Archives for January 2011

posted on January 30, 2011 by

Sohan-e-Asali: Almond Saffron Brittle in the Persian Manner

Sohan-e-Asali

Bon Bons in Lahore

Mini Market in Gulberg was less than a kilometre away from our family home. On hot summer nights, after dinner, we would walk to the market with my parents, cousins- Saadiya & Ashi, my uncle- Kaka Tarik and my aunt- Aunty Shahla. With 10 rupees to call our own, Saadiya, Ashi and I  would buy a Polka mango flavour ice cream, the kind you eat out of the cup with the tiny wooden spatula. Then we’d move on to buy Mitchell’s bon bon sweeties from the nearby kiosk to add more sugar to the mix.Read More

Filed Under: confection, Irani/Persian, tea time
posted on January 22, 2011 by

Cooking with Aunty Mehrnaz-Cuisine from Gilan: Mirza Ghasemi and Baghala Ghatogh

Mirza Ghasemi

Mirza Ghasemi

We kicked off our snow-covered boots and entered my friend B’s parents’ home through the side entrance. Our feet found their way onto the rose pink carpet from Tabriz, intricately woven, just like the delicately embroidered shawls my Ami wears.Read More

Filed Under: Irani/Persian, mains, vegetarian
posted on January 9, 2011 by

Spelt Flour Buttermilk Pancakes with Caramelised Apples

Recipe created by my dear friend BH and myself. BH adores spelt flour and has shown me how to incorporate it in my repertoire.

I could never understand why we didn’t eat Uncle Ben’s rice at home; the kind that Mrs. Ferris, my friend Sarah’s mum boiled in its own bag and served us alongside roast chicken. Each grain was plum and served slightly watery.

Why did we have to have basmati rice all the time? Sometimes laced with cumin and sometimes cooked in a cinnamon, cloves and cardamom-infused chicken stock. Read More

Filed Under: breakfast, brunch, vegetarian
posted on January 3, 2011 by

Happy 2011

Happy 2011

Washington DC is the city where I arrived as a 2-year old from Lahore with my parents. My Baba tells me that it was raining the day we landed at Dulles Airport. We drove along the Potomac river in a chauffeured car which was sent by the organisation my father was to work for, towards the Dutch Inn, a boutique hotel located in Washington’s famous Georgetown. Baba still remembers those humid evenings in Georgetown as he carried me on his shoulders along cobblestoned paths amidst the students, in a new, foreign country. Read More

Filed Under: Happy New Year, mème