Srinagar, Aug. 11 -- Last year, I was home in Kashmir after months away. My younger son had been asking for goshtabas since the day we booked our tickets. We went to a restaurant with a reputation so solid, I didn't even think twice.

The copper bowl of yakhni arrived, steaming and fragrant. We ate like people who had been counting down the days for that moment.

By nightfall, my little one was doubled over in pain. For a week, he battled severe food poisoning. I told myself it couldn't be the restaurant. I blamed weather, airport sandwiches, and anything but Kashmiri food.

The idea that our own could harm us felt too unthinkable.

Now, after hearing the rotten meat scandal unfold in full detail, I find myself connecting the dots.

Perha...