It’s a dream-worthy bread basket. The girda or the indispensable Kashmir flatbread arrives crisp, baked to golden perfection, and shiny with dents all around as it is flattened by hand. The lavasa, a softer, tender, an equally addictive bread sits pretty in the handcrafted Kashmiri wicker basket along with the crumbly, saffron-flavoured sheermal, and katlam, a flaky bread topped with poppy seeds.
I tear a piece of the bread and scoop up chicken kanti, a popular, smoky dish, served as an accompaniment. It is spicy, tangy, semi-dry and has bite-sized, boneless classic chicken sheekh marinated in yogurt and spices, and later tossed with chopped onion and tomato.
The Kashmiri bread basket
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M
My dinner platter from Bulbulz Biryani and Kebab, a new brand under Habba Kadal, a Kashmir-themed stay in Coonoor, is a peek into the Kashmiri way of life. It is named after the beloved songbird of Kashmir that appears in poetry, carpets, and tapestries. “Bulbulz is as much about memory and romance as it is about food,” says Aparna Challu, who, along with her husband Upinder Zutshi, envisioned Habba Kadal. Aparna runs a social enterprise called Respect Origins, an online marketplace for rural artisans.
“For Kashmiris, the bulbul is a symbol of beauty and longing, a quiet narrator of love stories. That spirit carries through this culinary initiative, which focuses on refined, slow-cooked Kashmiri pulaos, kebabs, and breads, food that speaks softly but lingers long after the meal ends,” explains Aparna. Bulbulz lays out exotic pulaos such as mutton yakhni, Irani berry pulao and the quintessential mutton ristha pulao.
Chingar-style chicken kebab, finished table-side
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M
No Kashmiri meal is complete without bread, and in Kashmir, Aparna notes, every neighbourhood once had a kandur, a baker whose craft was passed down generations. Breads like the flaky katlam, the sturdy girda, and crisp varieties paired with tea are all shaped by careful kneading, folding, and resting techniques closer to French pastry than Indian flatbreads.
As I stay warm beside a kangri, an earthenware bowl holding glowing charcoal embers, encased in an intricately woven wicker basket, the misty valley unfurls, dotted with specks of light stretching into the night. While plates of melt-in-the-mouth mutton galouti, and juicy chicken kebabs take over the table, soulful Kashmiri Sufiana music on love and longing lend an air of calm.
Chicken Kanti has bite-sized, boneless classic chicken sheekh marinated in yogurt and spices
| Photo Credit:
K Jeshi
Aparna says, unlike the more familiar biryani, Kashmiri pulaos are rooted in Persian culinary traditions. They do not rely on onion-tomato-ginger-garlic bases. Instead, flavour is built through delicate spices, yoghurt-based gravies, and a slow, sealed cooking process, often finished by sealing the pot with dough to lock in aroma and moisture. “The result is food that is light, and deeply aromatic rather than fiery or heavy,” she explains as I try the yakhni pulao and Kashmiri mutton ristha pulao, a standout dish. In yakhni pulao, marinated mutton and rice are cooked together so the grains absorb the meat’s juices. Yakhni, a yogurt-based preparation, lends the dish its characteristic pale colour and soft tang. Mutton ristha pulao is a thoughtful reinterpretation of the traditional Kashmiri Wazwan dish. Here, finely pounded meatballs (ristha) are paired with fragrant rice, roasted dry fruits, almonds, and rose petals, creating a dish that is both festive and surprisingly light.
Galouti kebab
| Photo Credit:
K Jeshi
Kebabs form the other pillar of Bulbulz. Prepared with a blend of nearly 22 freshly ground spices, they are cooked with meticulous precision. The galouti kebab, served on a small coin-sized bread, for instance, traces its origins to Uttar Pradesh, where it was famously created for a nobleman who could no longer chew. Equally memorable is the Chingar-style chicken kebab, finished table-side. Cooked first over coal and then brought to the diner still smoking, it delivers a gentle smokiness without overwhelming the palate. “It’s not meant to be loud food,” she says. “It should make you feel happy, not heavy.”
Desserts include firni and more
| Photo Credit:
K Jeshi
Dessert, too, stays true to restraint. The firni, made with rice rather than vermicelli, is delicately sweet, never cloying, inviting second helpings without fatigue. The idea behind Bulbulz, she says, is to bring food usually cooked only in Kashmiri homes to a wider audience. “This isn’t restaurant food you find everywhere. These are dishes you normally eat only if someone invites you home. Food is about memory. It is comfort. And in the Kashmiri tradition, it is an act of love. It is meant for diners who travel not just for scenery, but for experiences, those who sit, slow down, and allow aroma, flavour, and memory to do their work,” she says, adding, “If someone leaves remembering our yakhni pulao, our job is done.”
Upinder Zutshi and Aparna Challu
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M
Bulbulz menu is at Kosar Kashmiri restaurant at Habba Kadal, 38, Yedapalli, Coonoor. A meal for two costs ₹1500 approximately. For reservations, call 7603821537
Published – March 02, 2026 05:12 pm IST
