Guest Post by Kulsum of Journey Kitchen- Mom’s Zarda, Sweetened Saffron Rice in the Indian Manner

zarda4

Kulsum of Journey Kitchen takes poetic, dreamy photographs of Indian-food-with-a-modern-twist, reminding you of that picnic you plan to have with your friends nestled under a 700-year-old olive tree, when the weather warms up and everyone starts wearing linen and flowing dresses. Your plaid blanket is laid out on the grass, and as everyone chatters, from the wicker basket emerge Kulsum’s home-cooked snackettes- slices of wobbly saffron and almond custard, savoury bites of bruschetta with her homemade paneer, crowned with sweet cherry tomatoes; and small tins of her chocolate cinnamon date truffles, which she made for her family on Eid.

These are the scrumptious treats Kulsum prepares from her kitchen in Kuwait- inspired by her Mom’s cookery style- where she lives with her husband, affectionately referred to as ‘M’ on her blog. I am always in awe of the innovative recipes she creates on her blog week after week. Over time, Kulsum and I have become close friends through Twitter – that may sound odd to many of you- but these days so many of us connect with each other through social media channels.

Kulsoom- which dish or food item reminds you of one of the women in your family; someone you love? My Mom’s Zarda, she said. [Read more...]

Double-Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Double-Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I can’t understand why I never tried a Reese’s Pieces when I was a child, maybe because the epic joy of having a jolly rancher with its neon watermelon and green apple flavours seemed more interesting than a boring, drab and round chocolate cup. On Halloween there were Nerds to be had, those tiny, hot pink sweet and sour candies you poured into your hand out of a pocket-size box and ate till your tongue turned a scary purple and pink. Then there were American Smarties- small pastel coloured discs which made your mouth pucker up from their tartness. I never touched any of the chocolate in my Halloween basket, maybe because I was also a snob, used to eating chocolate my Baba brought back for us from the UK and France. [Read more...]

Nani Ami’s Sawayyan- Vermicelli Pudding in the Punjabi Manner

sawayyan

It looked like a tangled mess, those sawayyan; vermicelli, lying in a mound in the silver-gilt rim white porcelain dish on Eid morning in Nani Ami’s home. Next to it lay dainty matching bowls with silver spoons, a large carafe of fresh, raw milk, a sugar bowl and several bowls of dried nuts, slivered, whole and crushed to a dust-something for everyone’s preferences in the family. [Read more...]

Happy Summer Hols to everyone- The Spice Spoon will be back in August…

Ciragan Palace, Istanbul

At the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul last summer, having lots of scrumptious little bites and long, cool drinks.

Shayma Saadat,  Çırağan Palace, Istanbul

Ciragan Palace, Istanbul

Ciragan Palace, Istanbul

Ciragan Palace, Istanbul

Ciragan Palace, Istanbul

Ciragan Palace, Istanbul

Strawberry Yoghurt Parfait in the Persian Manner

Yoghurt Strawberry Parfait

It was the sort of evening where dessert had to be eaten first. It was the end of June and the tiny, scarlet, sweet-as-jam wild strawberries, le fragoline di Nemi were in season. Baba was visiting me in Rome from Bucharest and on the weekend our dear friends, Uncle Iqi and Aunty Neeman graciously drove us up into the Castelli Romani to the small town of Nemi. They always knew where to take us for the best medium-rare steak or the crispiest-thinnest pizza in Rome. And this time, they invited us for early season porcini mushrooms and le fragoline in Nemi. [Read more...]

Gosh-e-Feel: Baby Elephant Ears- Fried Pastry in the Afghan Manner

gosh-e-feel elephant ear cookies

I first tried “gossip” when I lived in Rome. No, not that kind. I learned what gossip was in the kindergarten when my ‘husband’, Jamie and I paid Gina for a pound of tomatoes and instead of putting the two plastic yellow coins in the till, she put them in her pocket. And instead of tommies, she handed us bananas. By recess time, everyone knew about the dreadful thing Gina had done to us. [Read more...]

Aunty Sabiha’s Shahi Tukray- Saffron Bread Pudding in the Pakistani Manner

shahi tukray

Salted caramels from Trader Joe’s and saffron strands from Yekta were always packed into my suitcase for my trip back home to Rome. And when I was really lucky, I’d get to take back a blueberry-banana bread loaf made by Aunty Shelly and a cranberry walnut loaf by Aunty Sabiha, my Ami’s dearest friends. [Read more...]

Rome, Pasta, Truffles and a Lie

I remember when I first moved to Rome, I used to lie on a weekly basis. At least for the first two months. [Read more...]

Eid Mubarak – 2010

Wishing everyone Eid Mubarak. [Read more...]

Sabu Dana Kheer- Tapioca Pudding with Roasted Apricot in the Pakistani Manner

‘On Exile’ (to borrow Edward Said’s phrase)

My post is inspired by ‘York’, by Belgian Waffle, a fascinating blogger, who has written a nostalgic piece about her city of birth.

I was born in Lahore, Pakistan and left my homeland when I was two years old. My life, if sketched as a path on a map, would be a series of zig zags, going from Pakistan to America, to Nigeria, to America, back to Pakistan, then to Kenya, to Bangladesh, to the UK, back to America again, to Italy and  finally, Canada. At the age of 13, when we were living in Washington DC, Baba, my father, decided to send me to live in Pakistan with Mader, my paternal grandmother,  because he didn’t want me to become “Americanised”. I didn’t want to leave my parents, my sisters, and I especially didn’t want to leave my Ami; my mother, my best friend. But I didn’t resist or fight back; racist children in school had made my life miserable beyond comprehension, and all I wanted to do was to run away from them.  [Read more...]