Deghi Chargha Murgh

This is the nearest to what is commonly perceived as Tandoori chicken.  Commercial version found on Karachi’s trendy Tariq Road will be one that has been marinated and then deep fried.  However, at home, in my North London kitchen, I avoid deep frying because the large quantity of hot oil needed to fry a whole chicken is hazardous and in any case I prefer the chargrilled taste when cooked grilled in the oven.  This is a good dinner party main dish to make, especially on a Friday , after work, or Saturday, when energy level is low. You simply marinate the chicken the night before (refrigerate overnight) and cook in two parts: first steam in a pan then finish with a final blast under a hot grill in the oven.  Serve with steamed rice for a quick, easy meal or, if time permitting, with either rumali roti or tandoori naan.  And as always, with red onion salad, coriander chutney and raita.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 – 2kg whole organic chicken skinned and washed – slashed with deep cuts across the breast and legs.

4 tablespoonful of cooking oil and 1 tablespoonful of butter/ghee for basting/brushing

FOR THE MARINADE – make a paste in a blender of all the following ingredients

400g greek yoghurt

8 peeled garlic cloves

2-3 inch fresh ginger

2 full tablespoon Essential Garam Masala

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Kashmiri crushed chillies

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon of freshly crushed coriander

juice of 2 lemons

either of these (but not all) 1 teaspoon: crushed pomegranate seeds/tamarind pulp/chat masala/amchoor powder.  These all provide a tangy flavour and are available from Asian shops.

METHOD

1. Marinade the chicken, rub in the paste in the deep cuts and ensure thorough coverage.

2. Leave in the fridge to marinade overnight (12 hours) or at least 4 hours.

3. After the chicken has marinated, put it in a large pot with the lid on (you could also use a large lidded wok). Cook over low-medium heat for 1 hour. No need to add any water as the chicken will have its own and the marinade will release some liquid too. Turn over the chicken half way.

4. Once the chicken is cooked through, put the oil in and fry both sides over fairly high heat. Do this quickly, say 5 minutes on each side.

5. Place the chicken now on a flat oven tray, top side up; brush it with hot butter/ghee and put it under the hot grill for 5-10 minutes to create a ‘chargrill’ effect. Decant onto a serving platter and serve hot.

Falooda

Falooda has all the sweet ingredients that Pakistanis love in their desserts: milk, sugar, kulfi, vercichelli noodles, pistachios, tapioca pearls, and rose syrup. Served in tall glasses, it could easily be mistaken for 70s Knickerbocker Glory. It’s journey to Pakistani homes is a long one: in some form or other, Falooda has existed in Kurdish, Eyptian, Iranian, Afghanistan cultures and has now spread with Muslim migration to the Far East, South Africa and even Mauritius.

It is just an assembly job once all the ingredients have been gathered. However, some of the ingredients are unusual and not normally kept in the food cupboard so a trip to an Asian shop is part of the deal! Sold everywhere in street corners, families in Pakistan go and enjoy their Falooda standing by roadside under shades of peepal tree – so much more fun and cuts out laborious shopping for the ingredients.

Purist would insist on homemade rabri sauce, homemade corn flour vermicelli but here in North London, a comprise is needed, so some ingredients are shop bought however, the star of the show, kulfi, has to be homemade.

INGREDIENTS

500g homemade kulfi (see separate recipe)

rose sherbat/syrup – a commercial brand Rooh Afza is fine

1 large tin evaporated milk chilled

200g falooda seviyan or cornflour noodles/rice noodles: follow packet instructions

100g Basil seeds or Tukmalanga – soaked in water for 1/2 hour

crushed ice

chopped pistascios and almonds

METHOD

1. Take very tall tumblers, according to number of people, and in each, put 1 tablespoon of rose syrup.

2. Next put 1 tablespoon Tukmalanga in each glass.

3. Add 1 tablespoon Falooda seviyan

4. Put a large scoop of Kulfi

5. Pour in each 100ml evaporated milk

6. Add crushed ice.

7. Sprinkle with pistachios and almonds

8. End with a drizzle of rose syrup.

Not quite the same as eating under a peepal tree, still a very lip-smacking, satisfying drink-dessert enjoyed while looking across at oak trees in Highgate woods from our kitchen window.

