Kashmiri Wazwan: A Beginner's Guide to the 36-Course Feast
Rista, rogan josh, gushtaba and the shared trami. How a Kashmiri wazwan is served, what the main dishes are, and how to eat it.
Wazwan is the ceremonial multi-course meal of Kashmir, cooked by a team of wazas under a head chef called the vasta waza. A full wazwan can run to 36 courses, though most travellers will sit down to a shorter version of seven to fifteen.
The trami
Four people share one large copper platter called a trami, heaped with rice and ringed with the first courses. Hands are washed at the table from a copper jug and basin, the tash-t-naari, passed between guests. You eat with your right hand.
The dishes to know
Rista - minced mutton balls in a red gravy of Kashmiri chilli. Rogan josh - the well-known slow-cooked lamb, which gets its colour from alkanet root rather than from heat. Tabak maaz - ribs simmered in milk, then fried crisp. Aab gosht - lamb in a milk and fennel gravy. Gushtaba - pounded mutton in a yoghurt gravy, always the final course. When the gushtaba arrives, the meal is over.
Where to try it
Ahdoos and Mughal Darbar on Residency Road in Srinagar both serve a reliable short wazwan. For the real thing, ask us. We can arrange a home-hosted wazwan with a waza cooking on site, which needs about three days' notice.
For vegetarians
Wazwan is overwhelmingly meat. The Kashmiri Pandit kitchen has a strong vegetarian side and is a separate, equally good cuisine: ask for nadru yakhni, dum aloo and haak.
