Inspiring Deliciously
The sun sets over the sea in my beautiful city. Calm, tempered and oblivious to the storm that rages in the hearts and minds of a large majority of its 21 million dwellers. In spite of all their heartache and plight, they survive, they smile.
Karachi – You are inspiration. You are resilience. You are survival.
Karachi- You are life.
00It is the holy moth of Ramadan and the day quietly winds down in Karachi. Its dwellers who have ventured to the city for work early morning now return home to their families to prepare a feast for “iftaar” – the traditional break of a day long fast at sunset.
Stay tuned for my post and pictures of a typical family iftaar at home.
Shot at a local club swimming pool which directly overlooks the Arabian Sea.
Serene and beautiful.
00Oops we are in trouble ! Looks like we have been having too much fun talking about addictions , coffee and bad food. Rumour has it , a few chic-fans aren’t too impressed with us, what with all those promises of delicious recipes. Now,now my wonderful followers , apologies for the deviation , there were just too many other exciting things happening but I haven’t forgotten our shared love of food , nor have I stopped cooking ! Perhaps I will redeem myself a bit with this scrumptious delight I am about to share.
Aloo ki Bhujia ( spiced potato curry ) is a favourite in every Pakistani home and each home has its own special style of preparing it. Back in the day , it was one of the first few dishes a 14 something girl would be taught by her mother/grandmother/aunts as she forayed into the land of cooking, along with how to roll a chappati and boil rice – the common lead up to finding a suitable match when she became eligible and in some cases , earlier than that .Knowing how to cook and cook well was kind of a big deal , in fact I dare say it still is in an understated sort of way….a fundamental factor in ensuring marital bliss. Good Cook = Happy Hubby. You know what they say , the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It is an interesting equation to say the least but no where nearly a defining factor in keeping marriages together , not anymore anyway.
Practices have changed as the world evolves and the internet becomes more and more accessible , many Pakistani girls now learn how to cook from aunties sitting across the globe such as the lovely Manjula Aunty who runs a home cookery channel on Youtube attracting the attention of many young would-be connoisseurs. Some of the comments in these and other recipe videos are rather heart warming , newly marrieds trying to please their husbands with their favourite foods and the like.
Coming back to the quintessential Aloo ki Bhujia , it is a delicious medley of flavours and spices, warm , simple and comforting. Basic yet so wonderful. This dish is perfect on a day when you are short on time but still want to be able to serve up something decent or alternatively when you have an overstock of potatoes that you would rather not waste on a mash . This curry will keep very well refrigerated for 2-3 days but cannot be frozen.
Aloo Ki Bhujia
You will need :
Preparation :
Serve with lemon wedges ,your favourite pickle, steamed rice or naan . Traditionally, Aloo ki Bhujia is served with a steaming phulka ( a fluffy flat bread ) or Chapati but it just tastes just as nice with a fresh , toaster damper or a bread roll.
What say , have I made it up to you ?
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It is Easter Sunday and I bet there are many little people scurrying around the house hunting for chocolate eggs from the easter bunny. Although we don’t celebrate Easter as a religious festival here at Mumchic HQ , it is always wonderful to be part of the spirit and have our own little celebration. The fabulous two received their baskets this morning but I will not go into that story yet as is quite entertaining and deserves its own blog post .
Coming back to Sunday , I absolutely love the idea of having a lazy Sunday breakfast with the family , it is a great way to round up the week , cook a few favourites and talk about the complexities of life. Many families have Sunday Rituals , with my family back in Karachi , we would often prepare a brunch instead of a breakfast and the table would be laid out with the likes of pancakes , omelettes , parathas ( Pakistani flat bread) , freshly warmed croissants or even the calorific and sinful Halwa Puri ( Spicy chickpea curry served with puffed up bread and traditional semolina halwa- a rich sweet ) bought from road side stalls and tea houses.Oh please don’t get me started on Halwa Puri.
Believe me if you are a Karachi-ite and have not experienced the absolute divinity that is Halwa Puri , please give up your Karach-ite status as of now ! This is what a typical Halwa Puri stall looks like and on a weekend you would often find yourself lining up in a longish queue to place your order. Most of these stalls will also have a makeshift restaurant pretty much randomly set-up on the footpath. I can tell you , from political debates to cursing the cricket team for its match fixing to questioning global warming , these makeshift restaurants have seen it all over a breakfast of Halwa Puri and cups of garma garam doodh patti chaai. ( steaming hot milky tea ).
Mouths watering yet ?
