- 1. Destination Pakistan for foodies -Page 1 of 9 Pakistan
Matters By Jyothi Raghuram/India Syndicate, 20/07/2011 Destination
Pakistan for foodies Pakistani food, with its emphasis on meat, is
aromatic and spicy. And it is in the back lanes of cities that one
can relish it best. 2 Recommend40 Afghani, Peshwari, and Hyderbadi
cuisines dished out as exotic fare in Indian restaurants , are
remarkable for their richness and aroma. They certainly are food
for royalty. While the culinary art of Sindh, Punjab and Pakistan
Occupied Kashmir (POK) are similar to North Indian and Kashmiri
cuisine, it is the regions of Baluchistan, tribal areas and the
food of the Pakthuns , influenced by the cuisines of Afghanistan
and Iran, that have a distinctly different taste and appeal to the
palate. The cooking traditions of a country are culture-specific,
and the antiquity of food traditions in the Indian subcontinent
goes back to the Vedic period of over 5000 years. Centuries of
interactions with alien cultures and invasions introduced a
mind-boggling variety into the cuisine, unparalleled in any other
region, culture or history. South Asian cuisine is an amalgamation
of Persian, Turkish and West Asian cooking traditions. Invasions
from Persia, Central Asia, Arabia and the Mughal empire itself
deeply influenced eating patterns and Indian cooking methods. It is
this Indo-Aryan and Muslim culinary traditions that Pakistan has
inherited. Like vegetarianism in India, Islam has determined the
eating habits of Pakistanis too. The religion prohibits consumption
of pork and alcohol. What is known as Mughlai food has its origins
in Mughal rule. The tandoori or grilled food, particularly of meat,
is one such popular version. Pulaos and rich gravies are part of
the lavish Mughal legacy, while biryani was a patent of the Nizams
of Hyderabad. The cooking traditions of tandoor, handi, tava and
karahi are derived from this past. The best of Pakistani food,
however, can be tasted in the back streets of cities, especially
during Ramzan. Gawalmandi in Lahore is the famous food street which
literally offers the tastes of Pakistan on a platter. It is a
gourmets delight. Against the backdrop of a Kashmiri-Persian
architecture, you can savour the tantalizing tastes of Pakistani
food in a warm and literally delicious ambience. A food lovers
paradise, it offers the best of traditional Pakistani food. Wheat,
rice, lentils, beef, mutton, fish and chicken with generously used
strong spices in an oil base, is the staple of Pakistani food. The
Muhajirs -- migrants from India -- brought with them a medley of
Indian cuisines such as Hyderabadi, Bengali, Rajasthani, Gujarati,
Bihari, and Maharashtrian, adding to the diversity of food in
Pakistan. The four provinces have their distinct regional cuisines
too. While the food of the Pashtuns is akin to Afghani and Persian
cuisine, Baluchi food is synonymous with the dampukht way of
cooking meat in its own fat. Meat cooked on skewers, called sajji,
is so popular that it has found local adaptations. The tandoori way
cooking is particular to Punjab. Next: Taste the top 10 dishes of
Pakistanhttp://news.in.msn.com/pakistanmatters/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5254420&page=08/14/2011
2. Destination Pakistan for foodies -Page 2 of 9 Mughali Meat
Darbari is a rich Central Asian dish adapted to regional tastes.
The spices do not overpower. The aromas just waft across. Mughlai
Meat Darbari 1 big onion 1 " ginger 2 tbs chopped coriander leaves
2 green chillies slit 3 tbs clarified butter 3 - 4 cloves garlic
peeled and coarsely chopped 3 tbs wine vinegar 175 ml warm water 1
tbs tomato puree For paste 1 tbs sesame seeds 1 kg leg of lamb 1
tbs mustard seeds 1 bay leaf 2 tbs poppy seeds 2 " piece cinnamon 2
- 4 dried red chillies 4 cloves 10 black pepper 2 brown cardamom
Preparation Trim off excess fat from the meat and cut into 2 "
cubes. Rub the spice paste into the meat and marinate for 4 -6
hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Add salt to garlic and
crush to a smooth pulp. Melt the ghee over a low flame. Add onions
and ginger and fry on medium flame till onions are soft. Add the
garlic paste and fry for a further 2 -3 minutes stirring
frequently. Add the meat and cook in the onion mixture until all
sides of the meat are brown. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover
and simmer until meat is tender. Add the puree, green chillies and
coriander leaves. Adjust the flame to medium and cook for 3 - 4
minutes stirring
continuouslyhttp://news.in.msn.com/pakistanmatters/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5254420&page=0
8/14/2011 3. Destination Pakistan for foodies -Page 3 of 9 Kabab
generally refers to meat dishes that originated in Persia. The meat
is cooked on a skewer and served with salad and bread. The meat is
either cut into small pieces or ground. Kababs are usually made
from mutton. Vegetarian variants have also surfaced now. Tikka Boti
Ingredients kg beef cubed 2 tbs raw papaya (ground) tsp ginger
paste tsp garlic paste tsp salt 2 tbs yoghurt 1 tsp chili powder or
1 tbs chopped green chilies Mix together all the spices, yoghurt
and papaya and coat the beef cubes with it. Leave to marinate for
5-6 hours preferably overnight. Grill/barbeque over charcoal. Serve
with Mint chutney, yoghurt and onion rings. Keema refers to minced
meat, usually beef at that. It can be stewed or fried. It can be
moulded into kababs or even used as a filling for nan and samosa.
