Translations:Kashmiri cuisine/54/en
Specialties by season
Spring is often considered a season of rejuvenation after a long and harsh winter. Picnics, of which the Kashmiris are very fond, are planned around the theme of food. The countryside is awash with white and pink flowers of almond (badaam), peach (tsunun) and cherry (gilaas) blossoms. The mustard fields join the show with their bright-yellow blooms. The pear (tang) blossoms can be identified by their thick cluster of flowers. Apricot (Tser) blossoms are white in colour, often tinged with a pink or reddish hue. They grow from late spring through early summer. Beans are a spring vegetable. Cherries are a fruit of late spring and summer.Coriander (danival) is a cool herb whose season predominates between spring and summer in cooler areas. Garlic (rohan) is found mainly in spring and through fall season. Melons (kharbooz) are a fruit grown in spring and summer. Tender spring-time haakh (collard greens) are called kaanul.
The season of harvesting lotus stem (nadur) starts in September. The samovar bubbles in a corner, spreading the sweet fragrance of saffron and cardamom in the air. Cookie-shaped kandi kulchas made of flour, butter, sugar and sprinkled with poppy seeds are passed around to be dipped into the tea and relished. Men fish under the shade of the chinar tree in Dalgate area. Dandelion leaves, also known as haand in Kashmir, are foraged on foot. Going to the countryside, one can see paddy being cut with sickles and then stacked in huge piles to dry. Chestnuts are roasted in the dying embers. Bulbous garlic and red potatoes jostle for space. Saffron fields in full bloom greet you in Pampore, a part of Pulwama district. Going towards the hilly areas one can see the maize and walnut trees with their fruit getting ready to be harvested. Going towards the apple producing areas of Sopore in North Kashmir or Shopian in South Kashmir, one can see cartons of apple being transported to various parts of the country.