meenu kya ows?
A,B,C ti X,Y,Zed
Conversation goes something like this. Conversation went like this for a couple of years. I would hear my father and uncle talk in these codes after each time one of them would return for a marriage ‘reception’ lunch. They wouldn’t tell me what ABC and XYZed stood for. It was some sort of code for the’ standard’ dishes served at these functions. My guess: ABC stood for three vegetarian dishes – Rajma, Chaman (Paneer), and Dum Aloo; XYZ stood for Rogan Josh, Mutsch (how the hell does one write Kashmiri words in Angreez script! It’s the mince meant dish.) and Yakhani. Even if the dishes on the menu were different or more in number, the ABCXYZed code would remain unchanged. I infer it actually means – the feast was a standard belly and artery fulfilling affair. And I guess they would add LMNOPQ…nah A to Z and 0-9 to the code if someday they talk about thirty-six dish Wazwan.
Anyway, here are the photographs of some of these dishes.
Tabakmaaz – fried lamb ribs. I digg these. Best when hot.
Yakhni – Yogurt and saffron based mutton broth
Blurry. Stop pushing, people! I am trying to take a picture here. No use. It’s Mutsch – mince meatballs (often not balls actually. Great if they they got almond inside them)
Roganjosh – Red Hot devil. Lamb curry. Very oily. I felt blurry. Rogan means oil in Persian and josh means hot.
More oil. Dizzy. The famous Dum Aloo. People get served all kinds of things even boiled sweet potatoes when they at some restaurant they ask for Kashmiri Dum Aloo. I laugh when I see my friends eat that stuff. In this picture you can see the authentic Dum Aloo. I actually bought these potatoes from the Sabzi Madi and now I know what a good Dum Aloo potato should be like – it has to be real Pahadi, not sweet, not too big and not too small. It can be small but never big. When buying in bulk, never go by weight, always by number. We bout around 700 of these fine potatoes that day. They turned out to be perfect. For no particular reason, I actually like my Dum Aloo cold and best eaten with a lavasa Kashmiri morning bread.
Nadur Yakhni – Lotus Stem in Yogurt Gravy – veg version of Yakhni. Yeh! we are the real Lotus Eaters.
Platter. Putting it all together.
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Yes, it was all Boofay. Had ABC and XYZed. And yes there was Macaroni and some other dishes too. Would that be Alpha, Beta, Gamma?
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For Kashmiri recipes check out koshursaal.com
