What a wonderful book--"The Karachi Kitchen" by Kausar Ahmed. You can make anything in it with little or no difficulty, and the food is delicious.
Ahmed knows how to make recipes doable because she has taught cooking for years in mainstream schools in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan. She has also trained disadvantaged school children and women needing economic aid.
Her food is not simplified and without flavor. The recipes are from her family, some passed down for generations. They're just right for home kitchens. And many are kid-friendly too.
One of the easiest is the chicken recipe at the end of this story. You saute chicken breasts--that's what Ahmed is doing here--then put in everything else, cover the pan and cook until done.
Available through Amazon, the book is beautifully designed and photographed. Ahmed published it herself, because she wants her food to bring people together, a communal spirit fostered by her mother and grandmother.
To learn more about the book and her work as a cooking teacher and food stylist, go to her website.
Ahmed travels back and forth from Karachi to the United States and six months ago resettled in Seattle. She's up at 5 every morning to work with her team in Karachi and is also active in Project Feast, which prepares immigrants and refugees for jobs in the food industry.
Recently, Ahmed came to Los Angeles to present her book and recipes at Melissa's Produce. First up were fried okra chips, which could transform your feelings for okra, if you don't like it.
And who wouldn't want to eat this potato salad? It's certainly one of the best I've tasted, brightly seasoned with coriander and cumin, tamarind, cilantro, green chile and mint. "For me, it's usually the main dish," Ahmed said. On the side, she presented a tamarind and date chutney.
This beautiful spiced orange salad is flavored with a spice mix that Ahmed learned from her grandmother.
Karachi inhabitants are enthusiastic meat eaters, thus this dish of long simmered beef tenderloin that is first marinated overnight with yogurt, spices, ginger, garlic and lemon juice.
Carrot pudding, gajar ka halwa, is often sticky-rich with sugar. Ahmed's version is lighter, fresher and healthier.
After lunch, she showed how to make the chicken dish, which is called murgh hara masala. Murgh means chicken, and hara means green, indicating the cilantro, green onions and green chiles that she adds.
Demonstrating the potato salad, she added a surprising ingredient, crushed corn tortilla chips. These are a substitute for papri, the fried dough crisps that would be used in Karachi. Papri can be found in Indian markets here, and you can make your own from recipes online.
Karachi food is diverse, Ahmed said in answer to a question. Early on, Chinese food was the rage. Other influences are Persian, French, Mediterranean and, now, South Indian food. There's even a taco restaurant, she said.
Burmese inhabitants have influenced the food too, and the famous Burmese noodle soup khao suey is in Ahmed's book.
Karachi is a port city, with a great variety of fish available, and Ahmed has included her father's favorite fish dish, pomfret marinated with spicy masala.
Recipes that may not seem "foreign" include a cheesecake, black forest cake (above, as shown in the book), a fruit trifle and apple pie, reflecting the way her family ate at home
"Karachi is all about flavor and adventure," Ahmed said. "The street food is phenomenal." An example of that is bun kabab, a burger made with potatoes instead of meat and one of several vegetarian dishes in the book.
Here is another look at the green chicken, and the recipe.
MURGH HARA MASALA
Green Chicken
From "The Karachi Kitchen" by Kausar Ahmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 to 8 boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped
4 green chiles, such as serranos, left whole
4 garlic cloves, julienned
1 teaspoon ginger root, julienned
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Salt to taste
Heat the oil in a large, deep pan. Add the chicken and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly browned but not cooked through. Add the cilantro, green onions, chiles, garlic cloves, ginger, yogurt, chili powder and salt. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until dry.
Remove the lid and continue to cook the chicken on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until oil is released from the sides. Serve hot with naan, pita bread or basmati rice.
Makes 4 servings.
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