Yak Harissa

This recipe has been excerpted from ‘Stories from a Kargili Kitchen’ (2026) written by Yash Saxena, in collaboration with Sneha Nair and Muzammil Hussain. Blending memoir, travelogue, and cultural history, the book is part love letter and part act of remembrance—a tender, sensory journey through Kargili kitchens, whose flames fight to keep centuries of wisdom alive against the winds of change.

Tucked between some of the most forbidding folds of the Himalayas, Kargil is a land too often seen only through the lens of war—yet its valleys hold a tenderness, resilience, and faith that endure through food.

Born from years of travel, cooking, and friendships, foodways researcher Yash Saxena gathers voices from mountain kitchens and firesides—of shepherds, monks, farmers, and mothers who feed a world shaped by both faith and frost. From slow-simmering broths to shifting borderlines, from ancient Bon rituals to the echoes of Bofor gunfire, each story reveals how a community sustains itself through ritual, memory, and the quiet grace of everyday cooking.

This recipe is a cross between traditional harissa-making methods and high-altitude Himalayan knowledge of cooking yak meat. 

Kashmiri harissa likely traces its origins to Persian and Central Asian influences. The term ‘harissa’ itself comes from the Arabic verb ‘harasa’, meaning ‘to mash’ or ‘to squash’, since grains are broken and pounded before being cooked to create a porridge-like consistency. 

Harissa and its variants are found throughout the Levant and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf region. With many recipes and names such as ‘keşkek’ in Turkey, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan, ‘harees’ in Arabic Gulf countries, ‘haleem’ and ‘khichra’ in India, and ‘boko boko’ in Zanzibar, this dish has permeated almost all Islamic Asian and African cultures. It even has the honour of being Armenia’s national dish. 

Harissa is regarded as both a delicacy and a calorie-dense food, traditionally prepared on special occasions. In Lebanon, it is cooked communally during religious observances like Ashura. Across the Arab world and South Asia, it is often served during Ramadan, festivals such as Eid ul-Fitr, and at weddings. In Armenia, it is a ceremonial Easter dish. In Kashmir, it is an important part of Ramadan as well as cold winter mornings as a savoury breakfast delicacy. 

Yaks, the woolly mammoth-like cousins of cows, have adapted to life in high altitudes, low temperatures, and strong winds. These adaptations also provide special characteristics to the products derived from the animal. Compared to beef, yak meat contains less than half the calories, nearly three times less fat, and significantly more protein. It is also packed with more minerals and vitamins than other red meat. While fat usually contributes to the juiciness of red meat, yak meat, being up to 95 percent lean, draws its succulence from a high concentration of  omega-3 fatty acids, making it both healthy and flavourful.