Eid Recipe Series - Third Edition: Chatpati Dahi Phulki

Prep time: 15-20 minutes 

Let’s face it. From the eve of the chaand raat we begin thoosing so much that by the time it is the morning of Eid, we are swollen balloons. Going from one rishtaydaar ka ghar to another, we keep thoosing further and soon reach the verge of a violent ‘thaaaa!’. In such situations, dahi pulki tends to be an easy eat, ‘cause you gotta eat na, warna Farzana chachi may not like that you didn’t eat anything from her dastarkhawaan. Or, Najma phuppo may accuse you of dieting. Hence, this dahi phulki is a life saver.

I know that dahi phulki/barhey are an essential as well as acritical feature of the Pakistani iftar table. Yet, my family never tends to get sick of it. We all love it, and make it throughout the year. My mum’s been a champion of it, and even those who have never had the jigar to acknowledge her skill in the kitchen will not deny that when it comes to dahi phulki, she’s a master. I’ve learnt the art from her and have made a few of my personal modifications. Here my sisters, I pass the legacy down to you.

Ingredients:

500 grams plain yogurt (usually 1 dabba)

¾ cup milk

¼ cup water

1 medium sized potato

2 cups ready made phulki (or home made if you prefer)

2 tbsps chopped onion

1 tomato (chopped)

2 tbsps chopped coriander

1 small green chili (chopped)

½ boiled chickpeas

¼ tsp garlic paste

Paaprhi

Bhel (can skip if you don’t like it)

Imli chatni

¼ tsp sugar

Masalas: salt, pepper, cumin, red chili powder, chaat masala

Method:

• Boil some water and soak the phulki in a bowl. Keep aside for softening

• Boil a potato

• While it boils, begin preparing the yogurt. In a big bowl, dish out the yogurt and add the water and milk while whisking. If you want thinner consistency, add a some more milk. Make sure the consistency is creamy and not watery

• Now add the masalas (according to taste) and the garlic paste (gives the dahi a totally bazaari spin). Mix well

• Once the potato is done, peel and dice it into small cubes and add to the mixture

• Now, add onion, tomato, green chili and half the chopped coriander

• When the phulki is soft (in about 10 minutes), remove the excess water and add the phulki to the yogurt mixture. Mix gently to keep the phulki from breaking

• Remove the mixture into your serving dish. [Pro tip: Never do the mixing in the dish you intend to use for serving because it gets super messy during the prep and you want to serve in a gandi,mayli looking dish]

• Now sprinkle paprhi generously, along with the bhel

• Garnish with the remaining chopped coriander.

• Chill well and serve with imli chatni. [Pro tip: If your family is a fan of very chatpati cheezein, then add 2 tsps of imli chatni to your yogurt mixture for an extra tangy punch]

More pro tips:

You can prepare the dish a day in advance and add some milk if it gets too thick the next day. Make sure the you add the crunchy garnishing right before serving. Warna soggy scene.

You can prepare the yogurt mix with the phulki, garlic and masalas and then serve the rest of the additions as side condiments. That way the guests can build their own chaat plate, making the process fun and also a little different.

Eid Recipe Series - Second Edition: Mahvish’s Signature Lasagna

Prep time: 40 minutes

Baking time: 25 minutes

No Eid trolley can be complete without a cheesy dish so I decided to share the best cheesy recipe I do. There are some things I cook that make me love my haath ka zaaiqa a little more, and my lasagna is one of them. Apni hi fan ho jaati hoon isay khaa ke. Qasam se. Lawlingzzz.

If an Italian would see this recipe, he or she may want to cringe because it is not how the natives would typically do it. But as Pakistanis love going a little extra with the fillings and the flavours, I have modified this Italian dish to suit the desi palate. Agar Pakistani/Indian khana yahan ke hisaab se customize kiya jaa sakta hai, to wilaayati khanay hamaray taste buds ke hisaab se kyun nahin banaya jaa sakta? Kya khayal hai? Khyaal beshak naik hai.

So, here’s how you make Mahvish’s Signature Lasagna. The process is cumbersome. But the result… finger lickin’ good.

