Archives for February 2014

Maygu Sabzi – Herbed Shrimp with Saffron Butter in the Persian Manner

Shrimps (1 of 1)-2

My father loves inviting people over for dinner. Throughout my childhood, I remember he would often call my mother in the morning from his office desk, telling her that his friend from work will join us for dinner that night. That was easy enough for my Ami to accommodate, because we always had a Pakistani spread on our dining table at home – meat, vegetables or lentils and rice or bread – which made for fun, communal eating. A few hours later, Baba would call again at noon and tell Ami that we need to add place settings for two additional guests.Read More

Dark Chocolate Almost-Flourless Cake in the Pakistani Manner

Dark Chocolate Cardamom Cake

*There are no spoilers for the novel, Goldfinch, here, i.e., nothing beyond what one would come to know about it from the Amazon précis or by reading the book jacket. But if you are like me, and do not want to know anything about the book at all (I don’t read the book jacket or the Amazon descriptor, I ask my literary touchstones – thanks Mars, Aleea and Ozzie, for names of novels), then look away.*

My paternal grandmother, Mader, died when I was only 16 years old. She had hazel-almost-green eyes and could quote Shakespeare’s Richard II, As You Like It and The Tempest, the way I was expected to quote The Mill on the Floss for my IGCSEs. She used to adore a dry sherry, but with age, she gave that up. She came to live with us for a bit in Nairobi, Kenya, from her home in Lahore.Read More

Spiced Tomato Sauce Omelette in the Pakistani Manner

Tomato Sauce Omelette (1 of 1)-2

Hello, lovely readers. Apologies for the silence…as many of you know, I have been bedridden for the past two weeks; first with the full-blown influenza and then with pneumonia. I am on the mend now and elated to be back in the kitchen.Read More