Goshtaba, Rista, Roganjosh, Yakhni. Well, these tongue twisters are names of delicacies from a Kashmiri menu. The Kashmiri cuisine is a veritable delight for the gourmand, especially non-vegetarians. Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, saffron all vie with each other to tantalize, some subtle and others not so subtle.

Anyone who knows anything about Kashmir or is a connoisseur of food would definitely know Wazawan the 36 course-wedding banquet. Of this upto 30 dishes can be preparations of meat including the mouthwatering dishes mentioned above. At feasts such as these, people normally sit to eat in groups of four and share their meal placed on a huge metal plate called the Trami.

The interesting thing about Kashmiri cuisine is that it often has a combination of meat or fish with vegetable in the same preparation. So while you may be getting your proteins from the chicken you would also be getting some iron from the spinach that is part of the dish, or you could be eating meat with turnips. The staple of every Kashmiri is the slightly sticky rice that is grown in the Valley region. And though they go the whole hog, quite literally only during lavish weddings, it is quite common to go through a seven or fifteen course meal at smaller occasions.

Vegetarian cuisine, though not as lavish as the non-vegetarian fare, does offer a fair choice with Kashmiri Dum Aloo and Chaman.

And do you want to know why you will hardly ever see a fat Kashmiri? They don't believe in desserts, they just wash down their meal with Kahva or green tea, a drink