Ethnic Meat Products of Kashmiri Wazwan: a Review
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J Ethn Foods - (2016) 1e5 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Ethnic Foods journal homepage: http://journalofethnicfoods.net Review article Ethnic meat products of Kashmiri wazwan: a review * Sajad A. Rather, F.A. Masoodi , Rehana Akhter Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India article info abstract Article history: Wazwan, the Kashmiri cuisine, is a unique and inseparable component of Kashmiri culture. It comprises Received 7 November 2016 from seven to 36 dishes of mutton or beef, chicken, fruits, and vegetables. The important ethnic meat Received in revised form products of wazwan include kabab, tabak maaz, aab gosh, rogan josh, nate-yakhni, rista, and goshtaba. The 1 December 2016 ethnic meat products of Kashmiri wazwan are popular because of their appealing flavor, texture, and Accepted 5 December 2016 palatability characteristics. However, traditional knowledge of these ethnic meat products in other as- Available online xxx pects is not carefully documented. As the demand for ethnic/heritage meat products is ever-growing because of rapid urbanization and industrialization, substantial efforts need to be made to meet such Keywords: ethnic increasing requirements. In addition, because of their popularity, there is a vast potential to introduce Kashmiri culture them at the national level and promote their export. This review aims to describe processing, quality meat products characteristics, underlying problems, and approaches for the development of some important ethnic wazwan meat products of Kashmiri wazwan. © 2016 Korea Food Research Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). 1. Introduction day China, Tibet, Central Asian cities, Afghanistan, and Iran [1]. All these factors have contributed immensely to the evolution and The state of Jammu and Kashmir is located in the northern development of present-day Kashmir and Kashmiri culture. Himalayas in India. The state is famous all over the world for its The history of the Kashmir depicts various culinary practices ethnic/heritage and region-specific foodstuffs such as Kashmiri that amalgamated into Kashmiri cuisine embodying the cultures of apple, Kashmiri saffron, and Kashmiri wazwan. These ethnic- and the different settlers. The specialty meat product of the Kashmir region-specific foodstuffs of Jammu and Kashmir have earned a valley is wazwan, which is a combination of ethnic meat products. distinction in international as well as domestic markets. The The blend of various aromatic spices with meat and meat products Kashmir valley is world famous not only for its natural beauty but is the basis for ethnic/heritage Kashmiri meat products. Kabab, also for its cultural richness. Kashmir has been described as an methi maaz, rogan josh, aab gosh, rista, nate-yakhni, tabak maaz, and ancient region possessing a distinct ethnicity, character, language, goshtaba are some of the important meat products of wazwan dress, customs, rituals, and a rich cultural heritage. The culture of prepared from prerigor hot boned tender lamb or beef meat [2e4]. Kashmir valley in India is very diverse, multicolored, and multi- The local knowledge and information pertaining to the ingredients, faceted. The Kashmir valley is a brilliant blend of different ethnic local taste preferences, and history of the product formulations groups and social entities, an amalgamation of numerous civiliza- passed down from generation to generation. Along with re- tions that have inhabited the Kashmir valley, from time to time, and searchers and academicians, the meat industry is trying to develop have left their impression on the culture of Kashmir. During the ethnic wazwan meat products for the domestic as well as inter- past 5,000 years of its history, Kashmir has been at the crossroads of national markets [5]. Because of their highly appealing flavor, various civilizations and religions. Kashmir has been influenced by texture, palatability, and popularity, there is a vast potential to Chinese, Indian, Central Asian, and Persian civilizations and cul- introduce them at the national level and to promote their export. tures. Kashmir is said to have close cultural relations with present- Thus, researchers need to focus on standardization of these prod- ucts and their mechanized production. This paper reviews the processing, quality characteristics, underlying problems, and ap- * Corresponding author. Department of Food Science and Technology, University proaches for the development of some important ethnic meat of Kashmir, Srinagar 190006, India. products of Kashmiri wazwan. E-mail address: [email protected] (F.A. Masoodi). