Muzamil Bhat

Sarbajaya Bhattacharya

Editor

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Mohammad Shoaib’s shop is open 24x7, but if you want to
get a taste of his special dish, you better arrive early in the morning. 

The 35-year-old has been running the Heritage Harissa shop
in the Grata Bal area in Nawakadal for 15 years. This neighbourhood in downtown
Srinagar is the hub of harissa shops
in the city, some of which are more than three centuries old. The story of the
dish is even older.

“I have heard from my father that the craft of making harissa comes from Shah-i-Hamdan [a 14th
century Sufi saint from Iran] who introduced it to the harissa-makers of the valley,” says Shoaib, a fourth generation harissa-maker. 

The high-protein breakfast dish made with lamb and rice is available
only six months a year – from October to March – served hot with a side of meethi (minced lamb intestines) and
kebab sprinkled with hot oil and some kander
czot (local bread made with wheat flour) to wipe it all down. The spices that go into making the dish include
green and black cardamom, cinnamon, and clove. It is then cooked overnight in mathh (a copper or earthen pot) buried
in the earth, with a chamber of firewood below.

“I
inherited the art of making harissa
from my father,” says Shoaib, whose shop is an extension of his house where he
lives with his mother, wife and two young daughters. The shop is also
accessible through the kitchen of their three-storey house. Women here,
however, play no part in the process of harissa-making.
“If I have a son, I will pass on the trade to him,” Shoaib says. When not making and
selling harissa, Shoaib runs a dry
fruit and grocery store. 

Since taking over from his father
Mohammad Sultan, who passed away in 2022, Shoaib has expanded the business and
renovated the shop, adding chairs and tables and fitting it with tiles. “I made
it look modern because nowadays it is not just locals, but also tourists who
come to eat harissa,” he says while
he cooks, standing in the kitchen of his shop. 


Among the customers is Dr. Kamran,
who travels from Hazratbal, around eight kilometres away, just to have the harissa at Shoaib’s shop. “The harissa here tastes wonderful, I come
here whenever I have money in my pocket,” says the 42-year-old, “I have even
sent it to my friend in Saudi Arabia!” A plate of harissa here is priced at Rs. 1,200.  

Shoaib begins to serve the harissa at 7 a.m. in copper plates, traditionally designed with
motifs of chinar leaves. By 10 a.m,
the large copper pot in which the harissa
is made is empty. “Three years ago, I sold 75 kilograms in one day!” he
recalls.

But even after the food is sold out,
Shoaib’s work is not done: “As soon as the pot is empty, we have to start the
process all over again.” 

The process starts with getting the
meat from the local butcher, priced at Rs. 650-750 a kilo, which is chopped
into pieces, the fat removed. “Then the process of boiling top quality Kashmiri
rice begins and we have to cook it until it turns into a paste. Next, we put
the mutton into the rice paste and cook it on a high flame for six to seven
hours and then add spices and water as required,” says Shoaib, who has two
employees to help him. 

“There is no secret spice that goes
into making a delicious harissa,” he
continues, “from carefully selecting the right mutton to removing the fat and
choosing the best quality spices, I have to spend almost 16 hours gently
stirring the mixture to achieve the right consistency and taste.” 

“Making the harissa
is no easy task,” says Shoaib.

In Srinagar: Harissa is best served hot

ஸ்ரீநகரில் சுடச்சுட கிடைக்கும் சுவையான ஹரிஸா

ਹਰੀਸਾ ਤਾਂ ਗਰਮਾ-ਗਰਮ ਹੀ ਪਰੋਸਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ

ଶ୍ରୀନଗରରେ ଗରମ ହରିସାର ସ୍ୱାଦ

हरिसा : श्रीनगरमधला गरमागरम नाश्ता

ശ്രീനഗറിൽ ചൂടോടെ വിളമ്പുന്ന ഹാരിസ

ಶ್ರೀನಗರ: ಬಿಸಿ ಹರಿಸ್ಸಾ ಬಿಸಿಯಾಗಿರುವಾಗಲೇ ರುಚಿ

कश्मीर: गरमागरम हरिसा की बात ही कुछ और है!

શ્રીનગરમાં પીરસાતું ગરમાગરમ હેરિસ્સા

श्रीनगर मं ताते तात हरीसा के सुवाद

श्रीनगर: भोरे से हरीसा खाए खातिर लाइन लाग जाला

ধোঁয়া ওঠা হারিসায় সরগরম শ্রীনগরের শীত

শ্ৰীনগৰত গৰমে গৰমে হাৰিছা

گرما گرم ہریسہ کھانے کا مزہ ہی کچھ اور ہے!

Srinagar

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In Srinagar: Harissa is best served hot

In Kashmir's winter months, Mohammad Shoaib serves locals and tourists harissa – a breakfast dish made with rice and lamb. He runs one of the most popular shops, located in a centuries-old hub of traditional foods, and he is sold out by 10 in the morning

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