Description
by Nasir Zuberi
Chana Papri Chaat
Chaats are a very popular street food in Pakistan and Northern India, prepared in countless different styles. They are a unique melange of favours, textures and colours: crunchy and tender, tangy and spicy, sweet and savoury, all at once. This particular combination features soft chickpeas, and crispy papri (fried wheat crackers), topped with diced fresh tomato & onion, sprinkled with a distinctive chaat masala seasoning and chutni (a tangy-sweet tamarind sauce).
Murgh Achari
This boneless chicken curry, cooked in a onion & tomato base, is seasoned with a special spice blend, achari, which is also used to make a range of fruit and vegetable ‘pickles’: spicy, chutney-like condiments. This combination of coarsely crushed fennel, mustard, nigella and fenugreek seeds adds it’s unique flavour to the curry.
–or–
Aloo Bhaji Karahi
This Pakistani-style vegetable stir fry gets its name from the karahi, the large, heavy wok-like, round iron pan it is traditionally cooked in. Green beans, potatoes, and peas are cooked with tomato and onion gravy, seasoned with a blend of roasted cumin, coriander, nigella, and mustard seeds.
Both dishes are served with aromatic basmati rice, scented with cinnamon, green cardamom and saffron, along with a cucumber and mint yogurt raita.
Khatai
These traditional cookies, a kind of shortbread, are very popular in Pakistan, usually served with tea and as dessert. These delicate, eggless cookies are enriched with almonds and ghee, and scented with fragrant cardamom.