For this Sunday , the day being all about eggs , chocolate , painted, boiled , tie died , I thought it would be perfect to share with you a breakfast recipe that has become a super hit with all members of Mumchic HQ in recent times. In fact , you could say we literally hold out for the weekend so we can prepare this delicious version of eggs. Not that they can’t be made during the week but if your household is anything like ours in the morning during the week ( read : unbelievably buzzing ) , you may want to defer this recipe to the weekend just so you can savour it .
A couple of months ago , the fab two and I were staying with a dear friend , R and her family in Sydney , it was then that I was introduced to this brilliant twist to an omelette. R’s family too , likes to have a special sunday breakfast and the star of the morning are Aunty Rose’s special ” Sunday Eggs ” , a fusion between omelettes and a fritatta , and boy are they special !
Sunday Eggs
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Preparation :
Enjoy and a very Happy and Safe Easter All 
Share a thought : How do you like your eggs on a Sunday ?
Tips :
Feel free to play around with the ingredients , there have been occasions when I have added sundried tomatoes or omitted the mushrooms.
Sprinkle some mixed herbs,fresh chives and crushed red chillies to give it that Italian feel , anything is possible with this versatile recipe.
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One day in 1997 , I made a friend .We went to college together back in my hometown , Karachi. We were 17 and thought black lipstick and ouiji boards were cool ,we were tripping on the likes of Celine Dion and Aerosmith and prank calling boys on their home landlines hoping against hope that ” the one ” would pick up. Back in the days when that sort of stalker behaviour was considered normal , text message stalking was unheard of and life was simple.
I don’t quite remember the circumstances in which we became friends , ( perhaps she does ? ) but what I do remember clearly is her cheerful , infectious personality . Her bubbly banter , candid and honest , her heart warming smile ( recent Skype interactions suggest nothing has changed ) . I remember shopping sprees at the local cloth market and stuffing ourselves with roadside pani puri ( crispy hollow deep fried papadum like balls served with tamarind and spiced water ) generously garnished with potatoes , onions and coriander. She remembers chutney sandwiches I made in college (to this day thinking they were cucumber ). And I remember saying to her once , these were ” Zindagi ki choti choti khushiyaan” , meaning Life’s little pleasures , clearly I was under the great influence of dramatic Bollywood back in those days.
Post college , she moved overseas and eventually, so did I. Connections were lost and life moved on. Enter Mark Zuckerberg and by the sheer forces of Facebook , we are back in touch. There is something to be said about teenage friendships, you can pick up where you left off like the years in between had never happened. No matter what path you have traversed in life , no matter what your circumstances , there is this unspoken pact of love, comfort and understanding that you will only find with a childhood friend.I share that pact with her. We are geographically far removed and yet in our little ways , part of each other’s lives, thankyou social media this would never be possible without you. There is the wish that perhaps some day , we may be able to share life’s little pleasures again but until then , she claims she will be happy with my recipe for Cucumber Sandwiches , well my darling friend , this one’s for you !
Cucumber Sandwiches
Serves 4
Note : Requires 4-6 hours refrigeration time before final preparation
You will need :
Here’s how :
To assemble ; prepare atleast an hour before serving
Let the compliments pour in !
Nothing more gratifying than a recipe that people fall in love with , it makes all the effort worth it . The coriander adds a fantastic asian zing , these beautifully creamy cucumber sandwiches rate very high on the fall in love radar , perfectly paired with a fruit salad on a warm summer’s day , perhaps a pitcher of home-made lemonade .Might be time to plan a tea party with the girls and renew some of life’s little pleasures
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I can never remember a Sunday or a Friday (then being a public holiday back in the 80s in Pakistan) when my mum would prepare a feast for the family to share together . Quite often it would be seafood sourced from the best possible machli-waala ( fisherman ) to frequent our locality in my home city , Karachi . Back then , seafood was quite expensive and therefore a once a week fare for our family . The faint scent of pomphret marinated in an array of spices being shallow fried wafting down the corridor of our apartment still tickles the recesses of my childhood memories. Over the years , another seafood dish – ‘prawn masala’ has become a favorite on my palate , which initially made its way to our family dinner table when we were having special guests over and my mum’s rendition of it was lip smackingly delicious !
So without further adieu , I give you my take on this beautiful dish , Prawn Masala
Serves 3-4 with hot tandoori naan and/or steamed rice . Please allow time for marination .
You will need :
Preparation :
So there we have it , Prawn Masala in all it’s glory …
Enjoy and please feel free to post feedback/queries
Tips : In the initial marination process , I prefer to use freshly crushed ginger and garlic as the freshness and flavor is well infused in the prawns .
Please note , the picture features Prawn Masala served with Yakhni Peas Pulaao ( Pilaf slow cooked in chicken broth) which is also a great variation to the usual steamed rice – recipe coming soon …
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