IRCTC to serve Kashmiri cuisine on Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train

The IRCTC has decided to serve Kashmiri vegetarian cuisine to passengers travelling on the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train from the second week of July.

“We are working out a plan to serve local cuisine on the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train and it is expected to start from the second week of July,” Anand Kumar Jha, Additional General Manager, IRCTC, told PTI.

“Popular local cuisine, such as ‘ambal kaddu’, ‘babru’, Jammu ‘paratha’ in breakfast and ‘paneer chaman’, Kashmiri ‘dum aloo’ and Jammu ‘rajma’ in lunch, will be served to those who wish to try the flavour of local food during their Katra-Srinagar train ride,” an Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train on June 6, connecting Srinagar with the country’s rail network.

The Indian Railways started its commercial operations from the next day and the IRCTC treated passengers with its usual menu.

“A decision has been taken to promote local cuisine on premier trains and we have worked out a special plan for the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat. We spoke to all top food outlets and hotels, such as Nathu’s, Holiday Inn, JW Marriott and ITC among others, and selected the most popular local dishes,” the official said.

“Ambal kaddu, also known as ‘kaddu ka ambal’, is a popular Dogra cuisine prepared from pumpkin. It is sweet and sour and is often cooked at wedding functions. Another breakfast item, ‘babru’, is like a stuffed ‘puri’, a favourite in the hilly areas,” he added.

The official said lunch items, such as ‘paneer chaman’ and Kashmiri ‘dum aloo’, are served in other parts of the country as well. However, these would be prepared keeping in mind the local spices and flavours to let the travellers get a feel of the city they are visiting.

According to the IRCTC, other breakfast and lunch items, such as ‘upma’, ‘poha’, vegetarian cutlet etc, will also be available as an option for those passengers who do not wish to try local food.

The IRCTC said it has already initiated the process to provide an option for local food on premier trains, such as Vande Bharat and Rajdhani Express.

“We have recently introduced South Indian food, such as steamed ‘matta’ rice, banana ‘kalan’ etc, on the Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani. A similar exercise has been initiated on the Nagpur- Secunderabad Vande Bharat train, where while starting from Nagpur, a popular dish of the city will be offered to the passengers and while returning from Secunderabad, they can relish Hyderabadi cuisine,” the official said.