Winter is considered to be perfect, for hosting festivals, which otherwise gets difficult for some cuisines as the taseer (effect/impression) is hot and I am referring to Kashmiri food here.
Since Suprabhat Roy joined as Director F&B and this was his first festival where he wasn’t “The Chef” – it was more interesting and challenging for him. Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar is not known for their F&B; however with the rich experience that Suprabhat carries, undoubtedly, he will be able to change the perception of this place.
Koshur Saal – the festival which is currently going on at Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar is all about Kashmiri pandit cuisine which is curated by Rani Jinsi , a housewife and neighbour of Suprabhat. He discovered the jewel in her cooking while doing his research on Kashmiri food.
Sanjay Pandita who is the F&B Manager and also a Kashmir pandit took us through the journey and explained about the food that they eat. Kashmiri pandits are Brahmins who eat non vegetarian, similar to what we have in Bengal, Goa and Bihar (maithil Brahmin). Kashmiri pandit’s food is always enriched with onion, garlic and asafoetida or hing which add flavours to the dish.
The conversation with the team was very enriching and I a learnt a lot on Kashmiri Pandit cuisine.
Noon Chai/Sheer Chai /Pink tea is a traditional tea beverage from Kashmir which is generally accompanied by different kind of breads like lavasa, sheermaal, kandir tchot, bakarkhani and kulcha.. Noon means salt in lot of Indo-Aryan language. The tea is made from special tea leaves, milk, salt, and cooked in a samovar. It’s unlike usual tea and you might take time to develop a taste for it.
It was an experience worth revisiting and each dish was better than the other. You would love to form a circle of all the dishes and fail to decide which one to choose and relish more on. The ongoing kashmir food festival at Holiday inn was a great experience w.r.t food and learning. Thank you Suprabhat , Sanjay and Shikha!. Sanjay – Your enthusiasm was absolutely visible and l loved the way you enlightened me on kashmiri pandits’ cuisine and their history. The festival is on till 12th Feb and you shouldn’t miss it.
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