The Kashmir Mughlai delicacies at weddings are nothing new, so they might usually warrant any reappraisal. However, over the years, it has become so convoluted that beyond cuisine, it seems to be a big curse to attend a wedding, not to mention arranging and dealing with one. Marriages are probably organized in heaven, but they are messed up in Kashmir. The element of display-off has brought new dimensions to our ceremonial dinner, and one wonders whether we’re economically devastated because of the decades-old conflict. The regular seven-course meal—rista, Rogan josh, paneer, palak, ab gosht, korma, and goshtabah (this doesn’t consist of the dishes put over a bed of rice)—has now been changed to a multi-cuisine extravaganza, making any occasion a sheer waste of resources. The rich should effortlessly manage to pay for such extravagance; however, it becomes a back-breaking burden for the negative. They have to put all their meager resources together and, very regularly, cross into debt for hosting a wedding.
One might regularly hear towns and villages blaming the town for inventing many rituals and customs—shehrikev hurarev bidder. But, my experience in South Kashmir tells me that Srinagar is a long way better than the town in maintaining restraint on the waste going unabated there. Although I have managed many weddings there, in no way earlier than did, I see human beings indulging in mindless spending on Kazan, making the entire event no longer the best, cumbersome to deal with, but also to arrange. Whether it’s far Nishan (engagement) or Chandra (wedding), the seven-direction meal has grown to be a thing of the beyond there.
The Mughlai dishes put over a mattress of rice in the serving plate (trauma) have undergone an intensive change over the last three years. While in Srinagar, seekh kebabs, two fried rib portions (Tanakh maaz), one piece of the shank (Danni people); one or shami kebabs, one complete bird cut in two or 4 pieces over a mattress of rice is the everyday serving, in South Kashmir, 4 seekh kebabs, 4 fried rib pieces, 4 portions of the shank, shami kebabs, two complete chickens (one in crimson chili and every other organized in yogurt), lesbi kebabs (minced mutton kebabs), a yogurt-primarily based mutton piece, and a slice of cheese prepared in tomato sauce over a mattress of rice have come to be ordinary. While ingesting dishes served one after the opposite can also vary, relying on the capacity of the host. Serving veg at weddings has become taboo in South Kashmir, even as in Srinagar, cheese in tomato sauce and mushroom have an everlasting position.
Who taught South Kashmir that a plate needs to be so protected with mutton dishes? They can’t blame the town for such extravagance because the town keeps with its age-vintage subculture. It is good that human beings follow the “takeaway” gadget, sporting nearly all mutton dishes in the polythene baggage, which can be provided along with water bottles, coke, and hand-wash substances—Srinagar hadn’t learned this trick until lately. The subsequent invitations—referred to as phrasal and sat-rate (7th day) in common parlance—are also a good deal extraordinary from what we do in Srinagar. Serving dry fruit and juices is common in each. Still, with tea, the South goes out of its way in serving not just a huge pastry piece but additionally a container containing at least three bakery items—kanddi kulcha being mandatory. The best part of the career is that the entirety served on these occasions is carried domestically using the guests, being helped by the spouse and children, and friends of the host. While Sringarites pick saffron keyway, the South remains glued to warm milk in a samovar.
