MASALA CHAI
In an effort to fill in some gaps on the blog (see the bhindi masala post), I’ve created a masala chai recipe. Saptarshi, my husband, has been pleading with me …
Cooking
SUJI KA HALWA (SEMOLINA PUDDING)
Expat Pakistanis have a running joke that when they return home, they never return as adults. You’re still the adolescent who fled the nation ten or twenty years ago. That’s …
KHAGINA (SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH POTATOES)
South Asian-style eggs are referred to as khagina. A moderately spicy tomato-onion base, potatoes, and fresh cilantro make up this easy Punjabi variant. It’s a vibrant, full breakfast that’s become …
ALBAR’S BONELESS CHICKEN BIRYANI
Biryani evokes a variety of emotions among Indians. Making it had always been a source of apprehension for me. But, owing to my friend Albar’s boneless chicken biryani recipe, I …
ASGHAR’S LOBIA CHAWAL (RED BEANS WITH RICE)
In 2016, I met Asghar at the Comparative International Education Society (CIES) conference in Vancouver. Asghar was working at the time to help education in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province’s crisis-affected …
MOMMY’S MUTTON PULAO
I was seated around the dinner table with Palestinian, Syrian, and Yemeni friends the night after the 2016 US presidential election, laughing and crying over a platter of exquisitely flavoured …
IZZAH’S LACHHA PARATHA (LAYERED FLATBREAD)
The previous year was one of the most terrible in recent memory, and cooking did little to alleviate the situation. I’ve previously talked about how cooking and hosting helped me …
ZEENAT’S KEEMA KHICHRI (GROUND MEAT AND LENTIL RICE)
Here’s a recipe for keema khichri in the Bohra manner, which can be served on special occasions. Khichri elicits a wide range of emotions among desis. It’s the epitome of …
PRAWN BIRYANI
These days, I’ve been thinking a lot about biryani. It’s what I make every time I host, despite the fact that I never ate it growing up. I served this …
SHAHNAZ’S TAHRI (RICE WITH POTATOES)
Tahri is a brightly coloured mixed rice dish from northern India. Families frequently use tahri to absorb extra spring vegetables. This is my mother’s dish, which her family used to …