What did I do wrong? (Week 35 - Pakistan)

I was really excited about this weeks’ worth of food, as we love Indian but I think I picked the wrong recipes as none of them scored that high. Various people were feeling a little low and I did roll the heat back a little, and I wonder if that somehow lost some of the flavour; so perhaps this country should be added to the ‘need to cover again’ list for another day. I did chop and change some things around as I found my mum’s old recipes book, dating from 1964, had some Pakistani recipes in.  The lamb dish was the preferred one, although my husband scored the biryani quite high – my son didn’t like the rice being a different colour and therefore tasting different (which it didn’t too much). 

On reflection, I think I rushed this weeks challenge, my son was back to school, husband of sick and all the emotion of those events with trying to find something that we would all eat, caused me to make some bad choices. Hopefully I can up my game for next week, as we are exploring Egypt a place my husband longs to visit. 

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Chicken Karahi……………………………………………………………66

Biryani.……………………………………….………………………………43

Salan Sada (Lamb Curry)…………………………………………….77

 

 

Chicken Karahi

Source: www.desicookbook.com

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

½ Kg. chicken

3-4 tomatoes–chopped

1 onion-chopped (optional)

3-4 whole green chilies

¼ tsp crushed black pepper (Kali Mirch)

½ tsp. salt (adjust to taste) 

3 tbs. oil

1 tsp garlic (Lehsan) paste

½ tsp. ginger (Adrak) paste

Instructions

Remove the skin of the tomatoes.

In a pot add chicken, garlic (Lehsan), ginger (Adrak) and salt. Cover and cook on low heat till the water from the chicken has dried and chicken is half cooked.

Add oil, tomato, green chili and onion. Cover and continue cooking. When the water dries and chicken is tender add the black peppercorn (Kali Mirch), stir and remove from heat.  Serve with naan or boiled rice.

Biryani Recipe

Source: www.desicookbook.com

Serving: 6 to 8 persons. 

 

Ingredients

1 to 2 kg mutton or chicken (preferably bony & fatty)

1 kg basmati rice

100 to 150 grm. Yogurt

3 to 4 tsp. salt (according to taste)

1 medium onion

6 garlic (Lehsan) cloves

1 tbs. ginger (Adrak) paste

12-16 green cardamom (Chhoti Ilaichi)

1½ to 2 tbs. garlic (Lehsan) paste

16-20 cloves (Laung)

1 cup oil, preferably ghee
2-3 tbs. Kewra (or rose water) [I didn't use this]

½ tsp. yellow food colour

1 tsp. sugar

1 pinch saffron (Zafran)

½ tbs. lemon juice

Instructions

Add mutton, salt and garlic (Lehsan) cloves in a pot with 2 glasses of water. If you are using chicken you can do with only one glass of water or less.

Cook on low flame till the meat is tender and the water dries.

Take one medium onion slice it and fry it in about 1 cup of oil/ghee till it is light brown. Add the rest of the spices, yogurt and fry it little and then add the meat.

Simultaneously soak the rice in water for half an hour.

Boil the rice with 1 tps. of salt and ½ tbs. of lemon juice till it is ¾ cooked. (I cooked the rice in turmeric, rather than adding food colouring) Drain the water and keep it aside.

Transfer a little rice to a pot and on top of that add some of the meat masala combo so as to make layers of rice and masala keeping rice layer at the bottom and top.

Sprinkle on it a solution of Kewra, yellow food colour, 1 tsp. of sugar and a pinch of Saffron (Zafran) soaked in a tbs. of milk or water.

Keep it covered and on a low flame for about 10 minutes keeping the pot tightly closed to steam cook (dum).

When the rice is done, the biryani is ready. Serve with salad or Garlic (Lehsan) chutney and Raita.

NB: I did the layer of the rice and meat in an ovenproof dish and cooked it in the oven, as I had seen it done this way too. I must admit, I added other things in such as peppers and mushrooms – still tasted great!