Sukhi Seviyan

When there are a whole load of cooking jobs to do on the day, such as Eid, Sukhi Seviyan, Seviyan without milk, is a good, easy option for the cook as they are ready within half an hour. In fact, this is the first thing that is cooked on Eid, so by 10am, when everybody has had a shower and got into their new clothes, and men have been to the mosque and returned home, it is ready to serve. Also, the smell of cardamoms and vermicelli signals the start of feast that is to come everybody’s way as the festive day begins.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon pure ghee

400g vermicelli (thin light brown seviyan)

125g sugar

8 green cardamom pods, slightly bruised

250ml water

CHOICE GARNISH: 50g pistachios, 50g sliced blanched almonds, 50g cashew nuts, 50g plum raisin, 50g sliced dried coconut.

METHOD

1. Heat the ghee in a pan, put the cardamom pods and sauté the cardamom to flavour the ghee and release their aroma; this should only take a minute.

2. Break up the long strands of  seviyan/vermicelli and add to the ghee. Coat all vermicelli with ghee.

3. Fry lightly over low heat, constantly stir to ensure all the strands get equal amount of browning. After a few minutes, stop when the vermicelli turns golden brown.

4. Reduce heat to its lowest setting; add hot water and sugar, upon which the vermicelli will boil and bubble. Close lid and simmer until all the water has been absorbed and the seviyan is tender – this will take 8-12 minutes.

5. Choose your preferred garnishes and sprinkle all over the cooked seviyan. Again, according to personal taste, serve hot, warm or cold – though usually, they are served hot.

All Pakistanis get sentimental over seviyan – it’s a dish that every single person has grown up with; attached to them are personal histories, memories of long ago when everything was right with the world. An uncle used to recount in old age how as a child he used to work his charismatic magic over the lady cook who let him enjoy a big bowl of seviyan while everybody else was busy getting ready for Eid. Then later, at the family sitting, he would have another big bowl and wink, wink to the cook with a cheeky smile!

 

 

Sheer Maal

Considered a gourmet bread, it doesn’t come as a surprise that it requires a lot of ingredients other than just flour and water. Coming straight from Mughal cuisine, you will find the original recipe demands saffron, cream, milk, cardamoms, rose water and even sugar syrup. It’s tastes similar to a brioche – a cakey, sweet bread; I prefer a slightly dressed down version, with no nuts, saffron or rose water (reminds me too much of desserts!).

It’s good fun to make something different, out of the ordinary, for a dinner party – you’ll hear endless comparisons!

INGREDIENTS

400g plain, sieved flour

Full cream milk powder, 100g

1 egg

1 teaspoon ready to go yeast

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon pure ghee

1-2 cups warm milk

100g sesame seeds

METHOD

1. Add all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix.

2. Mix the wet ingredient together: ghee, egg and warm milk.

3. Start making the dough by adding, a little at a time, the milk and ghee mixture and kneading to bring all the ingredients together.

4. Wet the surface with a little milk (so it doesn’t get dry), cover and leave for 1/2 hour to rise.

5. Knead again for several minutes to make the dough smooth, soft and elastic.

6. Roll it out (if possible without dusting – as this will make it dry) into a 10inch round chappati like shape.

7. IMPORTANT STEP: You must prick tiny holes all over with a fork – otherwise you will end up with a risen loaf! Prick holes in close proximity to ensure the dough does not rise.

8. Brush with a little milk and sprinkle sesame seeds.

9. Bake in a pre-heated oven, 200C degree oven, on a tray for 10-12 minutes.

Serve hot with a little melted butter, if so desired. At Pakistani weddings, it is served with a rich lamb or chicken korma or koftas. It’s not a everyday thing so Sheer Maal only makes rare appearances on special occasions. At home, once in a while, it’s good to offer it as a special treat.

