Pakistani Tadka

Biryani is a well known rice dish from the Indian sub continent. It is a magnificent dish redolent of myriad spices, saffron and caramelized onions, and is probably the most aromatic rice ever cooked. In all its elegance, it is a dish fit to be served on a royal court. The cooking process of Biryani manifests a perfection of culinary art. Friends are our life! You meet someone along the road and you just know that you are meant to be in the very first few minutes that you have met; vibes ripple through you before the exchange of words. And that is the story between me and Yahya. The first time was not the usual first time, it was more like we met after a long time – calm and steady with a promise to last for a life time!  Both of us just recently stepped into our twenties and traveled, far away from home, sharing a lot and also teaching and encouraging each other out in our culinary adventure in our little basic apartment kitchen. I never dared to cook Biryani till I saw him make i...

I am thrilled to share the recipe of this kali mirch chicken karahi. I first made this dish a couple of weeks ago, and both Saptarshi and I couldn’t believe how good it was. While not the most photogenic, this incredibly flavorful and moist karahi hit all the right taste notes. The recipe itself is pretty straight forward. I adapted it from the  Salt’n Pepper Village Cookbook  that I have enjoyed cooking from this past year (other recipes I have adapted from the book are  lobia masala  and  beef keema ). While I had heard of kali mirch chicken karahi, and at some point in my life had it, this was the first time I made it and will definitely be cooking it regularly. Some notes about the recipe… WHAT MAKES THIS CHICKEN KARAHI DIFFERENT Unlike the traditional chicken karahi (a version of it  here ), this one does not use any tomatoes. The flavor and moisture of the karahi comes from letting the chicken cook in ginger, onions and water for 25 minutes, and a gen...

This is the sort of dish best enjoyed family-style, around your kitchen counter on a Sunday morning, or for dinner with friends on a Friday night. Of course, there are all sorts of versions of this dish: shakshukha, huevos rancheros or eggs in purgatory. My version—fragrant with cumin and sumac—is a reflection of my Pakistani-Persian spice pantry.  The beauty of this dish is that it comes together very fast; you prepare the spiced tomato base, and then gently drop the eggs in to cook in a warm tomato bath. The result is these perfectly poached eggs in a jammy tomato curry. I made my dish with  Conestoga’s Farms’ Organic Eggs . Their hens are fed Canadian Organic Regime (COR) certified feed, made from non-GMO grains. Eating local and seasonal is important to me, especially when it comes to feeding my family—what I love is that even for Conestoga Farms, “local matters”. (These eggs are certified local by Foodland Ontario.) Before serving, adorn with sumac, it’s a spice which you...