Srinagar: Pizza has emerged as the favorite snack of youngsters over the years, and of late, the wood-fired variety of the Italian delicacy has started tickling taste buds in Kashmir.
Popular in the West, the wood-fired pizza requires the setting up of a special oven that can now be seen in Kashmir eateries. The oven is heated by wood fire and a pizza prepared in this manner has a distinct taste.
“I first came across wood-fired pizzas in the UK where I was doing business and then I thought of introducing it in Kashmir. Though pizzas have become very popular in Kashmir, restaurants usually make them in an electric oven. This pizza is made purely on a wood fire. We had to bring experts from New Delhi that helped us in setting up a wood fire oven. We have even brought chefs from outside to prepare this pizza,” Mohammad Yusuf Tuman, owner of Woodfire Pizza & Cafe, told The Kashmir Monitor.
He said the pizza had a distinct taste and people in Kashmir too have liked the wood-fired variety.
“This is a pure Italian pizza. It has a thin crust and a distinct taste. People who taste our pizza have liked it very much. Some people do not like a thick crust. You won’t find anybody leaving behind the crust when they eat a wood-fired pizza,” said Tuman.
Kashmir-based popular food blogger Omar Rather said not many people in Kashmir were aware of the wood-fired pizza but now it was gradually getting popular.
“Fewer people know about the wood-fired pizza. Those foodies who have been abroad knowing that this pizza is special. Now, restaurants in Kashmir like New Light Sopore, House of Habibi, and Vintage too have started serving this wood-fired pizza. It has got a special taste and it also has a distinct fire-woody smell,” Omar told The Kashmir Monitor.