Rumali Roti

Roti is a key part of any Pakistani meal; rice came with the migrations of Muslims after the independence when they brought with them biryanis and pulao. But rice was essentially eaten in parts of India such as Bengal, Gujarat ,  South India where it came through Burma, Laos and Southern China. So roti is still a regular component of any lunch, supper or dinner in Pakistan.

Starting with simple ingredients like flour and water, there are any number of combinations of types of rotis, parathas, naans, luxury breads that can be made. A plain roti, cooked everyday in Pakistani homes, is made from chappati flour (wheat), which comes in different grades ranging from very fine, almost resembling like plain flour, to full, grainy wholemeal. Plain flour or all purpose flour is often used for other types of rotis, parathas or naans as it tends to be more flaky, turns a nice, golden brown when fried and is more malleable. Sometimes the two flours (chappati and plain) are mixed to obtain the right balance.

A basic dough is made from flour, water and a little salt. But for the more luxury rotis or parathas or naans, the dough is prepared from warm milk, even a little sugar and often some ghee/oil/butter is added. For special tandoori naans, yoghurt is also added to the ingredients when making a dough to give a more richer texture. In spicy rotis or naans, crushed red/green chillies, chopped coriander, cumin etc. can be added too. And rotis are made from other types of flour too, not just wheat, such as chick pea flour (basin), maize, corn flour but these remain infrequent in use.

And now for the filling: so once the dough is made and rolled out, it can be put straight onto a hot large plate, usually a tawa, and cooked quickly or it can be taken in a multitude of directions. For parathas, you can spread butter or ghee, fold, re-roll and cook in some ghee.  Or you can stuff with cooked daal, cauliflower, spicy mashed potatoes, in fact stuff it with anything till the cows come home!

Of-course all these combos were too lowly for the Mughals! They preferred theirs made from cream (the dough) and butter, mixed in with sultanas, dried apricots, almonds and made soft and succulent and rich with complex kneading methods. Some of Mughal breads, such as Sheer Maal, is made from layered dough, butter in between each layer rather like the French croissant.

Here is Rumali roti, essential to all Pakistani meals. Rumal, meaning a handkerchief, is rolled out into a very large, thin roti, folded at the end just like a handkerchief!

INGREDIENTS

200g plain flour

200g chappati wheat flour

salt to taste

lukewarm water

plain flour for dusting during rolling

A large tawa or a flat pan

METHOD

1. Mix both types of flours, if possible sieve before starting, add salt and mix with a little water at a time until all the dry flour has turned into wet crumbs.

2. Bring it together by kneading, adding a little water if the dough is still too stiff. The aim is to make the dough smooth, soft and malleable. Cover with a moist muslin cloth and leave to rest for 1/2 hour.

3. Take a chunk of dough and make it into a small ball (the size of a tangerine), then roll it out, dusting with flour if sticking to the rolling surface and roll out as thin and large as you can manage without letting it stick. A good 30cm or 12inch is what you’re aiming for.

4. Carefully put on the hot griddle/tawa. As soon as you see the colour change, turn it over and cook for a few minutes. Rotate the roti around to ensure even cooking.

5. TRICKY BIT: Using a tong, hold the edge of the roti, move the tawa away from the flames and leaving half of the roti on the tawa, cook the other half directly over the flames, rotating the roti around and turning both sides. You will see the roti fill with steam (be careful not to pierce as the steam could burn you) and fluff up into a ball. Take it off the tawa.

6.Optional: spread a little butter/ghee then fold over into half, then quarters. Keep in a thick cloth, a clean, dry tea towel is fine but this needs to be re-wrapped into something better if presenting on a table.

With practise, the making of it gets better; in most Pakistani homes, women can make 10+ of these for every meal with their eyes closed.

Sheer Seviyan

An Eid dessert to be enjoyed through all the year round! Delicious, comforting like a big hug or a soft blanket, not too dissimilar to a rice pudding or a custard pudding in character. You will want a second helping!

