Veggie eatery ‘Gulab’ has many takers in land of ‘wazwan’

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 11

As the Valley is in the middle of the wedding season and locals are relishing ‘wazwan’ — Kashmir’s famed multicourse gastronomical delight prepared mainly from lamb, ‘Gulab’ — a vegetarian restaurant in Srinagar — is seeing its popularity soar.

Thrown open around a month ago, the eatery has starting tickling the taste buds of many, ranging from the common man to politicians such as former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The place is also attracting tourists as the Valley does not have many pure vegetarian eateries.

“We basically started this for sweets which are in huge demand here. We, however, also serve vegetarian food and it has become popular among locals. Tourists also come to eat here,” said Tariq Mir, owner of ‘Gulab Sweets and Restaurant’ in the Sonwar area of Srinagar.

The eatery caught the attention of many when Omar Abdullah on Wednesday tweeted a picture of himself having food with National Conference leaders — Nasir Wani, Nazir Gurezi, Ruhulla Mehdi and Tanvir Sadiq.

Mir, a businessman from the Lal Bazar area of the city, said the response to the vegetarian eatery was good in a place where locals did not fancy a vegetarian meal.

Locals say the restaurant was providing some ‘respite’ from wazwan.

“An average Kashmiri never goes out to spend on a vegetarian meal. However, with the summer being the wedding season, I have been eating way too much ‘wazwan’. Every week, there are a couple of invitations and some are even serving 20 dishes mostly of lamb. Vegetarian restaurants like this are a respite and are hard to find in Srinagar,” said Hisham Wani, a local.

A tourist, Amit Kumar, said the Valley should have more vegetarian restaurants. “I am a pure vegetarian and I do not eat at places where they serve both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. I am enjoying my stay in Kashmir, but there are a few pure vegetarian restaurants. As many tourists come here, I feel there should be more pure vegetarian restaurants,” he said.

Response good: Owner

• Thrown open around a month ago, ‘Gulab’ has starting tickling the taste buds of many, ranging from the common man to politicians such as former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The place is also attracting tourists as the Valley does not have many pure vegetarian eateries

• Tariq Mir, owner of ‘Gulab Sweets and Restaurant’ in the Sonwar area of Srinagar, said the response to the vegetarian eatery was good in a place where locals did not fancy a vegetarian meal