Know Your Kashmiri Food & Get Your Hands On Some In Delhi

The oldest and the most permanent restaurant, is Ahad Sons of Masjid Moth, Behind Uday Park. The three brothers, themselves wazas and they sell from a small menu of ten or so preparations in individual portions, cater for parties and even supply to restaurants. For individual portions you do have to go to their commissery {no seating} in Masjid Moth to pick up your order; they will deliver to your doorstep for party catering. 

Mirchi Qorma and Seekh Kebabs are my favourite picks. Their canned wazwan is available at Masjid Moth and online at Kashmirbox. 

Chor Bizarre is the restaurant or catering service that serves the food of both the Muslim and Pandit cuisines. The years have been less than kind to the food, however, but as a venue for dinner with overseas guests, the quirky memorabilia, film music of yesteryears and the very location, midway between Old and New Delhi, is hard to match.

23-year-old Vivek Dhar believes in going against the grain. He can well afford to, because Daawat-e-Kashmir is a subsidiary business for him. His is a takeaway serving Mughlai and Kashmiri food, and though his focus is Pandit cuisine {do not miss the crunchy nadru churma and the khetchar- khichri- with meat, called Kashmiri biryani on the menu}, he employs a cook from Jammu who does very creditable ristas and gushtabas, so that the lines between the cuisines are intentionally blurred. 

Follow them on Facebook here.

ITC Maurya’s Pavilion has two weekly buffets by housewife turned chef, Suman Kaul in which at least 15 constantly varying preparations are showcased. Kaul is a passionate hobby cook and has an unending repertoire of uncommon dishes like guchchi ver and apple pakora. Her Wednesday lunch and Friday dinner buffets are highly recommended for being a rare occasion to find home-cooked food in a five-star setting, that too, steering clear of cliches.

Nalini Moti Sadhu of Matamaal in DLF City Court, Sikandrapur, owns a diminutive little eatery which nevertheless manages not to be cramped. The dozen or so seats in Matamaal {which means maternal grandma’s home} are usually occupied by friends and friends of friends. The menu is modest, not surprisingly, and consists of Pandit dishes cooked with a home-style flair. The soft music is straight from the Kashmir Valley. Do try their Shufta, a sweet dish that I have only seen here.

Follow them on Facebook here.

Sanjay Raina, of Mealability, operates out of Gurgaon. His team cooks a range of items that are listed on his Facebook page. You have to order {minimum order applies} any time from Monday to Friday and the food will be delivered to you on the weekend. Raina’s speciality is Pandit food with its trademark touch of asafoetida and his Dum Aloo is very good. No order is too large for him, and with enough advance notice, he can even make a delivery on a weekday.

Follow them on Facebook here.

Khyen Chyen is on the ground floor of Cross Point Mall. Another small eatery {15 seater}, this one serves wazwan in settings that call to mind a Kashmiri household, complete with copper tableware gleaming on a wooden sideboard, including a tasht naar that a server brings around to wash your hands before and after eating. There’s a tendency to cater to the local palate which demands mirchi qorma without too much mirchi and rista with extra gravy!

Follow them on Facebook here.

Kashmiri Kitchen is located off the main road behind Cross Point Mall, right opposite the Hamilton Court gate, the entrance to the residential compound is dark and not well-marked at night. Owned by a mother and a daughter from the Kashmir Valley, the kitchen is on the ground floor and is manned by wazas from outside Srinagar. However, Mrs Khan is always at hand to monitor the cooking and service and all the semolina kheer is made by her.

Whether you try the shammi kebabs, the ristas or the mild yakhni, you will have a great meal.

The other Kashmiri restaurant of note is Samavar on the angle between Greater Kailash and Pamposh Enclave. This is the only restaurant on this list that serves Indian and Chinese as well, but the Kashmiri food, cooked by a person from Kishtwar, the elongated meatballs of the Pandit community, is the speciality here, followed by Haakh and Dum Aloo. Do not miss the Nadru Churm here. The large barn-like space effortlessly caters to club members, first timers, seekers of Kashmiri food and drinkers of the spirits at unbelievably low prices, so this is the one space in the NCR that has the vibe of a restaurant in Kashmir.