Blog
Methi Daal (Fenugreek and red lentils)
For this recipe you will either already be used to and enjoy eating cooked bitter sweet fenugreek leaves or you will need to acquire a taste for it. Bear in mind that the very strong distinctive aroma of fenugreek will remain with you for 24 hours! It’s made very frequently
Chinese Egg Fried Rice
No Chinese meal is complete without at least one rice dish, this is a quick and easy recipe for egg-fried rice, it’s an easy dish to take to picnics, eat on its own or as part of a whole meal. Ingredients are approximate, as it’s a ‘whatever’ goes kind of
Chinese Spring Fried Chicken
Again, this is one of the lovely Chinese with a Pakistani touch, ever popular in Pakistani restaurants and easily re-created in the home. Ingredients Stage 1 Stage 2 Method Stage 1 Stage 2
Chicken Manchurian (Pakistani style)
If I say this is the most favourite, very favourite, the favourite dish of my family you will get the correct idea about the popularity of this dish. Again I learnt this in a very innovative tutor’s kitchen in Lahore, we helped with chopping and preparing, she showed us the
Chicken Corn Soup (Chinese)
Chinese with a touch of Pakistan! I actually took classes in Lahore, Pakistan to emulate the dishes served in the Chinese restaurants in Lahore. I have travelled the world over, tried many Chinese connotations but nothing comes close to the dishes served in Lahore. I even took to the kitchen
Talati Sooji Halwa (another Semolina halwa)
Recently my cousin was over from Ireland and as usual, we were discussing recipes, she said she makes this sure hit halwa, so as per usual I was intrigued. She explained the process to me verbally and I made it the very next day where 20 odd people tasted and tested
Special Kofta (Meatball) Curry
We have been making Kofta (Meatball) curries from the time of the Mughal empire in India, recipes have been evolving over time and there is always a new one around the corner! My mum is always looking up unique recipes, she found this unusual kofta curry recipe in a magazine and made
Khatta Bateta (Sour potatoes) Mombasa style
Another of the lovely food memories from my younger days growing up in Mombasa. The joy of walking home from Mbheni Primary School with friends, passing by hawkers with Achaari, Vitumbua, Sour potatoes near Mbheni Bazaar. Buying these potatoes, served on white paper or newspaper, topped with ghatia, crisps, chutneys, using the finger
Namak Paray (Popat)
When we were growing up in Kenya, our mothers took pride in feeding us and our guests homemade snacks. Popat as my mum called these, were one of the salty snacks and went down a treat with a cup of tea or ice-cold soda. Some people know them as namak
Razia’s Bhuna Chicken
Bhun is a Pakistani cooking technique in which ingredients are fried until the oils separates. Onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and spices are fried in hot oil, until they have formed a paste. It is different from a curry as it is not as runny/liquidy. Hence, it cannot be eat with rice,
Oriental Raw Mango salad
On one of my annual trips to sunny California to visit family I was served this salad the ‘killer’ ingredient is the almost raw mango – mouthwatering. It has a tangy, sharp and sweet flavour and goes really well with a Thai/Chinese meal or with a bbq, of course we can’t compete
Nankhatai
This tea-time snack is a cross between a crumbly biscuit/cookie and cake, a good nankhatai is one that crumbles on the tongue, sweet but not too sweet. This recipe has been handed down from our mum’s, their mums and their mums! I remember the simplicity, 5 items each of equal