Afghans Do It Better

It seems 'Kabuli' is THE place to eat in Islamabad - Afghan being the hot new in cuisine in the capital these days. Also, Habibi - a mix of Afghan, Central Asian and Middle Eastern is worth a try too and the old Karachi classic BBQ Tonight is now in Lahore and Islamabad too. Gone are the days of the Afghan naan wala, we now have a cool, new breed of Afghans showing the capital what food is all about. 

But of course, the best way to experience a cuisine is in people's homes. And hearts. The Afghan embassy in Islamabad was kind enough to host myself and colleagues from the media - from both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Afghan ambassador Mr. Muhammad Umar Daudzai and his staff were gracious hosts. I told him I was doing a story on the growing influence of Afghan culture in Pakistan and he personally took the time to explain each dish on the spread to me. Here goes:

Kabuli pulau

Surprise, surprise - Kabuli pulau is called 'pulau' in Kabul. Where does all ALL this flavor come from? Slow cooking the beef and then cooking the rice in that beef broth with cinnamon and cardamon.

Afghani kebab and tikka

As you can see, most of this dish is gone. Skewered,barbecued  tender pieces of chicken and beef are probably the stars of Afghan cuisine. So rich, so simple - you're never quite sure when you're full.

Zamarud pulau

What a pretty name for a dish! Zamarud being emerald, of course. This is basically a vegetarian pilaf with spinach, dill and leeks with very simple seasoning. I was told lamb or beef can be added to this - which reminds of an Arab staple at my home - a pilaf made with fried meat, dill and peas, with the same 'zamarud' tinge.

Burani

By far my most favorite dish of the night! The humble eggplant/baingan done so well! Grilled  slices of eggplant topped off with a tomato sauce and a garlic yogurt. This is definitely one I will be trying in my kitchen.

Mantu (like Momos)

Remember my love for Nepalese momos? The Afghan-Tajik version of these dumplings is a little more suited to the 'desi' palate. These 'mantus' are stuffed with raw meat and then steamed. They are usually topped with a garlic yogurt and a tomato and 'channa dal' sauce. It's an interesting little mouthful - lots of different textures and flavors.

Spinach

Simply because, as the Ambassador said, 'Afghans love spinach.' Which might explain the 'fitness' of Afghan men.  And women, of course. More power to the spinach!
                                                                                       

Mutton Stew

Chicken Qorrma

Also on the menu, some Pakistani influences in the form of a mutton stew and chicken qorma.

When I asked to meet the chef, there was some surprise and some consultations before the chef came out to meet me. Such a gentle, old man who seemed obviously flattered (and a bit confused) by my request to see meet him. There wasn't much conversation to be made and most of that was lost in translation. But thanks to Zalmai Azizy for the help! That's the best Afghan chef in the region - Ghulam Sakhi Rahmani! Ghulam Sakhi has been cooking for close to thirty years and most recently for the Afghan mission in Islamabad. If they ever let him go, I'm stealing him!

Ghulam Sakhi Rahmani

The kitchen crew at the Afghan embassy

Great food, better conversations and warm Afghan hospitality - I'm really looking forward to more of that in Kabul. Thank you Mr. Daudzai and Mr. Rahmani!

The Big Life in Bara Gali, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I arrived in Bara Gali – the summer campus of the University of Peshawar.   Located some 30 minutes further up from Nathia Gali  - lots of pine trees, lots of monkeys – but still a startling change from the overly commercial Nathia Gali experience. 

I arrived there with a group of young journalists from all over Pakistan ( and eventually joined by another group from Afghanistan) for an Af-Pak Journalist Exchange Fellowship organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.  I have to admit, this stands out as one of the most  ‘unique’ travel and food experiences I have had so far – that too in Pakistan!

The view from what was the bar  during the British era in Bara Gali

This was the our usual 'hang-out' area. Between sessions, during tea and meal breaks, some of you would sit under the cool shade of the trees. It was just so heartening to watch the wide open spaces and fresh clean air - a rarity in Karachi.

One of the buildings on campus

The summer campus was once a British military camp, so needless to say, our accommodation was basic but sufficient and in retrospect, rather charming too. They were cottages from the British era, with 3 - 4 of us to a cottage. We were promptly given a torch each to find our way.The kitchen was no different. Good, strong, clean old fashioned kitchen with only the basics. Freshly baked naans were the first accompaniment to the cold mountain air.

Fried chicken and tomatoes getting prepped

High pressure situation for the Kabuli pulau

Naan at work

A laptop to keep tab?

From the minute we arrived to the time we left – there was food, food, food  - five to six meals a day. This is not an exaggeration. Breakfast, tea, lunch, tea, dinner is how the day was organized. There was a loud gong sounded off at every meal time and we had to get up from whatever we were doing and make ourselves available in the dining room. 

The ingredients in almost every recipe remained the same but the cook kept playing with our taste buds. Kabuli pulau was an absolute staple – at least once a  day – well greased with slivered carrots, raisins and big hunks of beef. The sweetness of the raisins was a refreshing blend with the beef and the rest of the meat heavy menu. There was always chicken, beef and vegetables on the menu, sometimes mutton too.

