Barith Marchavangun/Kashmiri Stuffed Chillies - Jammu & Kashmir Special

After Himachal Pradesh, now we are travelling towards to the 'Switzerland of the East'aka Kashmir. Kashmir is a land of natural beauty situated in the Northwestern region of India.Inspite of talking about its natural gifts, we are going to explore their cuisine. Kashmiri cuisine is very much influenced by the invaders from Central Asia,obviously ita a fusion of several cultures. We can divide Kashmiri cuisine as two, one is Pundit cuisine and the other one is Muslim cuisine. Traditional Pundit cuisine is dominated by whole spices and the muslim cuisine is well known for its delectable non vegetarian slow cooking dishes.Kashmiri cuisine is well known for its spices like cinnamon,cloves, cardamom though saffron is a prominent spice.Most of their cooking is done in mustard oil or with ghee. Unlike in most parts of India, Kashmiri brahmins are allowed to eat lamb,fish and duck.

I cooked this Kashmiri stuffed chillies from a cook book i bought during my trip to India in Chennai, this dish falls under Pundit cuisine of Kashmir.Traditionally Pundit cuisine is not difficult to cook.Foods plays an important role in their rituals, and the most important festival celebrated by the Pundits is Herat or Shivratri.A festive dinner of this Pundit cuisine goes for a sumptuous dinner which includes Roganjosh,Yakhni,Kalia and kofta.Curd is extensively used in Kashmiri cuisines which gives a creamy touch to their food. Rice is their staple food and their grand banquet is called Wazawan where you can see thirty six course of foods. This wazawan is prepared during special functions or marriages, sweets dont have their importance in this cuisine.Kashmiri cuisine is a rich, exotic cuisine with many mouth watering rich dishes with wonderful aromatic flavors.

Recipe source: Kashmiri cuisine by Purnima Kachru
15nos Green chillies
1/2cup White vinegar
Oil for shallow frying

To grind:
1/2cup Walnuts
1tbsp Ginger (grated)
2tbsp Pomegranates seeds or 1tbsp Pomegranate seed powder
1tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch Asafoetida powder
Salt
Water (as per need)

Grind all the ingredients given under the list 'to grind' as fine paste.

Wash the chillies, make a small slit in each.

Deseed the chillies and soak them in vinegar for an hour.

Drain the chillies, arrange them in a plate.

Fill the chillies with a teaspoon of grounded paste, dont overstuff and gently press the slits to close.

Heat oil for shallow frying in a pan.

Shallow fry the stuffed chilies over low flame until they gets cooked.

Serve as side dish.

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