Keema is a way of preparing meat in India and Pakistan. Keemay ke
Pakoray Ingredients 250 gm finely minced mutton or beef salt
according to taste tsp crushed whole dried red chilies 4-5 black
pepper 1-2 green chilies chopped 1 tsp crushed coriander tsp cumin
seedshttp://news.in.msn.com/pakistanmatters/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5254420&page=08/14/2011
4. Destination Pakistan for foodies -Page 4 of 9 1 small onion
finely chopped 1 bread slice or 1 egg Oil for deep-frying
Preparation Add all the spices to the minced meat and mix well. Add
the bread slice/ egg. Mix well. Heat oil for deep-frying. Make
small balls of this mincemeat mixture and deep fry till golden
brown. Serve with ketchup or mint chutney Fish and other seafood is
more popular in coastal Sind. The fish is usually marinated and a
variety of spices are added to the preparation. Fish in Masala
Ingredients kg fish (washed with salt, vinegar or lemon) 3-4 green
chilies 1 cup fresh coriander 1 tsp garlic paste salt tsp turmeric
powder 2 tbs tamarind water 2 tbs yoghurt 1 large tomato 1 medium
size onion 1 tsp fenugreek leaves Preparation Grind all the spices
except onion and fenugreek leaves . Fry the onion in oil. Add the
ground spices and fenugreek leaves. Add the pieces of fish. Cover
and cook on low heat till soft. Add a little water if necessary. Do
not cook the fish for long as it will become
hard.http://news.in.msn.com/pakistanmatters/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5254420&page=0
8/14/2011 5. Destination Pakistan for foodies - Page 5 of 9 Seekh
Kabab can be made from any kind of meat. Flat-cut pieces of
vegetables such as tomatoes, capsicum, onion, and eggplant are used
for the vegetable kababs. Beef Seekh Kabab Ingredients 1 kg minced
beef 1 medium onion 1 more medium onion (chopped) 4 green chillies
1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp green ppaya crushed to a paste with
the skin 1 bunch fresh coriander leaves (chopped) 8 cardamom pods 1
tsp black pepper 1 tsp g garam masala 4 tbsp chick pea flour 1 egg
2 tbsp milk powder 8 all spices (Kabab Cheeni) (ground) salt to
taste 2 tbsp cooking Oil Preparation Combine minced meat with all
ingredients except the oil and mix well. Knead for about 5 to 10
minutes. (It is very important to knead it because the papaya must
be mixed well in order to make the kebabs soft.) Set aside for 2
hours. Knead once again. Take a small portion of the mixture on
palms and put on a barbecue skewer. These kababs can also be
roasted directly on flame for a minute and later fried with a
little oil in a frying pan. Chicken Tikka Masala is a curry of
roast chicken, where chunks of chicken are served in a creamy sauce
with tomatoes, with its own dose of spices Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients 400 g canned chopped tomatoes 1 1/4 cups low fat
yoghurt 8 pieces cooked tandoori chicken fresh cilantro sprigs For
tikka masala 2 tbs ghee or oil 1 large garlic clove finely chopped
1 fresh red chili seeded and chopped 2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp
ground paprika 1/2 tsp salt Pepper to taste Preparation To make the
tikka masala: Heat oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid
over medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for one
minute. Stir in the cumin, paprika, salt. Add pepper and fry for
about 30
seconds.http://news.in.msn.com/pakistanmatters/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5254420&page=0
8/14/2011 6. Destination Pakistan for foodies - Page 6 of 9 Stir
the tomatoes with the juice and the yoghurt into the pan. Reduce
heat to low and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring
frequently until it thickens. Remove bones and skin from the
chicken and cut into bite-size pieces. Adjust the seasoning of the
sauce, if necessary. Add the chicken to the sauce, cover and simmer
for 3-5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro sprigs. Sindhi Biryani is a
rice-based dish having meat, vegetables and spices in it. It is a
hugely popular dish in the subcontinent with many variations.
