Tabak Maaz — Kashmiri Flash-Fried Rib (ٹبک ماز)

Kashmir valley; part of the wazwan feast tradition; one of 36 dishes traditionally served at a formal Kashmiri wedding feast

Tabak maaz (ٹبک ماز) is the first meat dish of the Kashmiri wazwan feast: lamb ribs (معز, maaz) pre-cooked by simmering in milk and water with whole spices (fennel, ginger, cardamom, bay) until tender, then deep-fried or pan-fried in ghee until the exterior achieves a golden, caramelised crust. The contrast of the fried crust against the milky-soft interior is the signature — the milk poaching creates a uniquely tender, pale-white interior flavour that the subsequent frying doesn't penetrate but only transforms at the surface. Tabak maaz is always eaten at the wazwan with one's hands; the ribs are picked clean.

First meat dish of the wazwan — its appearance, presented on rice in a large communal trami (ترامی, copper serving plate), signals the beginning of the feast's main progression.