In pics: Mouth-watering winter delicacies of Kashmir

Srinagar: Different parts of the world exhibit diverse cultures including language, religion, customs, and traditions. Another significant differentiator is food, varying not just regionally but also seasonally. With the arrival of winter in Kashmir, the residents of the valley adopt food items that offer warmth during harsh winter days when temperatures in the plains plummet to sub-zero levels. These delicacies include harissa, dried vegetables, dried fish, nadru (lotus stem), smoked fish, and various types of baked flours. Apart from dried vegetables, sundried fish is another favourite food that is consumed during the harsh winters in Kashmir A vendor sells nadru or lotus stem in a Srinagar market. Nadru from the waters of world-famous Dal lake is not only famous in Kashmir but worldwide. Nadru is another winter delicacy loved by the people especially during winter months. Nadru is usually cooked with fish and is a common street snack in Kashmir Smoked fish or faeri is one of the most loved foods in Kashmir during snowy months, when fresh food is hard to find. People of the valley love to eat feari as it is only available during the winter season. Only snow trout fish are used to make faeri. A vendor sells sundried fish in a market in Srinagar as winter sets in. A vendor sells different types of pulses in a Srinagar market. Pulses are also consumed mostly during winter season in Kashmir. One of the most loved winter delicacies of Kashmir is kidney beans cooked with turnip. A street vendor sells different kinds of baked flours, locally known as soeth in Downtown Srinagar. Soeth flour is another item consumed by the people during the winter season. It is usually put in a cup of pink tea (nun-chai). There are different kinds of soeth in Kashmir, including baked rice flour, baked corn flour, baked water-chestnut flour etc. One of the favorite or most loved winter delicacies in Kashmir is harissa. It is a mixture of lamb mutton and rice flour cooked overnight in huge ovens with species like, cardamom, cloves etc. Harisa is served hot at the breakfast in traditionally designed copper plates topped with a piece of Kebab. It tastes the best with local Kashmiri bread locally known as czot. A man serves harissa to his customers at his shop in Srinagar. A street vendor sells different kinds of sundried vegetables in Downtown Srinagar. Different vegetables and spices hang from the windows of an old house in south Kashmir's Kulgam district. People of the valley, especially in villages, usually sundry vegetables at their homes to consume them during the winter months.