Kashmir Food Festival

It is either about very spicy food or about mild taste with very little salt in Kashmiri food. Though Kashmiri cuisine is more commonly known for its non-vegetarian items, Country Club Inn & Suites, Sahibabad, was all set to capture the food world with their vegetarian platter of Kashmiri cuisine at the Kashmiri Food Festival from January 21 to 31.The festival at the only Five-Star Resort in Ghaziabad was a 10-day event, where every one was promised the true delight of Kashmiri food in a soothing environment. The fare flavour of Kashmiri food came all the way from the culinary expertise of Pandit Ashok Raina of Waza Baithak, Sinagar.       ( Ladakh Valley )

'Tatva', one of the finest restaurants in town, was serving the vegetarian Kashmiri platter, including delectable starters like Nadru ka Choorma, Aaloo Choora, Nadru Tikki and Surkh Angeri Paneer Tikki, served with Akhrot ki Chutney. The starters themselves were so alluring that even those who are not feeling hungry end up yearning for more.  They were followed by the Badam Subz Shorba, the soup with fewer spices letting you enjoy the flavour of Badam. The melodious instrumentals of Shiv Kumar Sharma and songs of Kailas Mehra, Shamima Dev and Rajinder Kachruu added flavour to the aura as well as the food.

Following was the main course platter which looks equivalently yummy. Dum Aalo, one of the famous vegeterain Kashmiri dishes, along with Haak, Paneer Kaliyan, Mutter mushroom, Bhodarwa Rajma and Chyoke Wangan was dished up with Madhur pulao (sweet rice) and Sada chawal (plain rice). Kashmiri Lavasa bread, the usual flat Indian bread with sultanas and nuts baked into it was served along with the platter. Although sweets does not play an important role in Kashmiri cuisine yet to add to the fare Indian sweet platter inclusive of Rasmalai and halwa was served. Last but not the least the platter completed with the arrival of Kahva (green tea) served with two Khatai. It is a great drink for health. ( Peach Fruit )

The food was flavoursome and incredibly appetising. Also the well- decorated entrance with the Special Kasmiri species and Kashmiri artifacts like carpets, antique Jamawar shawls were also on display.  An extremely filling dinner for two came to an affordable price of Rs.1110 only.

Explaining the Kashmiri food style, the Chef says that the Kashmiri cuisine is rich in taste and exotic in flavour. It is very rich in fragrance with the flavour of the spices used like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, saffron, etc. Apart from the basic spices, curd is used in the preparation of food with other addictive spices like dry ginger and 'saunf' (aniseed) to give a particular flour and smell. "Here in Tatva we were using the special species of Kashmir to let our visitors have the actual taste and flavour of the cuisine," said Rashi Jain, the senior Chef-De-Party.    ( Ayurveda Holidays )

"We are planning to come up with more food festivals with vegetarian delights. We are planning to cover each state one by one," said Sushil Chugh, the general manager of Country Inn.   

Chef recipe:
Haak (Leafy Greens)

Ingredients:
o 1 kg haak (saag) l 2 cups of mustard oil
o 1 tsp asafoetida liquid  l 5 whole red chillies
o 5 whole green chillies l salt to taste
o 2 cups of water

Method:
Clean the haak, cut the stems out and leave the whole leaf in a vessel. Wash it under a running water tap and drain. Heat oil in another vessel. Let it cool down, add asafoetida, cook for a few seconds. Add water and bring to boil, Add haak, salt and green chillies to the boiling liquid.
Simmer for few minutes. Deseed whole red chillies & add to the haak. Serve with boiled rice.

Beauty of Shankaracharya Temple

The temple of ShANKARACHARYA is located on the top of a detached ridge of an igneous rock, The conical hill rises behind the Boulevard beside the Dal Lake. The temple is situated at a height 1100 ft above the Srinagar city. The temple could be reached by two hundred forty three steps with twenty-three landing and the approximate height is 550ft or 167.68 meters from the end of the road to hill, before one reaches the temple platform.         ( Nara Nag Temples )

This hill is known as Shankaracharya Hill. A temple is said to have been first built here by the son of the Mauryan King Asoka, the great in 2nd century BC. It also serves as a landmark of Srinagar city on the summit of the Gopadari. According to renowned Archaeologist, R. C. Kak, “Neither the hill nor the Temple preserves its ancient name”.

A Hindu Temple is an aggregate of different symbols. It is ritually invested human personality or Vastu purusha which is conceived in terms of human body. The names of various parts of human body from the foot to head are applied in Indian Temple architectural texts or Shilpa sasatra to correspond with the various parts of the Temple. The most perfect body is lifeless without the resident soul. So, the temple has been considered as the abode of God whose spirit is immanent in the Universe.        ( Ancient Temples of kashmir )

The Sunrise and the Sunset, birth and death etc. are controlled by a Universal power regulating the earth and living species. The temple, therefore, is known in such terms as devalaya, sivalaya and devayatana. The life installed in the form of the deity in the sanctum is known as grabhagriha or the house of the womb. It is here that regeneration is effected and higher self of the devotee is attained through worship, which leads to perception and realization of the power in the Universe manifested in various forms in the Indian religious ethos.

The temple consists of a circular sanctum built on a high octagonal plinth approached by a long flight of steps flanked by two-side wall. A parapet wall surrounds the plinth. The inner face of which is embellished with a range of actuate recess enclosed in rectangular panels. The upper part of the original Shikhara has disappeared. The present structure of temple is datable to circa 7th century A. D.

Thirteen steps with a railing leads to the dwarf wall at the plinth level, enclosing the parapet wall which acts as the circumambulatory passage or paridiksanapath. The dwarf parapet wall with sloping coping stones has rectangular niches with circular top opens on the inner side. The plinth of the temple has torus and fillet moulding all-around upto the level of the main structure of the temple. ( Jammu Kashmir )

The terrace surrounding the temple is reached by three flights of stone steps numbering respectively six, seven and eighteen, the last encased between two walls. From the terrace another flight of 10 steps leads to the door of the temple, the interior of which has a chamber, circular in plan, in the center, a modern multi coloured lingam of probably Dogra period, as it resembles the stone of Ranbireshwar and Rughunath Temples of Jammu.

The main shrine consists of a circular Cella . The interior of the sanctum is covered by a ply board ceiling concealing the flat sandstone slabs which are supported by two lintels bearing the load on four eight sided column of stone in the centre. The lower course of the ceiling is still extant in its original shape. There is a large oval shaped Shiva Lingam with reddish black stone probably brought from the Naramada River valley in Madhya Pradesh of Central India. The south-west column bears two inscriptions of Mughal Period. The temple resembles the interior plan of a large temple at Ladhuv (District Pulwama) in the Valley

The brick roof supporting the slopping stone slabs probably has been added in the 19th century.
The lower courtyard has an octagonal precast ornamental iron rain shelter shed with some benches for tourists comfrot. There are some modern structures added on the right side in Dogra period for the benefits of the priests of the temple. The shrine is under the religious control of the Dharmarth Trust for conducting ceremonies. The temple is a nationally Protected Monument under the Archaeological Monument, Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The temple is located in the valley under high security zone and hence no camera and mobile is permitted on the top. The night view from terrace of the Temple is mesmerizing and enchanting, with yellow, white and saffron lights twinkling city below.

The view is a wonderful experience with white snow clad mountain ranges in the background, yellow & white light of Houseboats reflecting in water of Dal Lake, in a series of rows.