Salan-Sada (Mutton Curry)

Source: www.desicookbook.com

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

1 kg mutton

1½ tsp. salt (according to taste)

1 tsp chili (Lal Mirch) powder

4 tbs. coriander (Dhaniya) powder

¼ tsp. turmeric (Haldi) powder

200 grm. onion chopped

½ cup oil

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ginger (Adrak) paste

1 tsp garlic (Lehsan) paste

2 large size tomato-pealed

Instructions

Fry the onion on low flame then remove from the oil and spread out on a plate to dry.

Meanwhile in the hot oil add all the spices with a few tbs. of water and mix well aver medium heat.

Add the meat and stir until the water has dried.

Add 2-3 glasses of water, cover and leave on low heat to tenderize.

When the water is half dried, crush the onion you fried earlier and add to it. Add finely chopped tomato.

Cook it and let the meat soften and the desired consistency of curry is achieved.

The name Pakistan, Pak (pure) and stan (land) means ‘land of the pure’ in the Persian and Urdu languages. I hadn’t realised it but Pakistan does not just share a border with Afghanistan, India and Iran but also China. As of 2013, it was the 6^th most populas country in the world. The Indus area which covers the majority of Pakistan was home to some of the oldest known civilizations. The Neolithic Mehrgarh people and later the Indus Valley Civilisation lived in the area as long as 9000 years ago.

Pakistan was originally made up of East and West areas split either side of India. East Pakistan rebelled with a Civil war in 1971, and, with the help of India the area gained independence from the west and become the country of Bangladesh.

The massive Karakoram, Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges to the North of Pakistan contain 5 of the 14 mountain peaks in the world over 8000 m (26,250 ft) high. Including the world’s second highest mountain, K2 at 8611 m (28,251 ft) and Nanga Parbat at 8126 m (26,660 ft).

Cricket, whilst popular, is not the country’s national sport - field hockey is. The country has had a lot of success in the sport having won the Olympic gold medal 3 times in 1960, 1968, and 1984, and the Hockey World Cup 4 times in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994.

 

CUISINE

Source: http://www.foodbycountry.com

Pakistan is divided into four provinces, each with different cultures and regional specialties. For example, machli (fish) and other seafood are delicacies in the coastal Sind province. In Baluchistan, (the largest province) located in western Pakistan, cooks use the sajji method of barbecuing whole lambs in a deep pit. The people living in Punjab (eastern Pakistan) are known for their roti (bread) and elaborate cooking preparations. The Pathens, who occupy the Northwest Frontier province, eat a lot of lamb. Their cooking, however, is considered more bland than the other regions. Oven-baked bread eaten with cubes of meat, called nan-kebab , is a favorite Pathen dish.

As a whole, milk, lentils, seasonal sabzi (vegetables), and flour and wheat products are the most abundant foods, forming the basis of Pakistani cuisine. Chapatis is a flat bread made from wheat and is a staple at most meals. It is used to scoop up food in place of eating utensils. Vegetables such as alu (potatoes), gobhi (cabbage), bhindi (okra), channa (chickpeas), and matar (peas) are eaten according to the season. Dhal (or dal ) is a stew made with lentils, one of the most commonly eaten vegetables.

 Pakistan offers many fresh fruits that are most plentiful in the summer and autumn months. Mangoes, papayas, bananas, watermelon, apricots, and apples are some examples. Chiku have the taste of a date and the texture of a kiwi fruit. Many Pakistanis eat their fruit (especially watermelon) with a light dusting of salt to offset the sweetness or tartness.

 While these dietary staples may seem bland, Pakistani cuisine is rich with sauces and condiments to spice up their dishes. A variety of spices (an Indian influence), such as chili powder, curry, ginger, garlic, coriander, paprika, and cinnamon, are at the heart of Pakistani cuisine. A wide range of chutneys (a relish usually made of fruits, spices, and herbs), pickles, and preserves that accompany meats and vegetables give Pakistani cuisine its distinct flavor.