Russian salad, KPK style

Succulent, sexy namkeen gosht

Kabuli Palau

Fried chicken, KPK style

The chef had perfected a few basic recipes that seemed to work well with all kinds of meat and vegetables – one was a tomato based mix for curries and stews, a red chilli flakes based marinade for fried meats and a salt and garlic mix for the ‘namkeen’ gosht.  The food was not as complex as we have made it to be in big cities. Basic flavors, well cooked and served fresh is all you need for a good dish.

Bara Gali – how do I explain this? For a complete city slicker like me, I felt like I was in some kind of reality TV prank, sent there by my mother to teach me a lesson. Lots of walking at a height of 7597 ft, cold water, unreliable power supply, no internet, rare phone signals – it was a whole new world for me. Add to that a new laptop with NO music and no iPod. Yikes! But those 5 nights in Bara Gali really made me realize the importance of how we were really meant to live – free from wants and luxuries but with the bare necessities and most importantly, good, honest people.

Sunset at Bara Gali....

....from where we had tea every day.....

  I now cherish the friendships made in those ‘difficult’ days – stories of cold showers shared over steaming kahva while watching folk musicians sing and dance. Bara Gali may be an acquired taste but it is one of those  must have experiences if you are an aspiring 'traveller.'

The Night Life - musicians from Peshawar

Thanks to the University of Peshawar for looking after me and teaching me a lesson J It was an experience and a half. Setting off for Islamabad was almost bittersweet. Thanks for the memories, Bara Gali!

Peri-Peri Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

Everything a recipe/food detail starts with 'healthy', I try to avoid it - because it probably means food that's been stripped of any flavour or personality. But recently, I have decided to get healthier - make the right eating choices and make habits out of them. I bought myself a kilogram of whole chicken breasts, which Mum sliced into single portions for me - we got about 9 pieces. Mum and I have been experimenting and here's one of mine...

I know what you're thinking - prison food looks better than this! But no really, this looks and tastes MUCH better. Please take my word for it - I just don't know how to take pictures

You need:
1/2 chicken breast
1 large potato
1 tsp Nando's Peri-Peri sauce (Hot)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
Olive oil
Salt

Mix the Peri-Peri sauce with lemon and chopped garlic. Pour it over the chicken breast and let it sit for at least an hour.  Make three diagonal slits along the chicken and get the marinade inside.

For the potatoes, peel it and drop it in boiling water. Take it out after 15 minutes and mash it with a fork. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and salt and mix well.  If you think the potatoes are a little lumpy then add about 2 tablespoons of hot water to the mash and stick it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Mash them with a fork once again. Lo-fat, lo-cal mashed potatoes are ready!

Back to the chicken now - heat a teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and add the chicken. Let it sizzle and change color.  I like to cook it slowly by adding just a spoon of water and covering the pan. 5 minutes later your chicken should be ready to go!

Also, my research indicates that the chicken breast is about 135 calories and the mashed potatoes are about 195 calories. That's a 330 calorie dinner - not bad - especially if it has potatoes in it.

Here's hoping there will be many more healthier choices in my life and yours!

Not-So-Simple Dimple

Asian food is my comfort food but it's still risky in Karachi. In your head you might have expected satay but what's on the dish is a generic grilled chicken on a skewer. Simple Dimple Khao Suey Palace deliveries are all the rage among the ladies in my office - Asian salads, soups, khao sueys, satay (like the one described earlier). However, Simple Dimple still does a great job of soothing the office worker's soul.

Last week, I ordered the Chicken and Mushrooms in Oyster sauce. 

It's really easy to over-salt anything cooked in oyster sauce. This was perfectly salted and flavored. Simple oyster sauce and a hint of chilli with sliced garlic. But the very art of balancing the 'caramel' flavour of the sauce with the garlic and chilli, so none over powers the other is not quite so easy - but Simple Dimple has 'balance' down to an art.  The dish was generous on the fresh mushrooms - which is fantastic - and a few of the canned button variety thrown in too. The mushrooms were still moist and chewy.

The chicken, however, was not as stellar as the mushrooms. I fear its yet another case of the rampant eatery affliction called 'general chicken' (name coined by me, of course). General Chicken is exactly what the name implies - cooked in a generic fashion to fit any kind of chicken dish. In this case, the chicken did not taste like garlic, chilli and oyster sauce. It tasted like the basic stir fry chicken marinade of soya sauce, a flour rub and maybe some garlic. I felt that the ingredients did not have to get to know each other. Perhaps the chicken was just mixed in right at the end for a few seconds? More power to the chicken, please?

Also, the dish costs Rs 300. Which is fair. What's unfair is the steamed rice that costs Rs 100. And I'll let the reader decide if the delivery charge of Rs 100 is fair.

Latest Lasagna In Town!

After a really long, hard day at work (one that ends at 9 pm) , a friend/colleague and myself headed to our go-to-comfort-zone - Espresso on Shahbaz. I love pasta - pasta can do no wrong (unless the pasta has been done wrong). Looking at the chalkboard with the new additions to the menu, the obvious choice was the newly launched lasagna!

