Gushtaba – A Kashmiri Delicacy!

by Shaheen Ali

‘Chefs Across Boundaries’ is a group of Chefs who set up challenges every month to encourage the participants to innovate, think out of the box and explore the culinary world. It is an initiative started by a handful of food bloggers and food enthusiasts who have taken up the challenge to explore unique and traditional recipes with a motive to expand culinary knowledge as well as to promote the hidden gems which are yet to make an impact in the culinary world.

The monthly challenge at ‘Chefs Across Boundaries’ this month is the cuisine of beautiful Kashmir. The challenge was set up by the very talented Nidhi S Raj ( http://soulandspicebox.com/) . I would like to thank Nidhi for giving this opportunity, it was indeed a learning experience. I attempted making Gushtaba – a traditional authentic Kashmiri delicay. The recipe is adapted from http://www.kashmirifood.com/2012/11/gushtaba.html?m=1


Gushtaba is an authentic non vegetarian Kashmiri delicacy. Tender meat balls cooked in flavorful yoghurt gravy. This  traditional Kashmiri dish is prepared in important ceremonies and functions. Gustaba is called by Muslims living in the Kashmiri region of India as The Dish of Kings. It is served as the last meat dish in a Wazwan Feast, before the dessert. To refuse this dish is to highly insult your hosts at the Feast.

In Kashmiri language Waz means a ‘Cook’ and Wan means ‘Shop’. The ultimate formal banquet in Kashmir is the royal Wazwan. Of its thirty-six courses, between fifteen and thirty can be preparations of meat, cooked overnight by a under the supervision of a master-chef called Vaste Waze. Guests are seated in groups of four and share the meal out of a large copper platter called the traem. For Kashmiri Muslims, the meal begins with invoking the name of Allah and a ritual washing of hands in a basin called the Tash-t-naer, which is taken around by attendants. Then the traem arrive, heaped with rice, quartered by two seekh kababs and contains four pieces of methi korma (chicken or mutton flavored with a spice mixture containing dried fenugreek (methi) leaves), two tabak maaz (twice-cooked lamb ribs, initially braised with ground spices and milk, then browned in butter), one safed kokur (chicken with white sauce), one zafran kokur (chicken with saffron sauce), and the first few courses. Yogurt and chutney are served separately in small earthen pots. All the items ranging to about 20 items, are served thereafter by waza (the junior cook). Seven dishes are a must for these occasions — tabakh maaz, rista (meatballs in a red, paprika-saffron-fennel spice gravy colored with alkanna tinctoria), rogan josh, daniwal korma (lamb roasted with yoghurt, spices and onion puree, topped with cilantro leaves), aab gosh (lamb chunks cooked with a fennel-based spice mixture, cardamom and partially evaporated milk), marchhwangan korma (chicken legs/thighs cooked in a spicy browned-onion sauce) and gushtaba (meatballs cooked in a spicy yoghurt gravy). The meal ends with the GUSHTABA. [source:Wikipedia]

Print Recipe
GUSHTABA - A Kashmiri Delicacy!
Course main course
Cuisine kashmiri
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
helping
Ingredients
Course main course
Cuisine kashmiri
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
helping
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Take finely minced mutton and add egg white, salt and mustard oil and mix well. Keep aside.
  2. In a muslin cloth or a soft cloth take Coriander powder, Fennel powder, Cumin powder, Kasuri methi, Cinnamon powder, Cloves , Cardamon powder and crushed Black Cardamon (moti elaichi) and 1 tbsp salt and tie them into a potli/pouch so that the ingredients remain inside the cloth.
  3. Now take a large deep vessel and boil around 4-5 glasses water in it. Once the water start heating add bay leaf and the spice pouch in the water and let it boil.
  4. Once the water starts boiling, make small ball shaped koftas or dumplings with your palm and start adding them in water.
  5. Boil the dumplings on medium flame till most of the broth evaporates and the koftas are cooled properly.
  6. Now take some water in a separate bowl. Take out the spice pouch, dip it in water in the bowl and squeeze it properly.
  7. Add this water to the large vessel where the koftas were boiling. Boil again for a minute.
  8. Discard the spice pouch now.
  9. In a separate wok fry the onions till they are golden in color. Grind them into a paste when cool.
  10. Put zeera/cumin seeds in the wok and add whipped curd along with onion paste, stir it continuously so that curd will not curdle till it starts boiling properly.
  11. Add this mixture and pure ghee to meat balls and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame.
  12. Garnish it with mint leaves or coriander and few strands of saffron.
  13. Serve Hot with Boiled Rice!!!
Recipe Notes

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4 comments

Ghatnekar.gayatri February 7, 2017 - 11:36 pm

Lovely recipes.I was looking forward to the undiscovered cuisine so far.

Reply
Shaheen Ali February 7, 2017 - 11:41 pm

Thank you so much for stopping by. I’m glad you like my collection 😎

Reply
mansikpramarsh April 3, 2019 - 4:29 pm

Amazing recipes .I enjoy making the dishes.Thank you.

Reply
Shaheen Ali September 2, 2019 - 12:53 pm

thanks a lot 🙂

Reply

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