Cooking from Cookbooks: Book: Kashmiri Cooking by Krishna Prasad Dar, Dish: Kashmiri Safed Salan
There are always those few places in your travel bucketlist that you know you’ll never be able to cross off. Like Antarctica. Like Greenland. Like Israel AND Iran. I am lucky to be born to parents who are as much of travel junkies as I am, and thanks to them I’d roughly covered the length and breadth of India by the time I was in college. But one place that I never thought I’d be able to visit was Kashmir. While we were growing up, political tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir was high and the state was practically shut for outsiders. My entire family had been to Kashmir sometime or the other, and Teesta (my grandmother) used to often tell me, “I feel so bad for your generation that you’ll never be able to visit Kashmir”.
But I did. In the Summer of 2014 I brought together an eclectic group of people – my mother, her friend, her husband, my friend T and myself – and charged towards Kashmir. Our itinerary was the usual: Gulmarg, Srinagar, Pahalgam (you can read my detailed travelogue on Kashmir here and here). Now, we were travelling during the month of Ramzan. Kashmir faces a comparatively delayed sunset than the rest of India, which meant that our dinner time would almost always coincide with the hotel staff’s prayer time. Nevertheless, they always ensured that we did have a feast laid out in front of us every time we sat down to eat. One of them would inevitably wrap up his namaz quickly and be in time to give us company while we had our meal. He would talk about everything: his childhood in Kashmir, his family, and how the ongoing affairs affect their lives (or not). As we would listen to his stories, devouring plates of rista, gushtaba, tabak maaz and safed salan, we would secretly feel guilty of indulging in such hedonism in front of a person who hasn’t had a morsel of food or a drop of water the whole day.
Needless to say, we fell in love with Kashmir. Nowhere else in India have I seen people who are more hospitable and courteous than Kashmiris. For a state that is majestic in its own rights and a population that earns a chunk of its living from tourism, it is unfortunate that people can’t throw caution to the wind before deciding to come here. The day we were leaving Srinagar, our hotel manager, a dignified and affectionate gentleman, told us, “Ghar jaa ke zaroor buzurgo ko boliye ga ke Kashmir ghoomne ke liye bilkul safe hai. Humein bhi achcha lagta hai jab aap log yahan aate ho.” (Once you get back home, please tell your friends and family that Kashmir is safe for travel. We also feel good when you all come here.)
Since then, as a journalist, I have carried numerous stories on Kashmir in the paper. Stories which were mostly headlined like this:
Uri attack to create war-like situation in Kashmir
Civilians, policemen killed in terror strikes in J&K
Srinagar shutdown enters second month
Student protests spread to new areas, many hurt in clashes
Thousands rally in PoK to protest Burhan Wani’s death
Why does the average civilian have to live in fear? Why are children forced to stay away from school for months? Why on earth would be a journalist and editor of a leading newspaper be shot in front of his own office?
I don’t have the answers to these questions. I’m not sure that anyone has. It’s just heart wrenching that I can’t equate the Kashmir that I saw with the Kashmir I read and write about.
Kashmiri Safed Salan (Lamb cooked in Milk)
Print
Ingredients
- Lamb (or mutton): 1 kg, cut into 3-inch pieces
- Ghee: 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
- Cloves: 6
- Cinnamon stick: 1
- Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
- Whole peppercorns: 20
- Sugar: 1 tsp
- Garam masala: 1 tsp
- Milk: 300 ml
- Yogurt: 100 ml, whisked
- Salt: To taste
- Water: As required
METHOD
- In a heavy-bottomed pan (degchi), heat 1 tbsp ghee. Add the cloves, cinnamon, red chilli powder, peppercorns, lamb pieces and salt.
- Sauté the meat till it is light brown.
- Add the sugar and just enough water to cover the meat. Turn heat to medium and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes or till the meat is tender.
- Now add the garam masala, milk and whisked yogurt and stir to mix everything together.
- Cook covered on low flame for 15 minutes and then uncovered on another 10 minutes or till the gravy reaches your desired consistency.
- Add the final 1 tsp of ghee and let it rest covered for 15-20 before serving.
- This lamb curry goes delightfully well with rice, chapatti, rumali roti or naan.
Notes
The yogurt is not part of the original recipe. I had a little bit left in my refrigerator and therefore added it to the dish. It quite enhanced the taste of the finished product.