North Kashmir is known for a traditional dessert called Tosha, which finds its roots in Sufi culture of Kashmir. It is made of flour with ghee, poppy seeds and dry fruits used to give a unique flavour. Tosha is typically made as a sign of respect during times of joy or mourning.
Earlier it was prepared for a particular occasion, as a benediction and then distributed among people , whenever there would be a Quran recital in a home or in any shrine.
In order to revive the culture and satiate the taste buds of people, Tosha is now being prepared and served at many eateries in parts of north Kashmir.
Modern Sweets and Bakery, one of the most sought after eateries in Baramulla sells Tosha at a rate of 50 rupees per piece.
The owner of Modern Sweets told Rising Kashmir that the demand for Tosha is quite high and people admire the locally made delicacy.
Rayees Ahmad Ganaie, a Journalism student told Rising Kashmir that he didn’t know anything about Tosha, till he tasted one at the eatery.
“My grandmother used to tell me about how Tosha distributed at the arrival of a baby boy in the family or any joyous moment in the family. Recently I had one at Modern Sweets and Bakery in Baramulla,” he added.
Parvez Ahmad, the owner of Modern Sweets and Bakery, said that they have been in the Tosha making process from last one year and have a higher demand.
“We believe in reviving our culture. Tosha is famous and is being made in parts of north Kashmir. It has a higher demand with people from other parts of Kashmir ordering the delicacy,” Parvez added.
Preparation of Tosha
Tosha is prepared with refined flour, sugar and dry fruits.
Ingredients used for making 10 pieces of Tosha
200 gram flour
1 cup ghee
6 teaspoon coconut pieces
4 teaspoon raisin pieces
4 teaspoon cashew pieces
4 teaspoon almond pieces
3 teaspoon poppy seeds
7 teaspoon sugar
Preparation
Fill a saucepan with flour. Mix the flour and water thoroughly. Make dough out of the flour by kneading it. The dough should be soft; let it aside for 15 minutes.
Take a large piece of the dough and roll it up. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough. Until it becomes dry and golden brown in colour, roast it on a tawa.
When the roast is halfway done and both sides are browned. Keep it on a platter and rapidly tear the bread into little pieces. Keep the slices of bread on a platter.
After that, sprinkle sugar over the slices of bread and combine with all the dry fruits.
Now include heated ghee. They’re all combined in a pot. Knead them once more. It becomes more delicious as you knead it more precisely. If more ghee is desired, add it when kneading the dough.
Grab a little bit of the mixture. Cut out an oval. Tosha is ready for you. Poppy seeds can be distributed and rolled on it.
