Tabak Maaz

A  great point of pride in Kashmiri culture is being able to prepare wazwan, a multi-course, Kashmiri cuisine meal. Preparing it correctly, with the right amalgamation of ingredients and spices is considered an art. It can consist of anywhere between seven and 36 dishes, and comprises mostly meat-based items with only a few using fruit and veggie-focused ones.

Wazwan originates in the 14th century. When Mongol ruler Timur invaded India in 1348, he brought with him skilled cooks from Samarkand, called ‘Wazas’. They cooked meat in various ways and organised dishes according to the shapes and gravies that their preparation called for. Persian and Sanskrit immigrants in Kashmir popularised the Wazwan dishes. The word is similar to the Sanskrit word ‘waja’ meaning cook, and over time it became ‘waza’.

One of the wazwan’s prerequisites is that freshly slaughtered meat be used to prepare it. The waza then lays its parts out for the different dishes. For instance, boneless meat is ground and used to make Kebabs, Rista, and Goshtaba. And the ribcage is used to make Tabak Maaz, a must-have dish of the Wazwan, made using lamb and often served as an appetiser. To make it, one needs lamb ribs, salt, ginger powder, cloves, aniseed, milk, ghee, cinnamon, turmeric, and asafoetida.

The rib of the lamb is diced, steam cooked, and coated with salt and turmeric. The bones are then removes and the meat is shallow fried in ghee on medium heat until it's crispy. This is then served as dry pieces. Tabak Maaz is served on top of rice, in a tramie (large copper plate), out of which four people eat. All Wazwan dishes are prepared in copper dishes called deg in Kashmiri, over open fires.