Anantnag: Walnuts form an important part of people’s lives in this part of Kashmir. Locally called Dooyn, or Doyn in the more authentic way, the trade of walnuts makes a sizable portion of the local economy.
During the harvest season, the owners and workers of these walnut farms can be seen ritualistically climbing trees, and processing the produce.
Freshly-picked walnuts must be dried at two stages. The first is after you remove the green hulls, when the walnuts are still in their shells.
Then, once you shell the nuts, the meat inside should be dried for a few more days before you process or store it. Taking care to dry walnuts the right way will make the shells easier to crack and help prevent the meat from spoiling.
Here are some pictures of the process of de-hulling, cleaning, and drying of the walnuts in the Anantnag area of Kashmir:
1.
Kashmiri women de-hulling the walnuts in the Anantnag area of Kashmir. De-hulling can be done with a knife or a chisel as well. FPK Photo/ Hilal Shah
2.
FPK Photo/ Hilal Shah
3.
Ater the de-hulling process is done, the walnuts are dried in the sun to make the shell brittle. FPK Photo/ Hilal Shah
4.
FPK Photo/ Hilal Shah
5.
The walnuts are left to dry in the sun so that the shells turn brittle and lose any excess moisture. FPK Photo/ Hilal Shah
(All Photos by Hilal Shah)
