Srinagar, May 18: Food blogs written by Kashmir residents are now popular throughout the nation and the world. The bloggers have given the globe its first taste of Kashmir’s hitherto undiscovered ethnic cuisines.
They have given readers of their articles and blogs a taste of gourmet and street cuisine that has yet to be widely sampled. They play a crucial role in spreading the word that there is more to Kashmiri food than the multi-course “Wazwan.”
From ‘Pher’ (smoked fish) to ‘Khandhi Gaazir’ (sugar-dipped dough candy) to ‘roadside barbeques’ (complete with long-forgotten variants like ‘boom’ [dried water lily]), foodies’ blogs have covered it all.
Kashmiri cuisine blogger Omar Rather is the proud proprietor of the popular culinary blog Kashmir food gramme. A true foodie, on the other hand, is eager to see the nation and sample the many culinary delights it has to offer. His site is called “Kashmir Food Gramme,” and it contains delectable recipes from all throughout the nation.
Whether it’s fast food or fine dining, I review it everything on my blogs and vlogs. Every day is a new adventure, I try new things, and I go to other locations,” he stated.
In 2017, Omar embarked on a career as a food blogger. While cooking for his sick mother, he learned his passion for eating. A food blogger’s negative review of Kashmiri cuisine inspired him to launch his own site, as he recounted in an entertaining incident. His motivation for starting the blog was simple: to draw international notice to Valley’s culinary delights. He want to show the globe that there is more to Kashmiri food than only “Wazwan” and “Kahwa.”
Omar shared his thoughts on a wide variety of topics, including the seasonal treat of ‘Pher’ or ‘Pharri’ (smoked fish), sugar-dipped dough candy called ‘Khandhi Gaazir,’ roadside barbeques, ‘boom’ (dried water lily), and more.
Omar’s blog is the first to highlight the cuisine of Kashmir and its street vendors. This culinary blogger has captivated the hearts of millions all throughout the nation, as shown by the fact that she has over 56,000 Instagram followers.
Omar has been known to say things like, “I love to travel for food,” and “I believe that travelling makes you explore things more intricately,” when asked about his love of both travel and eating.
I’ve been all around Kashmir in search of food, and now I’m venturing beyond its borders. He said, “Recently, I have covered Jammu, Delhi, Jalandhar, and many other regions of India.
He’s done work with some very major names in business, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and a bunch of other ones.
Indian cuisine bloggers employ me because they like my work. He told ANI, “They come to Kashmir, and I tour them around the valley and the various delicacies.
Omer writes about every kind of food available in Kashmir on his blog, including the regional speciality “Pher” (smoked fish), popular street treats like “Khandhi Gaazir” (sugar-dipped dough candy), grilled meats from roadside stands and even obscure foods like “boom” (dried water lily).
But Omar thinks the potential of food blogging in Kashmir is not as great as it is in other regions of the nation.
He lamented that traditional eatery operators are having trouble wrapping their heads around the idea of food blogging. He went on to say that he hopes to educate others about the power of food blogging as a marketing tool via the channels of his blogs.
“People here need to be supportive of the idea of food blogging,” Omar said.
Omar said prospective food bloggers, “The upcoming food bloggers should try not to copy the stuff from others and work hard for it to achieve their goal, and most importantly, they should mostly focus on promoting street vendors.”
Another Kashmiri cuisine blogger, vlogger, and YouTuber is Mohsin Fazli, whose popular site Kashmir Eats has over 63,300 subscribers.
Fazli is a composite manager for the government of Jammu and Kashmir by day and a blogger/vlogger on the side. He earned an MBA from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Fazli gave an interview to ANI in which he discussed the origins of his culinary blog. “I was working in Dubai for 10 years and used to miss my mother’s food,” he said, thinking back on his time there. After that, I decided to create a blog. As Fazli put it, “I want to make Kashmiri food famous all over the world.”
When it comes to food, it’s not simple to voice your view on social media. He remarked, “You share your own viewpoint, to which some may relate and others may not.”
Fazli said, “From my work, I want to clear the misconceptions of people and let them know that Kashmir is not only about ‘Wazwan’ but beyond Wazwan, there is a variety of cuisines in Kashmir which are not being highlighted on the global platform.”
From Europe to the Middle East to India, Fazli has been travelling to sample cuisines from across the world.
“My blogs and vlogs are about multiple food cuisines, my blogs are not restricted to Kashmiri food, but I have also covered Persian food, Irani food, Jammu food, South Indian food, and many more,” Mohsin said.
I promote businesses on various social media sites and also write reviews of local eateries. Review meetings when we sample new recipes are another service I provide.
He said, “Due to the food blogging, I have came across and found so many dishes that I had never heard of before, such Changazi chicken, Chicken Kur-kure, Rainy Kulcha, Pizza Omelette etc.
If you consistently produce high-quality work, I firmly think that your audience size will grow. So, Mohsin said, “I think young people should be themselves and make their own content.”
Aamir Rawa, a Kashmiri food blogger, has been at it for eight years. His popular page, “Food in Kashmir,” has 41.9 thousand or more followers.
