CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE BOOK “KASHMIRI COOKING”

The first book that introduced me to the world of the cooking of the Great Valley is “KASHMIRI COOKING” by Krishna Prasad Dar. It was first published by BELL Book by Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. in the year of 1977. Later on, it was published by Penguin Books India in 1995. The ISBN is 978-0-14-025565-2. The price of the book is Rs.250. Since the author is a printer, a painter and an excellent cook, the front cover page is a photograph of a permutation and combination of Kashmiri dishes, characteristic crafts from the Valley and three sketches of the Kashmiri man rowing the boat, a shikara and two men hugging and greeting with each other. The author is the father of the famous cartoonist Sudhir Dar. He is the one who had given an INTRODUCTION to the book. In the third paragraph of his Introduction, he makes it explicitly clear that Kashmiri cuisine has changed due to “the absorbed delectable elements of the Mughal art of cooking and, thus enriched, acquired a distinct personality of its own”. That’s why there are some Kashmiri dishes of Mughal origin which has a Kashmiri touch added to their style.

In the fourth paragraph, he shows certain differences in the style of cooking in Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims. These are the following:

KASHMIRI PANDITS STYLE OF COOKING	KASHMIRI MUSLIMS STYLE OF COOKING
Asafoetida is used in good amount.	Very little or marginal amount is used.
Good amount of curd is used in the cooking of majority of their dishes.	Marginal amount of curd is used and in few dishes only.
Shallots are used in limited quantity or not at all.	It forms the integral part of cooking.
Garlic is avoided in majority of the dishes and not at all used in the religious, special feasts and festival occasions.	Garlic is used in good quantity and in majority of the dishes. There is no restriction in its use in cooking of various dishes.
Young goat meat is used in the preparation of the non-vegetarian dishes.	No restriction with the age of the goat or the lamb or the sheep.

There are other differences and they will be BONANZA for my own book. Thus, I am saving those points to be highlighted in the forthcoming book of mine.

In the Section on “USEFUL INFORMATION”, there is good discussion on the following points:

1.       Necessary articles in the kitchen.

2.       Weights and Measures

3.       Oven temperatures

4.       Different Cooking Processes

5.       Essential points for good cooking

6.       How to economize on food

7.       Dried Vegetables

8.       Combinations of the vegetables

This makes some sense for the publication of the book and good knowledge providers for the learners as well as the amateurs. Since Sudhir is part of the publication, one may see some funny cartoons associated with cooking are observed in the book.

The Section on “SPICES” is commendable addition to the book. It gives us the information and tips for storage of the different kinds of spices in our kitchens.

Following are the details on the total number of the recipes shared in the book:

a)      45 Non-Vegetarian dishes out of which 35 are meat, 3 for chicken and 6 fish preparations are present

b)      61 Vegetarian dishes out of which 58 are curries, 9 lentils,4 Rice, 1 Raita and tips for using the dried vegetables are shared with the readers.

c)       8 Varieties of Breads

d)      12 Sweet dishes and Desserts

e)      5 Pickles and 2 Chutneys

f)       6 SNACKS and 5 varieties of Tea Preparations

At the end of the book, there is a detailed INDEX given which guides us for clear presentation of various dishes (which I am sharing):

1.       Breads-8

2.       Cottage Cheese-5

3.       Rice-8

4.       Curd Items-7

5.       Lentils-16

6.       Dums-14

7.       Egg-1

8.       Kababs-17

9.       Fish-6

10.   Chicken-5

11.   Mutton-43

12.   Pickles and Chutneys-4

13.   Snacks-7

14.   Spices-7

15.   Sweets-13

16.   Tea-4

17.   Vegetables-61

I am not going to pin point the positive and negative points from the book. However, I will highlight that this book gives us a good introduction to the world of Kashmiri Cooking. There are no photographs at all for the dishes in the entire book. It is simply a collection of recipes that has been the hardwork of the author. I cannot tend to forget the cartoons which add on the SMILE in the menu of learning for the readers!