This winter, Kashmiri women warm up to Harissa in previously all-men chambers  

Women in Srinagar are challenging traditional gender roles by visiting Harissa-wan parlours, where they can enjoy the delicacy and camaraderie. The Kashmir Women's Collective is at the forefront of pushing progressive thought in the State. People leave their homes early to get the dish, which is slow-cooked overnight in a copper pot and garnished with kebabs and sheep intestine. The challenge is to break the stereotype and create more spaces for women.

Leaving home at the crack of dawn in sub-zero temperatures to eat Harissa — a meat delicacy cooked overnight and only served in breakfast — has been the preserve of men for centuries. This winter, women in Srinagar are stepping out, to sit cross-legged on the carpeted floor of the Harissa-wan, parlours that feature sitting space for 10-15 people and a raised cooking space.

Dr. Rehana Kausar, who works at the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, who with eight other women visited a Harissa shop in Srinagar’s old city one morning for the first time, said, “Initially, we were uncomfortable, but nobody passed a snide comment, or stared at us, or made us feel uncomfortable in any way. We loved it.” The women are part of the Kashmir Women’s Collective (KWC), a group at the forefront of pushing progressive thought in the State.

“We see more and more women coming to have Harissa served at the shop,” said Iftikhar Ahmad, a Harissa seller from Rajouri Kadal, in one of Srinagar’s bylanes. “We never thought women would come and sit next to male customers. It was heart-warming. Times have changed, and we plan to create separate spaces where women may feel more comfortable,” he added.

People leave their homes between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., because most Harissa shops run out of the delicacy by 8.30 a.m. Sold in winter in Kashmir, sales peak during the harshest 40-day spell, locally called chilia kalan, which begins on December 20 every year. A mush of bruised meat and rice or flour with local spices, Harissa is slow-cooked overnight in a copper pot buried in the earth, with a chamber for firewood below. It is served hot from the pot, called maath in Kashmiri.

Earlier, men would bring home the delicacy. “Harissa tastes better in the shop — the vibe is different there,” says Nida Shah, a college student, who goes in a group with her friends.

“Watching the tadka (oil poured on top and set aflame) is a treat,” Dr. Kausar said. “The Harissa math (a type of roti made in the morning) and the camaraderie is not the same at home,” she added. It was not easy to overcome the mental block though. “I kept thinking, ‘What if my dad sees me here?’” she added.

Believed to have travelled from Central Asia to Kashmir through the Silk Route, the high-protein Harissa beats the winter blues. Harissa is a dish of specialists, because there’s an art to making it, said Z.G. Muhammad, author of the Srinagar: My City My Dream.