Curry & Wine: Tabaak Maaz Meets Marlborough’s Finest

Finding the perfect wines to pair with India’s rich and varied cuisines with Indian Weekender. Chef Sid Chopra, owner of GOAT Restaurant in Auckland and Wine Enthusiast Timothy Giles are pairing wines with one of Sid’s succulent and contemporary Indian dishes.

The Dish: Tabaak Maaz 
Milk braised NZ lamb ribs, yoghurt, kashmiri spices, pickled onion, lemon.

The Wines

1. Westbrook Single Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Gris 2019 rrp $28
2. Dog Point Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022 rrp $ 60

Sid Says: Kashmiri cuisine is one of the most unique and refined in India, and what fascinates me is how it approaches meat. There’s an art to it—slow-braising, steaming, frying, grilling—each method creating layers of flavour and texture. Dishes like Rogan Josh, Yakhni, and Rista show just how much depth Kashmiri cooks pull from their ingredients.

I first came across Tabak Maaz while watching a documentary on Kashmiri food. It was part of Wazwan, the legendary multi-course feast of Kashmir, where every dish is prepared with incredible precision. What caught my attention was how the lamb ribs were simmered in an aromatic milk stock, infused with saffron, cardamom, and fennel, before being crisped up in ghee until golden and crunchy. The contrast—fall-apart meat with a crisp, caramelized crust—was something I knew I had to cook.

I’ve worked with lamb ribs many times before, but this technique was next level. The richness of the fat, the delicate spice, the way it just melts in your mouth—it’s indulgent yet somehow doesn’t feel heavy. 

We serve our Tabak Maaz with Smoked Cashew Yogurt, Kashmiri Chili and Capsicum Coulis, and a touch of sweet pickled onion to balance it all out and make Giles’ wine matching a bit harder!

This dish has earned its place on our menu, and it’s staying. But Kashmiri cuisine has so much more to offer, and I can’t wait to share more of it. 

Timothy says: From the valleys of Kashmir, we go for two wines from the valleys of Marlborough and vineyards of Waimauku. Dog Point is a famous, family-owned winery that has embodied Marlborough's potential for thirty years.  Lamb and Pinot Noir are a celebrated match, and the days of effort and different techniques that give this dish, delicacy and power match perfectly the Dog Point Pinot. An assured and elegant red with a savoury core and strength that only show up when placed alongside food that asks the wine to reveal its depth of character. Treat yourself to this.

For the white option, Pinot Gris may seem a surprising selection, but there are a couple of clues as to why Westbrook Single Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Gris 2019 works. It's now been in the bottle for almost five years and developed more mouth-filling depth and length of fruit flavours. Winemaker James Rowan is always excited by the fruit from this vineyard, and keeping it separate for one special wine reflects his enthusiasm for its complexity and, especially now that it's aged for me, its drinkability. It is not bone dry, but it's made for food, and rather than matching the character of the dish, I think it's a palate rest and reset. Accompaniment to the Tabak Maaz, much like the side dishes Sid serves this with.