Kachumber salad is a fresh vegetable salad made with onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. Enjoy it with daal chawal, curries, or just on its own. We don’t eat a lot of salads in Pakistani curries. If a salad is served, it is usually raw – sliced tomatoes or cucumbers, maybe some turnip sprinkled with salt, black pepper or some vinegar and lemon juice. The one salad that is common in Pakistan is the kachumber salad. It’s super quick to make –…
Onion pakora, pyaz pakora or onion fritters are a Pakistani / Indian appetizer made with sliced onion and coriander coated with a spicy chickpea flour batter and deep-fried till crispy. What are pakoras? Pakora or pakoda are the Pakistani version of a fritter, but made with besan (chickpea flour in English). It’s a snack that is synonymous with the rainy season, and the moment it rains, what everyone wants is crispy crunchy vegetable pakoras with chai. It is also an…
Chana chaat is the Desi version of a salad. The base is chickpeas or chana with onions, tomatoes, green chilies and coriander as the supporting characters finished off with chaat masala and lemon juice for that necessary spice and khataaz! How to make chana chaat? Start off with boiling chickpeas or what is known as chana or sufaid chole in Hindi / Urdu. In fact, another name for chana chaat is chole ki chaat. You can also use canned chickpeas.…
Similar to potato fritters, aloo pakora or aloo pakoda (in Hindi) are a traditional Pakistani / Indian appetizer of sliced potatoes that are coated with a spicy chickpea flour batter and deep-fried till golden brown. What are pakoras? Pakoras are the Pakistani version of a fritter, but made with besan (chickpea flour in English). The traditional ones are the potato pakoras (aloo kay pakoray) and onion pakoras (piyaaz kay pakoray), but chicken pakoras (boti kay pakoray), spinach pakoras (palak kay…
With a sprinkling of Egyptian dukkah on top, this smooth and creamy dukkah hummus is the perfect dip to serve with raw vegetables or pita bread. What is Hummus? Hummus is a popular middle-eastern dip or thick spread made with chickpeas (sufaid chole), garlic, tahini, lemon and olive oil. It is popular in Middle Eastern cuisine, and the popularity of the cuisine has led to hummus being easily available in supermarkets. It is considered quite healthy as it’s main ingredients…
Black eyed peas curry or lobia ka salan is a Pakistani vegan recipe made with lobia / black eyed peas in an onion-tomato gravy base with garlic and aromatic spices. It can be made in a regular pot or in a pressure cooker / Instant Pot. Growing up, we always used to eat a lot of vegetables (still do, actually). My father is someone who believes in having a balanced & healthy diet, and would eat meat-less dishes in many…
Kaali daal or khari masoor ki daal is a popular vegetarian / vegan Pakistani lentil recipe made with black gram lentils. It can be served with chawal (rice) or roti. One of my favourite meals is kaali daal with chawal. The actual name of the daal is khari masoor ki daal or sabut masoor ki daal but it’s commonly known as kaali daal in Urdu. Probably because the type of lentils used are black gram lentils which are well…