Kashmir Ki Kali

If one dish showcases the unique aromas of mustard oil and asafoetida, this peculiar dish is it. The original recipe called for peeling the potatoes prior to deep frying them. while probably traditional, I'd hardly call it necessary.

Dama Oluv

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 2 1/2 hours

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lbs small red potatoes or fingerlings

1 cup mustard oil (possibly more for deep frying)

3 cloves

1 tsp cumin

1 pinch asafoetida

2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp aniseed powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup yogurt

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp mixed black pepper, cardamom, and cinnamon powders

Cooking:

Clean the potatoes thoroughly, with a potato brush if you have it. Then boil them, skin on, until they are soft. Drain them, and prick them all over with a fork.

Deep Frying:

Heat the mustard oil in a small pot, and then deep fry the potatoes in the mustard oil until they become light, and most of the moisture has been forced out of them. Be patient! This step will take a while.

And More Cooking:

When finished, let the oil cool, and then pour 1 cup of oil into a large pot. Heat the oil, and then add cloves, cumin, and asafoetida. Stir it, and then add the chilli powder, turmeric, and 1 tbsp of water. Keep stirring until the oil begins to separate.

Add the yogurt, aniseed, and ginger powders, and stir until the yogurt is mixed in. Add the fried potatoes, stirring them until they are covered in the spice mixture, and then add enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a simmer, and cook for at least an hour, until the oil separates.

Add the garam masala, and the mixture of pepper, cardamom, and cinnamon powders. Mix gently, and serve!

The recipe takes both time and patience, but it is very unique and delicious!

Sikandar

Fenugreek probably isn't a spice you're familiar with, nor is it used in western cooking. You have tasted it, since the seeds provide the "imitation" maple flavor in pancake syrup. It is one of the oldest spices/herbs used, and you may find it in import stores. The Indian terms menthi and methi are the most common alternate terms.

Methi Maaz is a unique mix of lamb, mustard oil, and fenugreek.

Methi Maaz

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless lamb, cut into chunks

2 lbs fresh fenugreek, chopped

1 cup mustard oil

1 tsp ginger powder

2 tso fennel powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 pinch asafoetida

2 cloves

4 brown cardamom pods

2 cinnamon sticks

1 cup milk

3 tsp dried fenugreek

salt to taste

Cooking:

Put lamb cubes into pot in 3 cups of water and boil until they are semi-tender. Remove the meat from the broth, and save the broth.

In the broth, add ginger powder, fennel powder, cloves, brown cardamom pods, cinnamon, turmeric, and milk and boil the stock for ten minutes. Then remove from heat and set aside.

Heat mustard oil and add adafoetida and salt. Using your hands, crush the fenugreek and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the meat and fry for a couple more minutes. Add the broth and simmer until it reduces to a gravy.

Sprinkle dried fenugreek on top, and serve with rice.

Chapter 9 : India - Kashmir

Half a century ago, India won its long-fought "peaceful" war of independence against Great Britain, onlyto split into two countries, India and Pakistan. One part of India, Kashmir, is precariously cut between the two, with India controlling a larger portion of this land.

Kashmiri food is similarly divided, between the vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The Kashmiri cuisine of the Muslims uses meat, lamb being the most popular, while the Hindus survive on a variety of vegetables, and both using India's amazing array of spices.

Butter Ghee

Butter Ghee is common across India for its rich flavor.

Mustard Oil

Mustard Oil mis common for flavoring and deep frying in Kashmiri cuisine. It's pungent aroma might seem daunting but it adds a wonderful flavor to recipes.

Asafoetida

Asafoetida is a spice whose aroma is so powerful, one can smell it sealed and frozen through plastic wrap. It smellls of rotten onions and garlic, and a pinch can flavor a dish.

And it tastes... wonderful. Sure, it might stink up your spice cabinet so badly it's all you smell when you open it, but once fried up in some oil the miasma of rotten onions vanishes and the flavor comes out.