Karachi Food Diaries Day 25 - 26 (Seviyan, sweet saffron vermicelli)

December 31 Friday- Day 25

New Year's Eve!

January 1 2011 Saturday- Day 26

Hurting from the previous night, I stumbled out of bed around 1pm. Lunch was simple; daal, potato cauliflower medley, keema with roti and rice. To usher in the new year on a fitting note, we decided to go out for dinner. So, my mother, her sister, my sister and three female cousins, with a couple of bottles of wine in tow, headed to Okra again. My original response to this restaurant on this trip had been lukewarm. I was ready to give it another chance.. and it didn't disappoint! The food was delicious. Starters were duck pate, calamari and escargot. The calamari was perfectly grilled, smoky and tender with a light lemony dressing, the pate was cleverly presented and the escargot was out of this world! Juicy and large, served on little toasted bread rounds to soak up the buttery goodness. I could have eaten the whole plate by myself! Good start to the meal. The round of entree was also as satisfying.

          

My two favorite dishes were filet mignon in a morel sauce and tilapia with green chillies. The sauce in the former was rich and creamy with a generous use of morels. The filet was topped with fried slivers of beets. It was utterly original and very tasty. The tilapia was crispy and tender, if a tad bit burnt, with a delicious green chilli sauce that definitely had a bite. The dish was served on a bed of greens with a side of grilled onions and garnished with lemon and cilantro. I am hungry again just writing about it! We ate, drank, laughed over shared stories from the night before and more. With a rich, delicious dark chocolate molten cake to go, we moved our party to my aunt's place and continued well into the night.  

Seviyan

I decided to share the recipe for seviyan (sweet saffron vermicelli) here. The reason being that it is a treat that is prepared on festive, celebratory occasions and is a delicious, easy dessert. Prepare a simple syrup by dissolving 2 cups of sugar in a pot of water over medium-high heat. Separately, prepare 1 lb. vermicelli by breaking it into small, equal length pieces (about 1 inch). In a preheated frying pan, add 2 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter) add to this the vermicelli, 3 whole cloves, 5-6 cardamom pods and some raisins and cook till a deep brown color. Transfer this to the syrup pot along with a generous portion of chopped peeled almonds and pistachios (about a cup). Also, add to this a mixture saffron (a pinch) soaked in warm milk for about 2-3 minutes. Stir the ingredients well and cook till the vermicelli softens and all the water dries up. Serve warm with a generous dollop of cream.

Happy 2011!

Karachi Food Diary Day 10-11 (Rice pudding, kheer)

December 16, 2010 Thursday- Day 10
Muharram 9th.. lots of majlises. Lunch was at home, deliberately light; kichri (light, fluffy rice and lentil dish), beef and potato cutlet and yogurt. There was also an interesting pasta dish. It seems the continental cuisine, or for that matter any other cuisine, is adapted in the most interesting way to the local desi palette. This dish was shell pasta with tomatoes, sliced green chillies, spring onion, cilantro and cheese (I believe cheddar) and, I suspect, a generous squish of tomato ketchup. Pasta was nice and soft; i know not the ideal, but tasty and satisfying in a very desi way.

Khichri

Desi Pasta

A number of emotions well up at these majlises. It feels like there is a window opening up on itself. It is the palpable spirituality and I also credit my yoga practice that the overwhelming feelings I have are those of love and thankfulness; for being able to be in Karachi at this time, for those around me. Hisas at the two day gatherings was kheer; the most divine rice pudding in the world. Later that night went to my aunt's house for the final masjlis. Up till this point all the gatherings were, for the most part, for women. Tonight was mixed. It has been a family tradition dating back to my great-grandmother in the days immediately following India-Pakistan partition in 1947. The imambarah was glittering and even more divinely lit than ever. Various aunts and uncles took turns speaking and sharing their knowledge and experiences. The grand finale was the recitation of a beautiful lament written by my great-grandfather. After the evening ended, I did something that takes me back to my childhood; the centuries old candle-lighting ceremony. The philosophy behind it is to stay up the whole night and keep the memory alive of those who lost their lives the next day starting at dawn. This is done by visiting an odd number of imambarahs, lighting candles and singing laments. In the past we even went to as many as 9. However, keeping the time (we started at 11:30pm) and the security situation (this being Karachi, of course) in mind, we stuck to only 5. So, me, my mother, aunt and various cousins piled up in our cars and headed out. At one of the house, the men also joined in the lament and the result was powerful, harmonious and beautiful. Got home at 4:30am and fell asleep immediately.

December 17, 2010 Friday- Day 11
The 10th day. Most people observe a faqa on this day, i.e., refraining from eating and drinking water till about 4pm. At about that time, we went to a family friend's place where the necessary preparations and prayers were done. The food was delicious; rice, daal, saag (spinach), haleem (slow cooked lentil and meat dish) and baghare baingan (sauteed eggplant). It was lovely.

Kheer

This rice pudding dessert is a favorite for all festive occasions. It is full of milky, nutty goodness. The most delicious kheer is the slowest-cooked one when the color changes from milky to a deep almond white. Rinse 1/4 cup short grain rice in a couple of changes of water. In a preheated heavy dish, add 1 tsp. butter and lightly sauteed the rice for a couple of minutes. Now add 4 cups of whole milk, turn heat to medium and bring to a slow, roiling boil. Once a boil has been reached, reduce heat to low and leave to cook for about 2-3 hours to achieve the creamy consistency. It is very important to keep stirring regularly during this period to prevent the pudding from sticking. As you see it thicken, add in 1/4 cup sugar, crushed seeds of 5-6 cardamom pods, 1/4 cup thinly sliced almonds and pistachios (reserve another 1/4 cup to serve as garnish), a pinch of saffron strands. Stir in all these ingredients for another 5 minutes. Take off heat and allow to cool. Taste to adjust sugar if necessary and garnish the dish with more almonds and pistachios slivers. Traditionally, individual dessert servings were allowed to cool and set in earthenware dishes. If you like to can do the same by scooping into individual ceramic or glass dessert bowls, garnishing and allowing them to cool in the fridge. Serves 4.