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...]

Ami’s Palao – Caramelised / Spiced Pilaf in the Pakistani Manner

I don’t have friendships which have lasted thirty-some odd years.

I don’t have friends from kindergarten that I grew up and stayed up late at night with around the bonfire during summer camp, singeing marshmallows till they were gooey enough to be sandwiched between graham crackers with some chocolate tucked in. I don’t have a collection of yearbooks on my bookshelf which I can share with friends and laugh over that nerdy Grade Two portrait, the one in which my hair is parted in the middle and swept up on both sides with a candy-pink barrette, (thanks, Ami). [Read more...]

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

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...]

Fresh Dill-Spiced Rice in the Afghan Manner: Chelo Shibit

This is a recipe, as promised, from the menu at the Nairobi Reunion dinner I hosted.  (My recipe was awarded an Editor’s Pick on Amanda Hesser -the ex- New York Times Food Editor- and Merrill Stubbs’ Food 52 project). [Read more...]

Dolmeh Felfel, Stuffed Bell Pepper in the Persian Manner

Dolmeh Felfel

The Sultan Missed a Delight

The Nimat-Namah, known as The Sultan’s Book of Delights, is a late 15th Century book inscribed in Persian, for the Delhi Sultanate represented by Sultan of Mandu, Ghias ud-din Shah and completed under the reign of his son, Sultan Nasir ud-din Shah. Bearing the son’s seal, this gem is housed at the Oriental and India Office Collections of the British Library, containing page after page of fifty intricate miniatures, painted in the distinctive Shirazi school style in jewel-like tones. [Read more...]

Saffron Rice-Pudding in the Persian Manner, Sholeh Zard

sholeh zard

A Mellow Yellow Fever

In his memoirs; the Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, Mughal Emperor Jahangir expresses his desire to visit Pampore, Kashmir, to see the land where the fields turn amethyst in the Autumn, when the saffron crocus sativus is ready for harvesting. It is from this flower that delicate hands nimbly extract three crimson-hued stigmas, also known as “Red Gold”; the most dear spice in the world. A spice which was once known to be worth its weight in gold. [Read more...]

Basmati: The Jewel in the Crown

Each grain of rice should be elongated, separated, curved and slender like a girl’s eyelashes,” say the women in my family. [Read more...]