Jammu and Kashmir

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 graceful Kashmiri dance of women in two facing rows, arms linked, stepping softly forward and back as they sing.

A dance of the men of the Wattal community of Kashmir, who circle a ceremonial banner in long robes and tall conical caps.

Kashmir's traditional folk theatre, in which troupes of Bhands mix satire, music, dance and comedy to comment on society.

A ritual night dance of the hills of the Jammu region, performed to thank and honour the local folk deities (Lok devtas).

A Dogra women's dance and play performed in the groom's home on the night the wedding party leaves for the bride's village.

The New Year of Kashmiri Pandits, on the first day of the bright half of Chaitra. The first thing seen in the morning is a thali of rice, walnuts, flowers, a pen, a mirror and the new almanac.

The annual festival at the Ragnya Devi (Kheer Bhawani) temple at Tulmulla in Ganderbal, sacred to Kashmiri Pandits. Devotees offer kheer and milk at the holy spring.

A Shakti Peetha at Sharda, Neelum valley, Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), where Sati's right hand is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Sharada.

A Shakti Peetha at Amarnath cave, Kashmir Himalaya (about 3,880 m), where Sati's throat is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Mahamaya.

A Shakti Peetha at Trikuta hills above Katra, Reasi district, where Sati's skull (right arm in some accounts) is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Vaishno Devi.

A shrine on the Dal Lake that holds a relic revered as a hair of the Prophet Muhammad.

Srinagar's famous lake of houseboats, shikaras, floating gardens and lotus beds, ringed by the Zabarwan hills.

Terraced gardens of fountains, water channels and chinar trees built in the 17th century along the Dal Lake: Shalimar, Nishat, Chashme Shahi and Pari Mahal.

A high meadow and ski resort in the Pir Panjal range, known for its gondola, snow slopes in winter and flowers in summer.

A valley town on the Lidder river, surrounded by pine forests and meadows, and the starting point of the traditional Amarnath route.

A cave shrine of the Mother Goddess in the Trikuta hills above Katra, one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in India.

A high Himalayan cave where an ice formation is worshipped as a Shiva lingam, visited on the summer Amarnath Yatra.

A white marble shrine on the shore of Dal Lake, revered across Kashmir for a relic held to be a hair of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ruins of a grand 8th-century temple to the Sun God on a plateau near Anantnag, built by King Lalitaditya Muktapida.

A large 19th-century temple complex in the heart of Jammu city, dedicated to Lord Rama, with gilded spires and many shrines.