Sindhi Biryani Ingredients 1 kg mutton 1 kg rice 1 cup plain
yoghurt 1 tbs red chilli powder 2 tbs coriander powder tbs garlic
paste tbs ginger paste 1 tbs mixed spices Salt kg dried apricots
soaked in hot water A bunch of fresh mint leaves chopped 6 green
chillies Juice of 4 lemons 1 bay leaf 4 medium onions chopped kg
potatoes 4 tomatoes tsp yellow food colour soaked in cup milk 1 cup
cooking oil Preparation Heat oil in a pan, fry onions until golden
brown. Remove half of the onions and place on absorbent paper. Add
meat, yoghurt and all the spices to the rest of the onion. Cook
until water evaporates and meat is tender. Add potatoes, tomatoes,
pulp of dried apricots, and green chillies. Cook on high heat for 5
minutes, stirring continuously. When done, set aside. In a large
pot, pour 12 cups water . Add salt, 3 green chillies, whole spices,
and mint leaves. When water boils, add rice, parboil and strain.
Put layers of rice and meat one by one with a last layer of rice on
top. Add food color. Place pot on a griddle or tava and cook on
high heat. When steam appears, lower heat for 10 to 15
minutes.http://news.in.msn.com/pakistanmatters/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5254420&page=0
8/14/2011 7. Destination Pakistan for foodies - Page 7 of 9
Balushahi is a rich dessert in North Indian and Nepali cuisine too.
Its South Indian version is Badushah. Balushahi Ingredients 750 gm
Sugar 1 cup water to make syrup 500 gm flour (if self -raising
flour is used soda is not required) tsp soda 200 gm ghee for frying
1 tbs yoghurt 1 tsp baking powder Orange food color Preparation Mix
sugar and water and cook to make syrup. Mix other ingredients
(except ghee) and water to make a dough to roll. Make small patties
and fry on low heat. Soak in syrup briefly and let the syrup
covering on the balushahi dry. Karahi refers to a cooking pot which
is thick and circular, and especially meant for deep cooking. It is
usually made of cast iron, and a dish made in a karahi allows the
spices to uniformly get absorbed into the meat. Beef Karahi
Ingredients 1 kg mutton 5-6 medium size tomatoes 3-4 whole green
chillies 2 tsp ginger paste 2 tsp garlic paste 1/2 tsp red chilli
powder Salt 1 tsp black pepper
(crushed)http://news.in.msn.com/pakistanmatters/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5254420&page=0
8/14/2011 8. Destination Pakistan for foodies -Page 8 of 9 2 tbs
oil Preparation Put the meat in a pot or karahi (preferrably a
karahi). Add garlic and ginger paste. Fry on medium heat till the
water evaporates. Add 3 glasses of water to the meat. Cover and
cook on medium heat till meat becomes tender. Add oil, salt, black
pepper, and chilli powder. Allow the mix to thicken if there is any
water. Add green chillies and tomato. Cook on low heat for 5-10
minutes. Keema Nan is made of leavened bread and is baked in an
oven. Nan is a flat bread, and Keema Nan with its minced meat is
considered a delicacy. Keema Nan Ingredients 4 tsp dried yeast 4
tsp sugar pinch of salt 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup milk 1 lb plain
flour 1 egg (beaten) 8 tbs plain yoghurt 2 tbs vegetable oil 250 gm
minced beef or minced lamb 3 cloves garlic 2 tbs tandoori marinade
Preparation Fry the mince and garlic with the tandoori marinade in
a little vegetable oil until cooked. Allow it to cool. Warm the
milk. Stir in the sugar and yeast and leave for about 20 minutes.
Sift the flour. Add add salt and baking powder to it. Slowly stir
in the yeast mixture and the rest of the ingredients and make a
dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes and place it in a
covered bowl for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place. (Dough should double
in size.) Pre-heat the oven to the highest heat with a heavy baking
tray. Knead the dough gently and divide into four portions and roll
it into a tear shape. Grease the baking tray, lay out the bread and
with the cooked mince leaving about 1 inch of the nan uncovered all
around. Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes and then place
the nans under a hot grill for another minute or so until brown.
Lightly dust the breads with extra vegetable oil before serving. 2
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