Amid freezing temperatures, dried vegetables in huge demand

Srinagar, Dec 12: Amid freezing temperatures, Srinagar’s traditional dried vegetable markets have once again sprung to life.

Dried vegetable markets are abuzz in Downtown, especially Fateh Kadal, Maharaj Gunj, Nawab Bazar and Bohri Kadal, with long rows of stalls draped with colourful dried vegetables.

Along the narrow lanes, strings of dried bottle gourd, bunches of brinjals, tomatoes, beans, turnips, and red chillies hang from wooden frames. Vendors said that many of these vegetables are sun-dried in rural parts of the Valley during autumn, later making their way into these historic markets where generations of families have traded them.

“This stall has been my place of work since 1990. This work has fed my family and given us everything. These dry vegetables are pure; what you see is what you get. Today, there is so much adulteration in packaged spices, but these traditional items remain authentic and true to the real taste of Kashmir,” said a vendor at Bohri Kadal.

To mention, for centuries, Kashmiris have relied on dried vegetables to survive the long and isolating winters when heavy snowfall would cut the Valley off from the outside world for months. While modern transport and markets have eased those challenges, the tradition of preserving and consuming dried vegetables continues to hold its place in Kashmiri cuisine and culture.