INGREDIENTS

2 litres whole full fat creamy milk

200g golden caster sugar (or to taste)

10 cardamom pods seeds crushed into powder

2 tablespoon pure ghee

300f fine vermicelli

50g pistachios cut lengthways

50g plum raisins

50g freshly blanched almonds, sliced lengthways

50g dried coconut cut into thin slices

3 tablespoon of rose water or kewra water

METHOD

1. In a large pan, over high heat, boil the milk with sugar, cardamom seeds (discard the outer casing) until the milk has reduced by half.

2. In a separate pan, heat the ghee and fry the vermicelli until golden brown (take care not to burn).

3. Add raisins and all the nuts.

4. Pour the reduced milk and let it simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and sprinkle some rose water (optional: add some saffron infused in a little warm milk).

There are personal preferences: can be served hot, warm or cold. Whatever the choice, it is a classic Pakistani dessert, descended from our over spoilt Nazims.  

Nawabi Raan

This is feast food – a whole leg of lamb, marinated overnight and cooked in the oven until the meat is falling off the bones. Be sure to get good, quality organic lamb – there are now halal organic suppliers online – or else all the effort will go to waste.

INGREDIENTS – marinade

1 1/2kg leg of organic lamb

300g Greek yoghurt

1 large onion

3inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoon Essential Garam Masala

2 tablespoon coriander seeds, roasted and grounded

1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilly crushed

1 lemon – juice squeezed

100g fresh coriander, chopped finely

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/2 spoonful coarse sea salt

100ml sunflower oil

METHOD

1.Wash the lamb and pat dry. 

2. Apart from lamb, mix all the ingredients into a thick paste.

2. Make deep cuts all over the meat joint.

4. Rub the mixture all over the lamb, filling in all the cuts and ensuring good coverage. Put the lamb in a roasting tin.

5. Leave it to marinade in the fridge overnight or at least 6 hours.

6. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Roast the lamb for 1-1 1/2 hour, basting it every 15 minutes with some extra oil. For the last 1/2 half turn off the oven and put on the grill on a low setting and grill the lamb.

Serve on a large platter, surrounded by rings of red onions, green chillies (cut thinly lengthways), sliced tomatoes, small radishes and in a separate bowl, mint yoghurt and warm naans or rotis. A gourmet version of doner kebab, eaten on a Saturday night but gracefully at a table. 

 

 

 

 

 

Lassi

Not surprisingly, Lassi is the most popular drink in the sub-continent because it is quick to make, the ingredients are at hand and it is very cheap. In its basic form, only three ingredients are needed: yoghurt, water and salt or sugar, depending on whether you want it sweet or savoury. It is the ideal drink to extinguish the deadly heat of the summer and cool down the body.

Made with home-made yoghurt, it is tangy, sweet and sour and wonderfully refreshing. Being an ancient drink, it has evolved, with regional variations, strange concoctions, fruit added smoothies, or flavoured with exotic extracts.

Follow the simple recipe below and add your own preferred flavours.

500g plain yoghurt

Sugar or salt to taste

250ml milk

250ml water

crushed ice

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth like double cream. Pour into tall tumblers and feel the river of ice flow down the throat!

OPTIONAL:

– add rose water

– add grounded green cardamoms

– add saffron

– add vanilla extract

– add chopped pistachios, almonds

– add mango pulp

– add strawberries/bananas/passion fruit etc.

– add little chilly powder (savoury)

– add grounded cumin (savoury)

There are countless variations, some with cream, or only water and yoghurt or only milk and yoghurt and so it goes on. And this is a good thing; our ancestors, our grandparents, our parents have left us culinary blueprint on how to make the most of what we have.

