‘Masala tchot’ to ‘Halwa paratha’: Move over ‘wazwaan’, India’s top bloggers more impressed with Kashmir’s street food

Srinagar: If you thought only ‘wazwaan’ and ‘harisa’ had the potential of attracting foodies to Kashmir valley, then take a look at the fresh social media videos of India’s top food bloggers.

The country’s top bloggers, who were on a visit to Kashmir earlier this month, are apparently more impressed with the Valley’s street food like ‘masala tchot’ and ‘halwa paratha’ usually sold outside Sufi shrines.

‘Kashmiri food is not just about wazwaan’

They also seem to be all the more impressed with other street food like the famous fish ‘pakora’ at Lal Chowk or even a roadside ‘kandur’ than ‘wazwaan’.

Valley-based food blogger Omar Rather of ‘Kashmirfoodgram’ fame said the notion that Kashmiri food was only about wazwaan had changed over the years.

“Once when I was in Delhi, a food blogger told me that Kashmiri food was only about wazwaan and we had nothing else. I did not like this comment and that is when I decided to introduce the outside world to Kashmir’s undiscovered food. Later, I started blogging about Kashmir’s street food. Now, India’s top bloggers like ‘Dil Se Foodie’ and others are personally visiting Kashmir. And their focus too is more on our street food like ‘masala tchot’, ‘monjeh gaad’, fish pakora, halwa puri or even uncooked street food like ‘pher’ (smoked fish) and ‘hokh suen’ (dried vegetables),” Omar told The Kashmir Monitor.

Hazratbal, old city markets perfect for food walks

“Yes, they are covering wazwaan and harisa too, but street food of Kashmir is more appealing and it has the potential of attracting foodies from all over the world. And places like Hazratbal market or similar marketplaces in old Srinagar city are perfect for food walks that can attract tourists from all across the world,” he added.

Besides ‘Dil Se Foodie’, who has 6.3 million followers on Facebook alone, blogger ‘Hmm’ too of late has shared a series of stories on Kashmiri street food. ‘Hmm’ too is very popular among foodies has over 5.3 million followers on Facebook.

‘Koshur paratha weighs one kilo’

Besides covering the local food, the details of the videos on social media too are impressing foodies.

“We all know that a paratha sold outside a shrine is sold according to weight but how many know that a full paratha weighs a kilo? The Indian bloggers have captured our street food in detail and they also feel, we should have food walks for tourists,” said Omar.

Tourists, locals rediscovering Kashmir

While the videos on Kashmiri food are trending, tourists who had visited the Valley earlier, too are rediscovering Kashmir.

“We went to Kashmir in 2017 but we had not seen it,” wrote Tanusree Saha on Facebook after checking out a video about halwa paratha, while Venkat Srinivas Reddy Muduganti commented: “Thanks for these informative videos. Kashmir should be promoted for tourism. Best Wishes to the Kashmiri people. May all of you prosper in life.”

Meanwhile, locals in Kashmir too are rediscovering the local street food through the videos of top bloggers,

“This snack is a hundred times better than chips. I used to eat it during my childhood days. Still some times enjoying it,’ wrote Hashem Sher Ali on Facebook.