Looks fantastic, right? So first fork in to the dish and there is a clear absence/extreme lack of the any kind of sauce - red or white. But the pasta is perfectly cooked - nice and chewy. The minced beef is a little under-cooked and under-flavored for my taste. However, there was lots of sticky, stringy cheese on top which sort of redeemed the dish. But here's the confusing part, when I finished eating I wasn't quite as upset about the lasagna - blame it on a long day and hunger. Maybe it was meant to be a healthy lasagna - no decadent sauces and all that. But seriously, why wasn't my lasagna overflowing with the hot, sticky, deliciousness that is lasagna. Priced at Rs 375 with a good helping for any appetite, it's a reasonable buy.

Also, please don't serve me stale garlic bread. Just don't serve it at all.

The strawberry ice really hit the spot though. Better luck with the lasagna, Espresso!

My Mother's Favorite Foods

Since it's Mother's Day today I thought I would ask my mother what her favorite foods are. She's a great cook but she hardly ever really says 'wow, that tastes good!' So today, I interviewed my mother....

1. Spinach

All forms of spinach - cooked with beef, mutton or chicken, creamed or steamed. This is the first things she mentioned when I asked about her favorite food. I guess this explains her flawless skin and fit figure! We usually cook spinach with dill and mutton at home - served with fluffy white rice. Iraqis and Iranis both claim the recipe as their own - however, the Iranian version has red beans in it too.

2. Fish-head Curry

My mum's really picky about sea-food. From our time in Malaysia and the extensive range of seafood cuisine available there, my mother loves Indian fish head curry the most. Basically this involves a whole fish head (Ikan Merah/Red Snapper) stewed with okra in a sour tamarind (asam java) based curry. However, it is not regular 'hawker fare' in Malaysia - it's an expensive local delicacy.


3. Food Centre, Burns Road

Food doesnt get better than Burns Road in Karachi. But my mother isn't one for eating in the car or on a roadside or a dingy local restaurant. So The Food Centre on main Burns Road solves that problem - airconditioning meets good, cheap local food. That's a plus for Mum!


4. Tebsi

Really should work on my photo skills

Staying true to Iraq, this is a dish of layered minced beef, grilled tomatoes and brinjal served with white rice. The mince is cooked with a mix of ginger, garlic, red chilli and salt. Simple cooking style but BIG on flavour.


5. BBQ Tonight, Boat Basin

BBQ Tonight is by far my mother's MOST favorite dining experience - fresh, quick and good value. Mum loves their bread selection too  and really savours the non-spicy barbecued meats. In fact, we're ordering in from BBQ Tonight for Mother's Day - pictures will be up later today!


Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's reading this! Hope you have a great day!

Creamy White Sauce Pasta

Pasta in white (bechamel) sauce is my favorite kinda pasta. Rich, juicy and warm - like a big hug from a good looking, sensitive man. Or woman. A bechamel sauce is really simple and really complicated at the same time - I know I've messed it up more than a few times before getting it right and be able to give it my own twists and turns.

You need:

250 g of boneless chicken - cut into bite size pieces
3-4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
1 small finely chopped onion
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of cooking oil
4 tbsp of flour (maida)
2 tbsp of cream
1 cup of milk
1 can of mushrooms
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese or 3-4 slices of packaged cheese ( it's easier to get!)
2 -3 cups of chicken stock
Crushed red chilli
Salt to taste
400-500 grams of pasta - I prefer using 'bigger' pasta shapes like penne or fusilli


Cut the chicken into bit size pieces and mix with Worcestershire sauce, 1 finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp of flour and some salt. Marinate the chicken for a couple of hours if possible - else 20 minutes will do too.  Pan fry the chicken until its cooked but not browned. Set aside. Fry the chopped mushrooms next so they soak up the flavor of the chicken from the pan. Lastly, fry the onions until transparent and set aside

Here's the tricky part. Stay alert kids:

Heat up a large non-stick pan, and add the oil, followed by the butter. The oil will prevent the butter from burning too quickly. Add the flour and keep stirring with a wooden spoon. Keep going until the flour changes color slightly. Next, add the milk and keep stirring gently. Don't be scared of the lumps you see in the sauce. Keep stirring and rubbing the lumps down with the spoon. Add in the chicken stock and keep going until the lumps are gone. Next, add the the garlic and onions. Make sure the flame is really low. Add the cream and cheese and keep stirring. Next, fold in the mushrooms, chicken and salt. And our sauce is good to go!

Boil the pasta the way you like - I like it al dente, my mother likes it fully cooked. So when cooking for the family, I go all the way.

There's two ways to from here: my way or Mum's way.

I like to dish out the cooked pasta, add a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and pour the sauce on top of the pasta. My Mum likes to mix the pasta and the sauce on the stove. She says its lets the flavors mix well. We leave the rest to your better judgement.

My mother was quite happy with the way the pasta turned out. Although she did complain about the crushed chilli being unevenly distributed on the dish. Sorry Mum!