Kulfi

Like all other Pakistani dessert, Kulfi, the Pakistani ice-cream, must have milk, sugar and cardamom. Similar tasting to Phirni, Kheer, Rasmallai, Kulfi is everybody’s favourite eaten like a lollypop on a stick or in stemmed dessert dish if eating in a restaurant. In this particular instant, I prefer it plain, without the embellishment, though to make it more glamorous you could add saffron, rose petals, rose water, orange flower blossom, pistachios, almonds chunks, mango pulp and even chocolate! For a dinner party, you can build up your guest’s excitement by freezing within a surprise – a Swarovski ring, a chocolate gold coin, real coin, a love heart sweet or whatever! As children, we fought each other to find a coin, the equivalent of 50p! It was fun.

INGREDIENTS

200ml evaporated milk

200ml condensed milk

200ml double cream

3 cardamom – seeds crushed into fine powder

100g golden caster sugar

250g ground almond (ready bought!)

MEHOD

1.Blitz everything in a blender till smooth.

2. Pour either into a plastic container with a lid or in individual kulfi moulds.

3. Freeze overnight or for at least 6 hours if in a hurry.

It’s a perfect cooling anecdote after a spicy meal. No excuses are needed in any case to enjoy this delicious ice-cream. And watch the frenzy if your guests are expecting a surprise!

 

 

Classic Pakistani Breakfast

Simplest of meals, Paratha and Omelette, often appears on most people’s dying wish – the last meal! Perhaps it has something to do with childhood memories when on holidays or weekends, it was either made at home and enjoyed leisurely with the extended family or everybody squeezed into a car and drove to a darbar (street café) where it was eaten hot off the tawa!  For Pakistanis, it is comfort food, eaten since a child and whenever I make it, usually on a Sunday, everybody is instantly happy and excited – just like a child!

PARATHA

1 cup plain flour

1 cup chappati flour

100g butter or pure ghee

warm water

pinch of salt

METHOD

1. In a bowl, mix the 2 types of flour and salt, add water to make a dough. The dough must not be too hard or too soft. Leave aside on 1/2 hour covered to develop.

2. Have a plate of plain flour ready for dusting.

3. Take a piece of dough, the size of a tangerine and make it into a ball in between your palms.

4.Dust the work surface with some flour and roll out the dough into a medium size circle, rather like a pizza base.

5. Spread thinly either with butter or ghee. Ensure good coverage.

6. Roll it into a long, thin ‘swiss roll’ roll. Lift one end and swirl it around (making sure there are no gaps in between) and form a ball again. Once again, roll it out into a medium size circle resembling a pizza base.

7. The pan or ‘tawa’ should be hot; with a kitchen paper, take a tiny bit of cooking oil and wipe the pan/tawa (to prevent any sticking).

8. Pick up the rolled out paratha and put on the pan/tawa. Cook for 1 minute and then turn over. Cook for 4-5 minutes, rotating around all the time. Take 1/2  teaspoon of butter or ghee and put to the side of the hot pan – this will brown the paratha and make it crispy. Turn over to the original side and again put 1/2 teaspoon of butter or ghee to the side of the pan. Fold over and take the paratha out of the pan/tawa and put on a serving plate.

SPICY OMELLETE (per person – multiply according to numbers)

2 large or 3 medium size organic eggs per person

1/2 medium onion diced

1-2 green chillies cut finely

Few stalks of fresh coriander – chopped

salt to taste

couple of generous pinches of freshly ground black peppercorn

1 teaspoon of sunflower oil and 1/2 teaspoon of butter or ghee

METHOD

1. Mix the eggs in a bowl and add the chopped onion, green chillies, coriander and salt. Beat till light and fluffly.

2. Heat oil with butter/ghee. Pour the egg mixture and cook for few minutes.

3. Turn over the omelette and cook the other side – this time only for 1-2 minutes.

4. Place on a serving plate and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Since only one paratha can be made at a time, there is usually a waiting queue; in our home the first paratha goes to the person who has to pay a penalty for being the first one to eat – wash the dishes. The last consumer is rewarded with a luscious breakfast since all the prepared ingredients have to be used up. This is what I meant at the beginning; eating a breakfast of parathas and omelette turns us all to kids!