Daughter of Kashmir in Mumbai takes to YouTube to share her love for Kashmiri cuisine

Srinagar, Dec 29: A daughter of the valley settled outside has found a delicious way to take Kashmiri cuisine to foodies across the globe.

Not alone in the arena, she is definitely making mouths water!

Nazrana Bashir, originally a resident of Kreeri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, was married off at 22 to an IT investment banker settled in Delhi.

A decade later, when she is a mother of two and happily settled in Mumbai, she has decided to express her love for Kashmiri cuisine—and her kitchen talent—through YouTube channel named ‘ZoonDaeb’.

A Mass-Communication graduate, Nazrana uses her skills with the camera to prepare videos in her spick-and-span kitchen to showcase her recipes.“No matter wherever we are, we can’t get away from our cuisine,” Nazrana explains her journey from homemaking to recipe-sharing.

“Cooking for me started as a necessity after marriage, but it subsequently became my passion. Motivated by family and friends, I finally decided to share my love for cooking with the people. Now, I am rediscovering myself in the process.”

Using her smartphone and a tripod purchased exclusively for the purpose, she has produced 35 videos, earning herself a subscriber base of 3.8 thousand in about four months.

In every video, she can be heard—not seen—patiently explaining the recipes in English, step by step, letting mention of each ingredient raise the viewers’ anticipation.
And the recipes range from that of Nun Chai to sponge cake.“The food (on her channel) might be Kashmir-centric, but the intent is to popularise the cuisine globally. For instance, in case of Nun Chai, I make it with green tea, because finding traditional Nun Chai outside Kashmir isn’t always possible.”

“I have strived to learn recipes of Kashmiri cuisine at home, now I want to be the source of such knowledge to the people.”

Nazrana’s culinary journey on social media began after her family convinced her to start a channel.

Today, her experimental YouTube stint has brought her many requests and praises from the followers.“The idea of ZoonDaeb was a result of persistent prodding by my younger brother-in-law, who gave me the courage to embark on this journey. But I might not have been able to sustain had I not received the whole-hearted support and continuous grooming from my husband and a very dear friend, who have been the constant support all along.”

She says the support of her subscribers keeps her motivated.“I also have a Facebook and an Instagram page, where I keep sharing my videos and other useful tips.”
Nazrana now aims to widen her reach by translating her videos into Kashmiri and Urdu languages.

“I am currently working on this option, and I will Inshallah do it soon,” she says.

The young cook plans to write books in future, as she believes the literature available on Kashmiri cuisine is not enough.
“My channel is a humble attempt to preserve our cuisine and showcase it to the world,” she says about her work.