Mother’s Day: Ginger Chicken in the Pakistani Manner

Friday, May 7, 2010 By 47 Comments

mothersday

The silver filigree antique jhumkas you see in Ami’s earlobes- she gave them to me when I was 18- and the irresponsible teenager that I was, I lent them to a dorm mate who lost them. It didn’t even occur to me that they were missing till I saw this photo recently.

Andaaza

I watched Ami, as she stirred the pot in a circular motion. Round and round her arm circled, the gold bangles glistening on her wrist. Clink, clink, they went as she stirred and stirred. The same gold bangles given to her by her Ami, when she married my father in her China-red and gold brocade gharara.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: mains, Pakistani, spicy

Spiced Glazed Carrots in the Pakistani Manner

Sunday, April 25, 2010 By 24 Comments

Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great was a mere thirteen years of age when he ascended the throne. While still a relatively young Emperor, he commissioned the construction of a new capital, known as Fatehpur Sikri. The buildings, a fusion of Islamic, Hindu and Jain architecture, reflect the Great Emperor’s beliefs of universal religious tolerance. It was under his rule that the Islamic jizya tax was revoked for non-Muslims and a new faith called the Din-i-Ilahi (Faith of the Divine) was created by him in an attempt to bring the diverse religions of the Mughal Empire together. To this day, only 18 people are said to have belonged to this faith, but one cannot help but admire Emperor Akbar for trying to unify his peoples. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pakistani, spicy, vegetables/vegetarian

Spicy Baked Eggs

Sunday, April 18, 2010 By 54 Comments

Breakfast in a Pakistani Home

“Halwa puri, anyone?,” Baba and Kaka (father’s elder brother in Dari) would holler from the bottom of the stairwell in our family home in Lahore. [Read more...]

Filed Under: breakfast, brunch, eggs, Pakistani

Dal- Lentils in the Pakistani / Afghan Manner

Sunday, March 21, 2010 By 48 Comments

La vita è bella

“It’s your last night here, what would you like to eat, Baba?,” I ask my father.
I know he likes the straccetti alla rughetta at Da Francesco in Piazza del Fico.
“A home-cooked meal. Dal and chawal,” he answers. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Afghan, Lentils, mains, Pakistani, soup, vegetables/vegetarian

Chicken Curry in the Pakistani Manner (Murghi ka Saalan)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 By 56 Comments

Currying Favour with the Portuguese

The great Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, King of the World (1592-1666), died in confinement, in Agra Fort, imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb. As he lay dying, he looked down from the balcony of the Musamman Burj tower at the pearlescent dome of the Taj Mahal he created for his beloved wife. [Read more...]

Filed Under: mains, Pakistani, spicy

Aloo ki Bhujia, Cumin-Spiced Potatoes, in the Pakistani Manner

Monday, February 15, 2010 By 55 Comments

Comfort(ed) Food

It’s a grey evening in Washington, DC. The rain, falling heavily, creates a pewter gloss on the road as I am driving home from work. It makes me want to be back in Lahore, during the unexpected Spring showers, when we sit on the veranda in my ancestral home with my paternal grandmother, known affectionately by everyone as Mader; mother in Dari. [Read more...]

Filed Under: mains, Pakistani, spicy, vegetables/vegetarian

Aromatic Rice Pilaf: Yakhni Pulao in the Pakistani / Afghan Manner

Sunday, January 31, 2010 By 50 Comments

Memories of Childhood Summers in Lahore

It was a hot day in Lahore. The kind of day when the Loo wind blows in from the Cholistan Desert, as the sun casts its tungsten-white glow on the people of the city. The canal’s water a dirty brown, small children leaping in one by one, to cool themselves off in the 40C heat. The willow trees lining the bank, drooped and in prostration, praying for the monsoons to come. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Afghan, mains, Pakistani, rice

Sawayan / Shir Khurma: Vermicelli Pudding in the Pakistani / Afghan Manner

Sunday, December 6, 2009 By 28 Comments

sawayyan

This is the recipe for the vermicelli pudding my mother, Ami, prepares every Eid, which I wrote about in my post about her on Motherhood: The Final Frontier. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Afghan, dessert/pudding, Pakistani

My Guest Post on Motherhood: The Final Frontier (Plus Preview of My Mum’s Vermicelli Pudding)

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 By 19 Comments

ami and me MTFFIt’s been an absolute honour for me to have had the opportunity to write a guest post on Motherhood: The Final Frontier, for one of my favourite bloggers / friends, a British girl (former pop-star) who blogs anonymously from California about her life as a mum. She inspired me to write a short piece about my mother. In Missing Person’s Report , I write about the difficulty in coming to terms with the fact that one’s mum has aged; I still see her through the optic of a young child. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Afghan, dessert/pudding, guest posts, Pakistani

Chicken Karahi in the Pakistani Manner- Lahore’s Star Culinary Attraction?

Monday, October 19, 2009 By 52 Comments

karhai

Lahore, my birthplace, is a city of ornate derelict Mughal buildings and the place where Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh lays at rest; a true cultural crossroads. It is also the setting for Kipling’s stories, where you will find Kim’s Gun on the Mall; the main artery where the rickshaws, cars and motorbikes weave in and out of the lanes like tiny insects. [Read more...]

Filed Under: mains, Pakistani, spicy Tagged With: , , ,
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