The last 10 days, I spent trekking in Kashmir Valley in India. Often in the news for the wrong reasons this beautiful lush green valley presents one of the tastiest cuisines of India. Dal Lake is the toast of Srinagar the beautiful capital city of Kashmir. The evening preceding the trek we went on a Shikara Ride (manually rowed long boats) on the Dal Lake watching other tourists float by while the sun slowly vanished beyond the clouds in the horizon.
Soon we were approached by a floating Shikara, selling Kebabs (barbecued meat and fish) and the aroma of it all deflected my attention from the mesmerizing sun set on the Dal. The foodie in me wanted to taste all that he had and my friend Sushila, who was sharing the Shikara with me was instantly excited.
He quickly barbecued fish, chicken and lamb and needless to say while all were great, the soft trout lingers on my tongue. Marinated to perfection with a combination of home-made Kashmiri Spices and roasted just right the juicy succulent chicken and the chewy yet soft lamb served with different dips made with walnuts, carrots, cucumber in a curd and chilly paste base stole my heart. 
The dips were absolutely awesome and Sushila was floored by the tangy, spicy taste that she did not notice me relishing that extra bite of fish 🙂 The rich culture of the land presented itself on the plate, to experience which I had traveled hundreds of miles.
The restaurants along the lake serve similar food but it is not everyday that you sit in the middle of a vast lake watching the sunset and getting pampered with the finest food. Naah !! Saturation with food and travel does not exist in my dictionary- Life is a Vacation and always will be. If you are floating on the Dal do not miss this opportunity!!
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We definately did miss the kebabs Sangeeta…but the memory of fresh alu and pyaaz pakoda and kehwa on dal lake is what my mind turns to every time I wake up in the morning…
I can understand!! Last few days, I have been waking up with a start only to realise that it was the leaking tap and not the stream..
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That sounds delicious and an exciting experience.
http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/10/mom-i.html
Thank You.
oh i missed it ..may be I need to plan another trip to Kashmir soon to try this delicious kebab 🙂
And the Wazwaan…I am still burping.
Hi, I’ d been to Kashmir too 2 yrs back and as luck would have it America decidef to eliminate Osama-bin- Laden the day we reached. We were worried as were our families but the people were wonderful and we had agreat trip. You brought back memories.
There was trouble now too. We could not do complete sightseeing but I enjoyed my trek through Sonmarg.
Wonderful! It’s on my list to visit Kashmir,hopefully soon. 🙂
You must !! I am already planning to visit again…
Wow, great! 🙂
Beautiful. Feeling nostalgic. Also we simultaneously wrote a post on a similar region. 😉
I will be full of Kashmir in the next few posts. Even I could not visit the old part of the city since it was closed and considered unsafe for tourists!! I pretty much did what you did…
Great post Sangeeta. It is only such writings that can help tilt the balance in our minds regarding the beauty and allure that Kashmir and Srinagar continue to possess. What is it that makes our media only write about only negative aspects, totally forgetting to mention about the positives that you have so nicely portrayed. So Thank you.
Shakti
While I was there in the hills cut off from the world, trouble brewed in the valley !! Everyone was frantically trying to reach us but to tell the truth, life was as usual which is hard to explain to people who are constantly in fear. There is so much to see that I have to go again. I have experienced a lot of love and respect from people there and additional attention for being a Bengali who they believe sustain their tourism. I can never forget my houseboat owner who came all the way to the restaurant, patiently waiting outside and standing guard for a bunch of girls dining or the horseman who carried my luggage on the trek gifting me the horse shoe for good luck. People are good everywhere some people politicize it !!
Oh 🙁 🙁 seems I missed this!
Although a morning shikara ride with Kahwa and kashmiri bread was a memorable experience for us on our visit!
Looking forward to more posts on Srinagar!
http://makeitbeayoutiful.blogspot.in/2013/04/travellouge-romancing-valleys-of-kashmir.html?m=0
I had the Kahwa too and liked it since I do not drink tea otherwise. I loved the Kashmiri Bread and Wazwaan. I can go on and on about the Kashmir Valley as I trekked from lake to lake.