Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Madani mirch or talhi hui mirch, Karachi

Via Flickr:
Green chillies are slit open and then zeera and salt are placed inside each of them. Cooked in oil until fried. But never deep fried and never use red chillies. These are Pakistani chillies.

Cooked by my wife.

Lunch: Masoor ki daal with piyaz and mirch, Karachi

Via Flickr:
Massor ki daal, usually cooked for lunch but may also be eaten as a dinner. Mostly eaten in our house with hari mirch (also called Madani mirch or talhi hui mirch) and piyaz (onions) & tamator (cut tomatoes). Sprinkling of chaat masala completes the taste. Must be eaten with either chawal (cooked rice but not boiled) or tandoor ki roti (unleavened bread cooked by Pathans or Afghans in a huge, underground tandoor).

Cooked by my wife.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Lunch: Chicken shashlek, Karachi

Via Flickr:
Chicken pieces cut by my good mother. Cooked by my wife and sisters. A wonderful dish except that it is traditionally cooked using wooden sticks. Due to lack of time, it was cooked directly on 'tawwa'.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Dinner: Zinger burger with kolslaw, Karachi

Via Flickr:
Zinger chicken cooked by my sister, Rida whereas kolslaw was done by Sana for today's dinner. Chicken is a favourite of our house members and everyone just enjoys chicken dish. French fries were crisp and tasty alongwith Knorr Chilli Sauce. I think this recipe was perfected by my mother.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Dinner: Home made pizza with russian salad

Via Flickr:
Pakistanis have so much altered this Italian dish that Italian national would find it hard to recognize the ingredients except for the erstwhile cheese. Like all great cooks of the world we tend to improvise according to the tastes and sensibilities of our nation. Therefore, unknown to Italians, Pakistani pizzas have such ingredients as chicken tikka or massala tikka - loads of it - daubed with chadder and mozrilla cheese, shimla mirch (green chilli), a wonderful pizza paste and a very thick bread. Cut tomatoes and onions are the staples. My sister also added russian salad for the added taste. No Pepsi, though!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Breakfast: Gur Papri with chai, Karachi

Via Flickr:
Gur Papri is a purely Memon / Gujrati dish cooked during winters by women of these ethnic groups. This dish may be eaten at anytime but is recommended for breakfast and dinner. It consists of gur (jaggery), gondhar cooked with desi ghee and mixed with cut almonds, Chilgoza (pine nuts), akhrot (walnut), pista (pistachios) & kishmesh (raisins). My mother, it must be emphasized, is the best cook of this traditional dish.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Dinner: Hulwa puri & Aloo ka salan

Via Flickr:
Aloo is potato in Urdu. Hulwa is sweet dish eaten on many occasions and even without any special occasion. Puri was really good today.

Lunch: Chicken karahi, Pakistan

Via Flickr:
Cooked by my sister for Sunday lunch. Chicken Karahi is eaten with homemade achar, khopray ki chutney (light green), lemon sprinkled and freshly cut garlic and onions. I also added salsa for the added flavour.

Lunch: Chicken karahi, Pakistan


Saturday, January 7, 2012

Wetlands of Pakistan: Haleji lake, Sindh

Via Flickr:
Haleji Lake (Urdu: ہالیجی جھیل) is located in Thatta District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is the Asia's largest bird sanctuary.

Originally, Haleji Lake was small. During World War II the then-British Government of Sindh decided to increase the capacity of the lake by introducing a feeder canal from the River Sindh. The work was placed on a war footing and was completed within 24 months. During the war, thousands of American and British troops were stationed in Karachi; the water supply was provided by Haleji Lake.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleji_Lake

Gorhi temple and village, Sindh


Tomb of Makhdoom, Hala, Sindh


Lunch: Urach (maach) daal with achar and bajray ki roti, Karachi

Via Flickr:
Urach or maach ki daal is a purely Memoni / Gujrati dish and therefore, alien to a majority of Karachi's population. This dish actually has lot of other ingredients like fried onions, green chillies deep pan fried with slit in the center; fish pieces and some salads, as per requirement. This is a specifically lunch dish and is rarely eaten for dinner.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Dinner: Chicken handi with tandoor

Via Flickr:
This dish is called Chicken handi because its cooked in a 'handi' (pronounced as handee in Urdu). Handi or Handee refers to a backed clay pot and is a common feature across Pakistani kitchens. Even 5-star hotels use them for certain dishes to give an additional, earthly flavour. Tandoori naan or simply tandoor is a bread baked on earthern or metal underground pits designed specifically for this purpose. You will find 'tandoors' across Pakistan and many parts of India and Bangladesh and everywhere where there are Pakistani cooks. Onions, lemon and freshly cut garlic complete the taste and the aroma. My great mother must be given credit for this.

Walnuts with bananas


Walnuts with bananas
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Walnuts with bananas


Walnuts with bananas
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza
Via Flickr:
Today breakfast with walnuts, bananas taken with a cup of chai and cheese sandwich.