"Dham" is a traditional meal served on leaf plates to the guests sitting on the floor. The feast consists of the finest ingredients, traditional recipes and methods. It is cooked by chefs trained by the "botis" or hereditary cooks.
It is basically a four-course unlimited meal.
The main course has the chaa ghosht or lamb cooked in yoghurt gravy, or murgh anardana, chicken stewed in pomegranate paste, for non-vegetarians.
For vegetarians, it was Himachali dal channa, split gram with fennel seeds, and mathri choware, lentil fritters in spinach gravy.
For those with a sweet tooth, there was meethe chawal (sweetened red rice with dry fruits and saffron).
The food was cooked in copper vessels which impart a unique flavour to the dishes.
The Khans reached Sundernagar town in a chartered chopper from Chandigarh. From there, they drove to Mandi town, which is dotted with more than 80 temples built in typical hill architecture. It's popularly called "Chhoti Kashi".
With inputs from IANS
