CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE BOOK “TRADITIONAL KASHMIRI CUISINE WAZWAAN”

In this review, I will be focusing on the book titled “TRADITIONAL KASHMIRI CUISINE WAZWAAN-SECRET RECIPES FROM THE RENOWNED WAZA REPERTOIRE”. I PURCHASED THIS BOOK ON 22^ND June, 2012. I took almost five years to write a review on this book because of my own research on Wazwaan Cooking in Kashmir. The book is a work of Rocky Mohan who earnestly dedicated himself to the three popular cooks of WAZWAAN CUISINE and they are:

a)      Khan Mohammad Sharief Waza

b)      Khan Mohammad Shafi waza

c)       Khan Mohammad Rafiq Waza

The book was published in the year 2007 and by the publishers are Roli Books, New Delhi. The ISBN is 81-7436-171-5. The cost of the book is Rs. 600. It is dedicated to their father Bismillah Irahman Irahim-who popularized the WAZWAAN in the world.

Before purchasing the book, I asked my friend living in Srinagar to suggest few books on Wazwaan Cuisine. I was dumbstruck when she revealed that there is ONLY ONE AUTHENTIC AND GENUINE book on it and she has a photocopy of the book. She could not share it with me though she informed me about the author and the outlook of the book. Finally I had to purchase it online and tried some of the recipes. I was lucky enough in it.

The cover age is excellent showcasing the traditional TRAMI with the awesome way in which the food is laid out in the typical style of Wazwaan. The background is the traditional Kashmiri cloth called the DASTERKHAN. The book has many GOLDEN CHINAAR LEAVES-depicting the possessiveness of the culture itself. This was something I normally do for the Kashmiri theme based dinner parties at my place. I learnt a lot from these photographs. I miss out on certain utensils and the cutlery used in the normal Kashmiri places. This is one of the ways in which one can learn a lot about the culture of a place.

The Contents are simple and no extra layout in it. In the Introduction of the book, the Author discusses about the following and I give full credit to him for this:

1.       A short introduction of the Valley itself wherein one comes to know about many things.

2.       The Valley is the place for the Buddhists, Shaivism, Shaktism, Islam, Sufism, Sikhism and British culture. This means that the culture of valley is diversified in itself. I raised a question to myself immediately-Why restrict the food to Hindus and Muslims only?

3.       Kashmiri Cuisine is “greatly influenced by the Mughlai style of cooking”. Or a question for me- Does this mean that there is non-Mughlai style of cooking present in the history of cuisine of the Valley?

4.       Timur arrived into the Valley from Samarkand with good number of cooks. The descendants of these cooks are called WAZAAS. They in turn are the MASTER CHEFS of Kashmir.

5.       The meaning of the word “WAZWAAN” is derived from two words-“WAAN” means “SHOP” and “WAAZA” means the cook. Therefore, the meaning of the word “WAZWAAN” means “A COOK SHOP” or “RESTAURANT”.

6.       While reading the paragraph number 7 of the Introduction, one more point which grabbed my immediate attention was the religious connection towards the first activity of the WAZWAAN cooking and it is that “the animals are slaughtered ceremonially and expertly according to Muslim customs, and the waza (the chief cook) personally supervises the preparation of each dish that emerges from his kitchen…and much toil and effort ensures that each dish is a culinary masterpiece”.

7.       The Author mentions that there are 36 courses in the entire WAZWAAN preparations of the food. However, there are 45 dishes in total shared from the side of the Author.

Let us explore the next Chapter on “SPECIAL KASHMIRI CULINARY INGREDIENTS”. The Author mentions about the various ingredients needed in the cooking of the Wazwaan food. He explains each of the following:

1.       Cashew Nuts

2.       Walnuts

3.       Red Kidney Beans

4.       Shallots

5.       Zirish

6.       Red Chilli Pepper (the author states that “there are 100 known varieties that are grown and used in the cooking”).

7.       Almonds

8.       Tamarind

9.       Dried Plums

10.   Pistachios

Under the Section titled “Kashmiri Spices and Condiments” the Author introduces “MAWAL” or “The Dry Cockscomb Flower”. Its importance is shared in another Section on “BASIC RECIPES”. It is a dark red colored flower and gives us beautiful dark red(similar to the color of turnip) color when it is dried and added to the boiled water. This extract is used for the typical red color in some of the food preparations. Other information is also shared under the same title on garlic water, cooked yoghurt, etc. which is otherwise not known to many individuals.

Under the Section on “RECIPES”, there are:

1.       17 Lamb Preparations

2.       4 Fish Preparations

3.       2 Chicken Preparations

4.       15 Vegetarian Preparations

5.       1 Recipe of Puloa

6.       4 Chutney preparations

7.       2 Desserts

Positive points in the book are:

1.       A detailed and clear photograph for each recipe has been shared and the reader can learn the manner in which it has to be laid and presented on the tables or dastarkhan.

2.       The book is exclusively meant for the Wazwaan dishes only.

3.       The recipes are meant for grand and themed style of cooking of food.

4.       A short and lucid book on genuine cooking of Wazwaan.

Negative points in the book are:

1.       No explanation on Waza and his team.

2.       The reader may like to know more about the process of cooking the recipes mentioned in the book. For example, the Author might discuss on 

a. How many helpers are required by the Waza? 

b. How much time is required to collect all the things? 

c. What is the religious ceremony required to slaughter the animal? 

d. What kind of utensils is required to cook the dishes?

 e. What kind of fire or gas burners is required by the Waza?

Overall the book is a good introduction to the Wazwaan cooking of Kashmir.