Wedding feast
The large celebratory meal, where costly spices such as saffron, cardamom and mace mark generosity.
Also: shaadi food, banquet spices, wazwan, biryani at weddings
At weddings, hosts show generosity with rich food, and spice is often the sign. Kashmiri wazwan, a multi-course banquet of up to thirty-six dishes, uses saffron, cardamom, fennel, dried ginger and Kashmiri chilli. A Hyderabadi wedding means dum biryani scented with saffron and mace. Persian weddings serve rice with saffron and barberries, Moroccan weddings spiced lamb tagine with ras el hanout, and Ethiopian feasts need berbere. Spices also feature in rituals: turmeric paste for the bride and groom, cardamom and cloves in the betel packet. Costly ingredients are chosen and prepared in the host's presence to demonstrate quality and care.