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2016.12.002 2352-6181/© 2016 Korea Food Research Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Please cite this article in press as: Rather SA, et al., Ethnic meat products of Kashmiri wazwan: a review, Journal of Ethnic Foods (2016), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2016.12.002 2 J Ethn Foods 2016; -:1e5 2. History of ethnic meat products of Kashmiri wazwan (fennel), etc. The spices used in its preparation give special taste and aroma and suggest its Sanskrit influence [1]. The food habits of the majority of the population of Kashmir are predominantly nonvegetarian. Wazwan is the ultimate name in 3. Important meat products of wazwan Kashmiri banquet and is a formal meal prepared on special occa- sions such as Kashmiri weddings. It is also being processed at fast 3.1. Kabab food corners, restaurants, star hotels, etc., and is relished by one and all visiting Kashmir because of its unique taste. Wazwan is a The origin of kabab is credited to the medieval soldiers who used multicourse meal, and the main ingredient of this meal is meat to grill meat on their swords in the open fire [3]. Ethnically the meat from sheep, goat, or beef, although other elements such as chicken, used for kabab making is lamb, but over the years different types of fish, and vegetables are also there. The origin of the Kashmir's meats such as beef and buffalo meat have been used as per local and ethnic/heritage cuisinedwazwanddates back to the 14th century regional taste. Kababs are made up of fleshy meat that is minced on when the Mongol ruler Timur invaded India in 1348 during the stone with a tukni (a wooden hammer). Eggs are added along with reign of Nasiuddin Muhammad of the Tughlaq dynasty, who spice blends while mincing. Then the minced meat is wrapped brought skilled persons of various professions including cooks from around an iron rod of 20e30 cm length for cooking [6] (Fig. 2). Samarkand to Kashmir [1,6,7]. These skilled cooks, called wazas in Traditionally, kababs are cooked by charbroiling, but nowadays they the local language, cooked meat into various dishes and classified are also prepared by grilling, roasting, or stewing. While cooking, the them according to shape and gravies used for their preparation. The internal temperature should be 75 ± 2C, which can be achieved by credit for popularizing wazwan dishes goes to Persian and Sanskrit charbroiling at 230 ± 2C for 3 minutes. Charbroiled kababs have a immigrants. The term waazi is basically a Sanskrit term waja, which typical smoky flavor because of the contact of the charcoal with means to cook. The origin of the term has also been derived from a meat, and have a brown appearance, more yield, and better juiciness Persian word, ashpaaz, which means a special cook proficient in and texture as compared to oven-cooked kababs [3,9]. making soups, and with the passage of time the term became waza [1]. The basic prerequisite of a wazwan is that freshly slaughtered 3.2. Tabak maaz meat is used for its preparation. After acquiring the meat, the waza sorts it out for the different types of dishesdfor example, ribcage is Tabak maaz is a popular product of wazwan made from the rib used to make tabakh maaz, whereas boneless meat is ground and is portion of sheep meat (Fig. 3). The rib of lamb or mutton is cut into used for preparation of kabab, rista, and goshtaba. A number of small pieces, moderately steam cooked, and applied with salt and dishes are prepared in wazwan; among them, the seven important turmeric. The rib bones are then removed, and only the meat meat-based dishes are kabab, tabak maaz, aab gosh, rogan josh, nate- chunks are shallow fried in desi ghee over mild heat for a longer yakhni, rista, and goshtaba. Wazwan dishes are traditionally pre- period. The finished product becomes crispy in nature and served pared in copper utensils (named degs in Kashmiri) over simmering as dry pieces [6,10]. fires of wood, preferably obtained from old fruit trees [6,8] (Fig. 1). The dishes are served in large copper plates (called tramies) with 3.3. Aab gosh rice. Four persons take food in each tramie. The dishes are served in a particular sequence. Fried chicken, kabab, and tabak maz are Aab gosh is a sacral area of the vertebral column prepared in garnished on the rice contained in a tramie before the meal is milk (Fig. 4). For the preparation of aab gosh, lamb or mutton is presented. In the series of meat products served in wazwan, gosh- boiled in water with salt, ginger, garlic paste, and aniseed powder. taba is the last one to be served. The milk is then boiled along with spices such as green The Kashmiri wazwan has been influenced by various cultural cardamom, onions, pepper, and ghee, to which the lamb or migrants that have swept into Kashmir from time to time. The mutton is added. The meat along with milk curry is then stirred names of the wazwan dishes reflect Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and thoroughly until it boils well [3].