Kashmir Overseas Association

Koshur Saal
Traditional, Quick and Easy Kashmiri Cuisine
by Chandramukhi Ganju

Format: Paperback (Edition: 2009)
Product Dimensions: 11.0" X 8.2"x 0.7"
Pages: 250 with Over 280 full color illustrations
Publisher: James A. Rock Inc. Publishing, (USA).

ISBN: 978-1-59663-662-0
Language: English
With 184 recipes and over 280 full color illustrations
Price: Price at Shehjar @ US$29.95 with free shipping in USA

Also available at Amazon.com, James Rock Publishing and other leading stores.

iving as we do in a multi-cultural world, nowhere are the pleasures that it brings more obvious than at the table, when we enjoy a feast of complex flavors and simple preparations. The book in your hands exactly does that. It tells you about the tasty and aromatic cuisines of Kashmir, the northern-most State of India, famous for its incredible range of culinary delights, guaranteeing a veritable experience to the gourmet. It also gives alternatives to deep frying of some of the recipes. The preparation of Kashmiri food in an efficient, healthy way can be just fun. It would hardly take you 10 to 25 minutes to cook a delicious meal, whose tempting, hot, spicy taste lends it a peculiar quality of its own and distinguishes it from the culinary arts of rest of India and the world at large. In addition, the book delineates not only the health benefits of foods we eat everyday but also provides the religious and cultural significance associated with the traditional Kashmiri food.

Browse Sample Pages at Amazon

" I spent many years in India and visited Kashmir quite often. I was fortunate to enjoy wonderful food in many different homes. Kashmiri cuisine was always my personal favorite. It has all the best qualities of the North Indian cuisine featured in restaurants, but it has its own unique and rich flavors. After returning home I always wished I knew how to cook Kashmiri recipes. At last it is possible to do so. This book contains a large and comprehensive selection of recipes popular within the Kashmiri community, particular among the Pundits.

The recipes are very easy and quick to make, yet they taste utterly authentic. Mrs. Ganju rightly points out that one should experiment with the proportions of the spices to suit one's personal taste. This is how it's done in Kashmiri homes. I highly recommend this book to those who are familiar with and who long for Kashmiri food--it will bring you back to the shores of Dal and Nagin Lakes. I especially recommend it to those who like Indian food in general and want to try something delicious and not generally known in restaurants."

Peter Kwiatek, New England, USA

Book Reviews

It is my privilege and pleasure to write a foreword to ?KOSHUR SAAL?, a cookbook of Kashmiri cuisine. Like any mature cuisine, it has grown over time into a fine, though complex, body of science and art. Being ancient and having had many foreign influences, Kashmiri cuisine is one of the most delectable cuisines in the world.

Cooking food is an art, which comes naturally to Chandramukhi Ganju, author of the book.

We need this book for several reasons. First, some of the dishes have a cultural as well as religious background and are prepared on special occasions. Ms. Ganju has given necessary information in this regard. Secondly, the information and recipes in the book will be available for the future generations of Kashmiris, who may lose touch with authentic Kashmiri cuisine, as they do with their native language. They love their mother?s Kashmiri cooking but do not know how to make these dishes. Thirdly, there are many Americans who are ?hooked? to Kashmiri cuisine and would like to try these recipes. This book will serve as a useful guide.

Mrs. Ganju has tested all the recipes. Ingredients in the recipes are written in simple and precise measurement scales. Methods of preparation are easy to follow.

Mrs. Ganju also gives alternate methods for dishes that require deep-frying. Some people might like to avoid fried foods. In this way she has combined art and science of cooking. Glossary gives the names of spices in English, Kashmiri and Hindi. This is valuable information for any cook.

Lalita Kaul, PhD, RD, LDN
Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Community and Family Medicine,
Howard University, Washington, DC.

KOSHURSAAL written by Ms Chandramukhi Ganju has brought back to me my childhood memories, growing in the Jammu & Kashmir, eating a feast of Kashmiri dishes on special occasions like weddings and festivals.

As a true culinary professional this book has inspired me to fully understand the authentic flavours of this wonderful cuisine and has given me an authority to try these recipes hosting a special event at home or in the restaurants.

I would strongly recommend this book to all the Indian food lovers across the globe and to culinary professionals to get an insight into traditional Kashmiri food and understand the complexity of spices & flavours in the simplest way described by Mrs. Ganju.

I have thoroughly enjoyed a bit of history, social and cultural stints attached to most of the recipes, including healthy ways to enjoy Kashmiri food which is the most important factor in today?s world to keep the Kashmiri traditions alive in our hearts.

I applaud Mrs. Ganju?s immense efforts to put Kashmiri food on the global map.

Vijay Anand, Executive Chef,
Pataks Foods Ltd. (Worldwide), England
Ethnic Chef of the year 2007 (Craft guild of chefs awards)

"Kashur Saal is more than a cookbook; it is the preservation of Kashmiri culture and cuisine that has not historically been widely documented. Future generations will now be able to taste the flavors of Kashmir as they were meant to be, with wonderful blends of spices and special techniques. This book is organized in a way that people from any cultural background will be able to easily produce and enjoy."

Bruce Ozga, M.Ed.,
Culinary Dean, Johnson & Wales University

Media Reviews

Koshursaal recipes are quite different from other regions of India. The author, Chandra, takes pride in keeping Kashmiri culture alive far from home. Click to read more.

Miami Herald, South Florida

Koushur Saal in US
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Washington: In an effort to popularize Kashmiri delicacies in the US, a book on aromatic cuisines of the valley has hit American stores this week.

Written by Chandra Ganju, a lawyer by profession, the book ?Koushur Saal? teaches preparation of Kashmiri food in an efficient, healthy way.

?It would hardly take you 10 to 25 minutes to cook a delicious meal, that is tempting, hot, spicy taste, lends it a peculiar quality of its own and distinguishes it from the culinary arts of rest of India and the world at large,? the publisher, Seaboard Press, said in a media release.

?In addition, the book delineates not only the health benefits of foods we eat everyday but also provides the religious and cultural significance associated with the traditional Kashmiri food,? it said.

Ganju, who spent a good part of her life in Kashmir, moved to the US in the year 1993 and has been living in Florida ever since.

Book on quick and easy Kashmiri cuisine released in US

Koshur Saal in America

About the Author

A lawyer by profession, Chandramukhi Ganju moved to the United States in year 1993 and has been living in Florida ever since. Since she spent a good part of her life in Kashmir, her deep interest in things Kashmiri, be it culture, language or cuisine, developed with the passage of time. With her deep-rooted interest in spirituality, she is of the firm opinion that food we eat has long lasting influence on the thoughts we think. She fondly remembers that in Kashmir when she was growing up in a traditional Kashmiri Hindu home, kitchen occupied same sacred space as the place of worship.

Chandra believes that it is the method of cooking that adds to the quality of the food. For her cooking is an art and feels the need to create a right atmosphere. Good vibrations are needed to pass into the food while cooking. This goes a long way in ensuring a healthy, happy and genuinely spiritual family. Although right amount of ingredients are critical for food to taste good, a good measure of love and devotion added to the food can even change human behavior.

Of late, she has also taken up writing plays in Kashmiri language, highlighting the decline of Kashmiri language and cuisine with a view to reviving the interest of the young and the old in the rich Kashmiri language.

She fondly hopes, her present work will revive the taste buds of younger generation and introduce Kashmiri cuisine to wider cross section of people.

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