-based dishes also use curd to obtain a creamy texture.

Nadru Tikki
Ingredients
100 gms of lotus stem, grated
30 gms of boiled potatoes, grated
10 gms of onions, chopped
5 gms of cumin seeds
5 gms of coriander leaves, chopped
10 ml of oil
Salt to taste

Method
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Divide them into equal portions, flatten them to make tikkis and fry in a deep pan till golden brown. Serve hot accompanied with mint chutney.

Gulmargi Seekh Kebab
Ingredients
500 gms of lamb mince
100 gms of lamb fat
10 gms of turmeric powder
10 gms of Kashmiri red chili powder
10 gms of ginger powder
15 gms of cardamom powder
75 ml of ghee
25 ml of mustard oil

Method
Wash the lamb mince, put it in a strainer and gently press to squeeze out all the water. Mix all the ingredients with the lamb mince and knead well. Set aside for one hour.
Take a big ball of the lamb mince mixture and hold a hot skewer carefully in the other hand. Press the mince on to the skewer until the mince sticks to it. Place the skewers in the oven and keep rotating it occasionally. When cooked, gently remove the kebabs from the skewers with the help of a napkin. Shallow fry the kebabs on nonstick pans in ghee and Kashmiri chilli powder and serve hot.

The writer is a Jr Sous Chef, Beyond Indus, Taj Club House