Traditional recipes

Mutton slow-cooked in a deep red gravy of Kashmiri chillies, fennel, dry ginger and yoghurt, a centrepiece of the Kashmiri table.

A pale, mild mutton curry cooked in yoghurt with fennel, dry ginger and cardamom, without any chilli or turmeric.

Large, soft balls of pounded mutton simmered in a yoghurt gravy, traditionally the last main dish of a Kashmiri Wazwan.

Pounded mutton meatballs in a fiery red gravy of Kashmiri chillies and fennel, a favourite of the Wazwan.

Lamb ribs simmered in milk and spices, then fried in ghee until crisp outside and tender inside.

Slices of lotus stem cooked in a mild yoghurt gravy with fennel and dry ginger, a vegetarian favourite of Kashmir.

Small potatoes fried and slow-cooked in a red gravy of curd, Kashmiri chilli, fennel and dry ginger, without onion or garlic.

Kashmiri collard greens cooked simply in mustard oil with hing and green chillies, eaten almost every day with rice.

Crisp fritters of lotus-stem slices in a spiced rice-flour batter, a street snack of Srinagar.

Green tea brewed with saffron, cardamom and cinnamon and served with slivered almonds, Kashmir's drink of welcome.

Pink, salted milk tea made by long boiling of green tea leaves with a pinch of baking soda, drunk with breads at breakfast.

A round, soft leavened bread from the Kashmiri bakery, pressed with fingertip marks and eaten every morning with noon chai.

A thin, large unleavened flatbread from the Kashmiri tandoor, soft enough to roll around kebabs or eat with tea.

Sweet saffron rice cooked in ghee and milk with dry fruits, served at Kashmiri weddings and festivals.

A chilled pudding of ground rice cooked in milk with sugar, cardamom and saffron, set in small earthen bowls.

A rich Kashmiri Pandit sweet of dry fruits and fried paneer cubes coated in a spiced sugar syrup.

The Kashmiri Pandit version of fried lamb ribs: ribs cooked in spiced milk, coated in curd and fried in ghee.

Paneer cooked in a golden gravy of milk, turmeric, fennel and dry ginger, a classic Kashmiri Pandit dish.

A fresh chutney of grated white radish and walnuts in curd, sharp with green chilli, served with Kashmiri meals.

River or lake fish cooked with lotus stem in a red gravy of Kashmiri chillies and fennel, a winter favourite.

A rich winter breakfast of mutton slow-cooked overnight with rice until smooth, topped with hot oil and eaten with bread.

Rice cooked with turmeric, mustard oil and salt, offered as a blessing on birthdays and auspicious days in Kashmiri Pandit homes.

Mutton and whole turnips slow-cooked overnight with spices in a sealed pot, a winter dish of Kashmir.

Brinjal fried in mustard oil and cooked with tamarind, Kashmiri chilli, fennel and dry ginger into a tangy, dry dish.

Kidney beans and turnips cooked together in a mildly spiced gravy, a filling winter dish of Kashmir.

Small, sweet red kidney beans from the Bhaderwah hills cooked slowly in an onion-tomato gravy and eaten with rice.

Slices of kalari, a ripened cheese from the Jammu hills, fried in their own fat and stuffed into a soft kulcha with onion and chutney.

Pumpkin cooked with tamarind and jaggery into a sweet-sour dish, a must at the Dogra dham feast.

A Dogra mutton curry soured with dried pomegranate seeds or lemon, cooked in mustard oil without tomatoes.

A tangy, pungent Dogra raita of curd and vegetables flavoured with ground mustard seed and left to ferment for a day or two.

Horse gram cooked into a thick dal with mustard oil and spices, a warming winter staple of the Jammu hills.