Kashmir: Crown of Indian cuisine

Call it love at first bite, but really, the fukna is the reason why my taste buds are craving Indian cuisine this Christmas. The fukna is the “sensational” appetizer at Kashmir restaurant. It’s made of pastry crisps topped with boiled potatoes, chopped onions, coriander leaves and sprinkled with a sweet and sour tamarind-based sauce and chilled light yogurt. Popping a fukna and waiting for its perfect blend of flavors to explode in your mouth is like conversing with Lord Ganesh.

Hyperbole aside, each dining experience at Kashmir (either in its Pasay Road branch in Makati or in Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila) is a treat to the senses. Like an enchanting elixir, the seductive sashay of spices in every dish is a gustatory escapade. Here, the chicken tandoori is soft and yielding, offering little resistance as it slips willingly off the bone and melts succulently in your mouth. The savory lamb biryani is bursting with the delightful flavor of lamb that has been cooked in herbs and aromatic spices. The handi paneer (homemade cottage cheese mixed with special gravy of spices and tomato) goes well with chapatti (grilled unleavened whole wheat bread) or the buttery and moist roti chanai (croissant-like floppy bread enriched with milk and ghee).

Others that will truly create a magic spell in your palate include: kesri pullao (saffron seasoned rice dish), murgh ka tikka (boneless chicken marinated in yogurt and spices then skewered and grilled in a tandoor oven), handi gosht (mildly spiced mutton that is slow cooked with onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes in a handi or the traditional Indian copper kettle) and dahl makni sindhi (delicately cooked lentils sautéed with onions, tomatoes, chilies and garnished with herbs).

The restaurant also offers a menu of vegetarian specialties which are a palate excursion on their own. The all-time-favorite baingan ke tikka is actually eggplant casserole. This tasty vegetable dish is baked over low fire with delicate spices and topped with different cheeses. Another true delight is the chola masala or chick peas sautéed with fresh onions, tomatoes and spices then flavored with lemon sauce and garnished with fresh onion rings. 

Did I mention the creamy lassi yogurt shake? This tasty blend of milk and fruits is simply divine.

For the sweet endings at Kashmir, a platter of desserts connotes a new journey to Indian cuisine. Try kulfi (Indian ice cream), gulab jamun (yummy balls of milk pastry soaked in sweet saffron syrup and topped with pistachio and almond slivers) and faluda (vermicelli noodles with creamy ice cream nestled on a bed of rabri garnished with nuts and rose syrup).

If the food at Kashmir satisfies one’s craving for an exotic dining experience, it is because every dish at the restaurant is prepared meticulously with love. Nearly 32 years in existence, Kashmir is a beautiful tale of sisterly love among the Sehwani sisters — Sita Advani, Indra Mirchandani and Khamla Singh. The dynamic trio set up this haven in fulfillment of their dream to share their cuisine and culture.

Each dining experience at the restaurant is a celebration of the authentic flavors of a country’s spirit through the diversity of its spices. Kashmir is a priceless jewel that, like fine wine, gets better and better with age.

For more information, call Kashmir at 844-4924 or 844-4927.