Karachi Food Diaries Day 27 - 29 (Desi omelette, khagina)

January 2, 2011 Sunday, Day 27
My sister, who ended up spending the night at my cousin's place, arrived at noon and woke me up. She was wired on very little sleep and wanted company. We carried on from the night before over brunch, chatting, laughing and generally being silly. It was a bittersweet throwback to the days before college, marriage or emigration had entered our lives, when we shared a room and our secrets. Brunch was a khagina with paratha. Khagina is a delicious egg and vegetable concoction. In the late afternoon, as my sister took a nap, I accompanied my mother to a majlis. The hisa was heavy taftan and reshmi kabab. Taftan is a thick, bulbous rice flour bread. I ate in moderation and skipped dinner.

January 3, 2011 Monday, Day 28
At night,  my parents had a dinner at their place. The food was catered by a company that my mother has frequently ordered from over the years. I always enjoy their food. On the menu tonight was fried fish, kababs, khatti daal, pulao and mixed vegetable .

 

However, the star of the menu was Kuna. This is a slow-cooked mutton curry originating from a small place in Punjab called Chiniot. The meat is marinated and cooked in an earth-ware pot, buried underground in a pit over coals. The idea is for it to cook in it's own fat for 2-3 days. The result is succulent, falling-off-the-bones, melting-in-your-mouth delicious!

January 4, 2011 Tuesday, Day 29
The food for the day was leftovers from the night before with freshly made daal and turnip sabzi at night; cleansing and mercifully meat-free.

Khagina

This most tasty brunch item is a cross between an omelette and scrambled eggs. It is very easy to make and delicious. Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a non-stick frying pan. Once hot, add a chopped medium onion. Fry till it turns transparent. Add to this, 1 chopped and deseeded medium tomato, a pinch of crushed red pepper, 2 deseeded and chopped green chillies, a handful of chopped coriander leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium heat till the tomatoes soften. Add 4 eggs to the pan and scramble to mix in well with the ingredients. Keep breaking the egg mixture and cooking till well browned (the eggs are cooked longer than in western recipes). Remove from heat and serve immediately with roti or paratha.