Quick Answer: Sonth is dried ginger. Saunf is fennel. Together they give winter wazwan its chest-warming heat — not the eye-watering kind. Kashmiri mirch is for colour. The warmth is the spice box, not a pile of green chilli.
Open a deg (the copper pot) on a January morning in Srinagar and the first smell is not chilli. It is fennel crushing under a pestle, and dry ginger waking up in fat. Someone will still call the gravy “spicy.” They mean the wrong word.
If you've been reading about Wazwan in Delhi and wondering why a red bowl doesn't burn, this is the answer. A waza (master cook) builds winter warmth with sonth and saunf.
Two names, one winter logic
Sonth is dried ginger, ground. Fresh ginger is a different, sharper thing. The powder is drier, a little medicinal, the heat that sits behind the sternum after a walk in the cold.
Saunf is fennel, usually crushed, not left whole to look pretty. Sweet, green, a little like the inside of a seed packet. Together they make the gravy feel heated without making anyone reach for water.
Kashmiri spices explained is the full box: pran (shallot), maval (cockscomb), zafran, Kashmiri mirch. Sonth and saunf are the winter hinge of that box.
Why the red looks hotter than it is
Riste and Rogan Josh wear a deep red. That colour is Kashmiri mirch and maval, not a bird's-eye punch. First-timers in Delhi brace for heat and meet aroma instead.
What wazwan is — the feast, the Traem (communal copper platter), the long arc — runs on this milder architecture. The banquet is rich. It is not a chilli-eating contest.
White dishes use the same winter pair. Yakhni and Goshtab lean on fennel. Aab Gosh is milk and cardamom, with that same refusal to shout. Kashmiri Harisa is the breakfast pot: meat, fat, a spice box that warms, not a red gravy at all.
What this means on a Delhi table
When you order from the Wazaroo online menu, you are not buying a masala kit. The sonth and saunf already went into the deg in Kashmir. Reheat gently, and the warmth comes back as it left the valley.
If a restaurant's “Kashmiri” gravy makes your eyes water, they added a different chilli and called it authentic. The valley recipe was never trying to win that fight.
Curious where to start? Rogan Josh shows you the red that isn't heat. A white gravy shows you fennel without the colour. Eat both in one winter week and the spice box makes sense.
Warm, not hot
| Spice | What it is | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Sonth | Dried ginger powder | Deep, dry warmth in the chest |
| Saunf | Crushed fennel | Sweet green lift in red and white gravies |
| Kashmiri mirch | Mild red chilli | Colour and aroma, not a burn |
| Green chilli (Delhi habit) | Fresh heat | A different cuisine wearing a valley name |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is wazwan meant to be spicy-hot?
No. The red is colour. The warmth is mostly sonth and saunf. If a bowl burns, the kitchen left the valley recipe.
Can I add extra ginger while reheating?
You can. You don't need to. The dishes are seasoned in Kashmir. Extra powder on a Delhi flame is how you lose the balance.
Are sonth and saunf only for winter?
They run through wazwan year-round. Winter is when you notice them — when the house is cold and the gravy feels like central heating.
Does Wazaroo sell sonth or saunf as a spice box?
No. The spices are cooked into the food. Order the dishes, not a jar of the pantry.
Related Reads
- Kashmiri Spices Explained: From Pampore Saffron to Pran & Maval
- What is Wazwan? The 36-Course Feast Explained
- Harisa: Kashmir's Winter Breakfast, Delivered in Delhi
About the Author: Written by the Wazaroo Team, sharing authentic Kashmiri food traditions, waza techniques, and artisan heat-and-eat dishes cooked in Kashmir for Delhi tables.