[Reader-list] Preserving Identity Through Cuisine

[Pawan Durani]

*Preserving Identity through Cuisine*

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*By Bharti Bhan*

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Kashmiris love good food and have great culinary skills. Even a humblest
vegetable is transformed into a delicacy. They eat lot of meat and fish to
help themselves to tide over harsh winters. Kashmiri cuisine is a product of
the native genius. It has evolved over a period of two millennia and has
been shaped by the requirements of climate, religious rituals/legends,
considerations of health, concept of sooch/siyot (Pure/Impure) and above all
the local availability of particular foodstuffs. The cuisine reflects a
great variety and has a range for all seasons and occasions. The
compartmentalization between *vaishnavite* and non-vaishnavite in Kashmiri
Pandit cuisine is complete.

During medieval times, after conversion, Muslims adopted in wholesale the
Persian and Central Asian influences in food. Be it the menus for feasts/or
for daily consumption, the type of spices or combination of vegetables, use
of cooking pots etc, Pandits and Muslims have nothing in common.

Pandits call their feast *sal, Muslims* say *Wazwan. *Pandits use
*Asafoetida-flavour
masala, *muslims prefer *garlic-favoured *one. Pandits do not eat
*Phari *(whole
fish, batter-coated and smoked), Muslims love to eat it. Pandits would not
eat chicken or eggs but relished wild fowl and their eggs. Muslims had no
problem taking chicken or eggs. There is occasional overlap of some dishes,
particularly e.g. *Kabargah *(Muslims have an equivalent in Tabakmaz),
*Shabdegh
*etc. Either, Pandits have adopted these from Mughlai influences or these
dishes could well have been the native ones, which Muslims have persisted
with.

*Identity in Exile :*

During the past few centuries, many Kashmiri Pandit families moved to the
plains of northern India, some to seek 'fame and fortune' and others to
escape religious persecution. Nearly five hundred such families settled for
good in places like Allahabad, Lucknow, Delhi, Lahore, Agra and other
places. Over a period of time, due to poor communication links, these
families lost contact with their homeland. Occasionally, they brought their
*Kul Purohits* to perform religious rituals. Though they built up effective
diasporas (Kashmiri mohalla in 18th Century constituted half of Lucknow),
yet they suffered from serious uncertainity about their identity. Preserving
ethnic identity in exile, particularly for smaller communities, is always a
difficult proposition. These Pandit families lost their language. In dress
they tried to imitate that of the ruling elites to identify with the ruling
clan. *These Pandits kept alive their ethnic identity through the practice
of wearing dejhurs, marrying strictly within their own community in
diaspora, observing some Kashmiri festivals e.g. navreh (which under Nawabi
influence they preferred to call Navroz), Reshi Pir Ka Jug, Shishur Mundi,
Devi Ke Din etc.*

Emigrant Kashmiri families took great care in preserving their cuisine. This
is apparent from the two excellent books on cookery brought out by Pt.
Krishna Prasad Dar and Mrs. Sonya Atal Sapru. Migrating from the extreme
cold climate of Kashmir to the warmer one in the plains, there was far
greater preference for vegetables, legumes and pulses over meat. Cuisine of
Nawabi aristocracy (Mughlai) as well as that of common people in the
Indo-Gangetic  belt also impacted on the ethnic cuisine of emigrant Pandits.
However, the core of Kashmiri Pandit cuisine remained intact.

*Era of 'Super-Cooks :*

As communication links increased in subsequent centuries, these Pandit
families took an extra measure to protect their ethnic cuisine. In the early
years of 20th century, every other Pandit home in the plains had a
professional Kashmiri cook in residence. These masters with great culinary
skills were employed for as low wages as Rs 10 per month plus free food,
shelter and clothing. They played an important role in sensitising the new
generations of emigrant Pandits to ethnic Kashmiri Cuisine. Sudhir Dar the
great cartoonist recalls, *"Each meal was an event, each dish a gourmet's
delight, every day a royal feast". *Over a period of time, the ladies of the
household acquired the culinary skills and became *"as proficient as their
gurus'.*

Subsequently, as the living costs multiplied many families dispensed with
the services of these 'super-cooks'. Also, cooks too became scarce. Some
felt home-sick and returned to Kashmir. Others moved to seek better
remunerative employment in big hotels. Since the profession of cooking
carried social stigma (there cooks came from poor but *Karkun *families),
their wards took to education and discarded the profession of their fathers.
*'Kashmiri Cooking' *by Pt. Krishna Prasad Dar and *'Zaika' *(which in Urdu
means *taste *and *flavour) *by Sonya Atal Sapru fill the void created by
the decline of master cooks from Kashmir.

*Emigrant Ethnic Cuisine:*

Ethnic cuisine of these emigrant Pandits, like Kashmiri Pandits of the
Valley persists with the liberal use of aromatic spices, and the avoidance
of garlic and onion. Among the non-veg. recipes emigrant Kashmiris have
retained many items of native Kashmiri Pandit cuisine - *Kabargah,
Roganjosh, Qalia, Shabdegh, Gurde Kapure, Kaleji Khatti (Chok Charvan),
Yakhni, Shaljum salan, (Gogji Siyun), Khatti Machli. *Other meat
preparations listed in the two books as part of Kashmiri Pandit cuisine look
either as improvised versions or simply borrowed from the *Mughlai* cuisine.

It is interesting that these non-Kashmiri speaking Pandits continue to call
cottage cheese as *Chaman. Dum Alu, Dum Nadru, Nadru Ki Kurkuri, Katte
Baingan, Shalum Dal, Haak, Karam Hak, Tao Gugji, Guchchi*-the preparations
Kashmiri-speaking Pandits use in daily life, retain popularity with emigrant
Pandits. Hogad (Dry fish), *Shami, Demin Nadru, Nahi Qala *etc. are not part
of cuisine among old Pandits. There is no mention of *Tehar *(Turmeric-laced
Rice), an item prepared on auspicious occasions (Birthday, Slam (Shivratri),
Navreh, Ram Navmi) in either of the two books. Bhazbhatta, a mixed vegetable
*Pulao*, is, however, described by Pandit Krishna Prasad as *Tehri. *Pt.
Krishna Prasad has listed some popular Kashmiri snacks and beverages e.g.
Luchai Puri, Roath (even though they do not celebrate Pan now), *Sheermal,
Firni, Shakkar Pare, Sheer Chaya, Kehwa*. Old Pandits have a rich
traditional Pandit delicacy in the form of *Panjeeri. *This is included in
Dar's book. None of the Chutneys used by Valley Pandits e.g. *Marchwangun
Chutney*, Doon (walnut) *Chutney* or *Alchi *(apricot) chutney are in use
among old Pandits. They also do not prepare *Wari.* Sonya Atal has included
some of the old family photographs which throw light on the social life of
these wonderful old Pandits. The second edition of *'Kashmiri
Cooking', *published
after Pt. Krishna Prasad's death carries a fine introduction by Sudhir Dar,
the author's talented son. He has ornamented the book with excellent
cartoons, drawn to illustrate the art of world famous Muslim Wazwan. One of
the cartoons shows Pt. Krishna Prasad's family enjoying ethnic cuisine in
Kashmiri Pandit style. With the entire community of Kashmiri Pandits now
thrown in exile '*Kashmiri cooking*' and '*Zaika*' serve the interests of
the entire Pandit community'.

Source: Kashmir Sentinel



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