Kashmir’s Ancient Wazwan Wedding Feast Navigates Modern Realities

Published On 30 Sep 2026

As autumn arrives, the rhythmic pounding of wooden mallets on lamb reverberates across Kashmir’s courtyards and back lanes, where cooks prepare Wazwan—a lavish, multi-course mutton feast that remains central to traditional wedding celebrations.

Wazwan originated in the valley from Central Asia during the 14th century, when rulers brought skilled chefs alongside the carpet and shawl weavers that later defined the region’s craft heritage.

Today, the feast serves as both a marker of social status and a powerful symbol of Kashmiri identity.

Among its guardians is 74-year-old Ghulam Nabi Baba, a veteran Wazwan chef who traces his lineage to those early migrants. His forefathers settled in Srinagar’s old city as part of a community of cooks known as Wazpora.

“There were only seven mutton dishes originally. Over the centuries, we expanded the menu to around 20,” Baba said.

He explained how the number of dishes and the quantity of meat often reflect a family’s wealth.

“Forty years ago in Delina, a village in north Kashmir, I cooked 4,500 kg (9,920 pounds) of meat for a single wedding. That was exceptionally large; normally, an average marriage requires about 200 kg (440 pounds),” he added.

Despite the expanding menu, core techniques have changed little. Lightly spiced meat is still pounded by hand before being simmered slowly over wood fires—a labor-intensive process Baba has followed since joining his father as a cook at 15.

However, the pressures of modern life are reshaping the tradition. Baba’s son has chosen to open a restaurant rather than work weddings, citing the round-the-clock demands as too exhausting.

He believes he is still carrying forward the family’s centuries-old culinary legacy—just in a different setting, as Wazwan adapts to contemporary tastes and lifestyles.

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