
Naheed Sumar learned to cook traditional Pakistani food at her grandmother’s side as a child growing up in Karachi; shopping for vegetables in season, grinding whole spices like cardamom, cumin, coriander, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fenugreek into special masalas (mixes) for each recipe; slowly layering and balancing flavours and ingredients into dishes that taste of home and family tradition. Tonight she shares a few of these special dishes, a taste of classic home cooking from the Pakistani kitchen.
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Samosas $6 (3pc)
Spiced potato, carrots, and peas wrapped in thin dough and fried to a golden crisp; served with tangy tamarind chutney. #vegetarian
Biryani
A “special occasion” dish made to celebrate weddings and holidays; assorted vegetables and legumes (peas, corn, carrots, green beans, eggplant, potato, and chickpeas) cooked in a special homemade spice blend, layered with fragrant long grain basmati rice; served with cool yogurt raita. #vegetarian
Achari Bhindi
Fresh okra infused with Indian “pickle” spices (achar) like fenugreek, mustard seed, cumin and coriander, cooked with tomato and yogurt, and served with naan bread. #vegetarian
Palak Gosht
Tender chunks of beef shank cooked with spinach and warm spices; served with naan bread.
Veg Plate $12
Achari Bhindi + Vegetable Biryani + Naan
Meat Plate $14
Palak Gosht + Vegetable Biryani + Naan
Combo Plate $16
Achari Bhindi + Palak Gosht + Vegetable Biryani + Naan
Extra Naan +$1
Shahi Tukra $6
A creamy pudding of bread cooked in sweet milk, cardamon, and saffron with pistachios sprinkled on top [optional].
Prix Fixe Menu
Veg: Samosas + Veg Plate + Dessert $22
Meat: Samosas + Meat Plate + Dessert $24
Combo: Samosas + Combo Plate + Dessert $26
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Naheed began cooking with her grandmother at a very young age back in Karachi, Pakistan. This menu is filled with her childhood favourites that she’s perfected through the years. If you ask anyone who’s been to one of her dinner parties, they’ll tell you that guests don’t stop eating when they’re full, they stop when there’s no food left. What makes her dishes so addicting? Naheed blends each spice mix from scratch, starting from whole spices to create unique flavours. “My grandmother loved good food and feeding people,” says Naheed, “And now I do the same.”
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Every Wednesday The Depanneur is an ‘open mic’ night for culinary talent in TO, where we invite guest cooks, amateur or professional, to come and make their favourite dishes.
Learn more about our Drop-In Dinners