Ingredients:

1 large onion

¼ tsp garlic paste

250 gm minced chicken/mutton/beef

2 tomatoes

½ cup pizza sauce (replace with one more tomato if you don’t have it)

4 tbsps chili garlic sauce

Lasagna strips (usually 6)

6 tbsps flour

4 cups milk

250 gm cheddar cheese (grated)

½ cup sliced mushrooms

250 gm spinach (finely chopped)

1 capsicum

Oregano

Method:

• Chop the onion and fry until golden brown
• Add minced meat and cook for 5 minutes

• Add chopped tomatoes, the pizza sauce, salt, pepper, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp garlic paste, chili garlic sauce and chili flakes. Allow to cook until the meat is done (about 15 minutes). Add ¼ cup water if required. Let the consistency to remain saucy [Pro tip: prepare the mince one day in advance to make the lasagna process quicker the next day]
• Boil lasagna strips and keep aside
• In a saucepan, saute the flour in 3 tbsps of oil and then add four cups of milk while using a whisk. Keep the heat low. [Pro tip: this mixture tends to get lumpy. To get rid of the lumps I use a hand blender. True life savour and I end up with creamy, lump-less consistency of my white sauce]

• Now add ¾ of the grated cheese, chili flakes, pepper, salt and 4 tbsps soy sauce. Your white sauce is now ready

• In a separate pan, saute ¼ tsp garlic paste and mushrooms. Then add the spinach and allow to cook for about 5 minutes in a couple of sips of water. [Pro-tip: I use the ready made creamy spinach available in the market. Go for that option if possible! Richer, more delicious!]

• You can now begin your layering. Oil the base of the dish and start with lining it with white sauce. The layer the meat and cover with lasagna strips. Repeat with white sauce, meat and lasagna strips and white sauce again. Now, layer the mushroom and spinach mixture and cover with the remaining grated cheese.

• Garnish with rings of capsicum and put the dish in a pre-heated over at 180 degrees centigrade for 25 minutes

• Once the baking time is up, allow the lasagna to rest for a couple of minutes so that it is set and ready to be served [Pro tip: If you want to serve this for a daawat along with many other dishes, you can prepare the dish one day in advance and bake right before serving. You can focus on other dishes on the day of the daawat that way!]

Eid Recipes Series - First Edition: Banana and Walnut Bread with Cream Cheese Sauce

Why did I choose my banana and walnut bread for your Eid trolley? 1. Every time I’d make it in Karachi for my friends, the platter would end up with a clean sweep. It is THAT good. 2. Chocolate based desserts and kheer/firni types are done to death. 3. After those heavy Eid lunches, this is a great meetha to sit back with, chill out and wash down with a hot cup of chai.

Simple ingredients, no taraddud. With this, lots of wah wahs are sure to come your way. Minha had it yesterday and said “mama, you’re surely the best cook in the world”.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 50 minutes – 1 hour

The Bread

Ingredients:

3 eggs

175 gm sugar

175 gm butter (melted)

2 bananas (mashed)

2 tsp lemon juice

50 gm chopped walnuts

225 gm flour (makes about 16 tbsps)

¾ tsp cinnamon powder

1 + ¼ tsp baking powder

Method:

·        Beat the eggs

·        Add all the ingredients except bananas and walnuts and whisk

·        Now fold in the bananas and walnuts

·        Oil a bread pan

·        Pour in the mixture and bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degree C for 50 mniutes to 1 hour (all ovens are different so if your loaf is not done after 45 or 50 minutes, bake more)

The Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tin condensed milk (I used Comelle in Pakistan)

¾ jar of cream cheese (I used Kraft or Puck in Pakistan)

Method:

On very low heat, mix both ingredients with a whisk and remove after a few minutes. Do not boil. Just make sure the consistency is smooth and there are not cheesy lumps in the sauce. Ideally, make the sauce right before serving so it is warm.

How to serve: When the bread is ready, you can pour the warm sauce on top. Garnish with banana slices and whole walnuts.

#confessionsonsafarnamay: From my fat self to the smart me

Born in the Sub Continent, I am genetically & geographically predisposed to storing endless amounts of fat. I was always an obese child and my teenage years were no different. Nobody, including myself, knew me as anything but that. And if that is not enough, I also belong to a society where the general lifestyle is sedentary. Parents focus on saying “beta parho, achay marks lena” instead of saying “health ka khayal rakho, gym ke liye break le lo”. In my social class, women don’t have the freedom of mobility and nobody wants to take on the pick & drop to the gym/fitness class responsibility for their daughter/sister. However, this attitude may change if her weight is coming in the way of an “acha rishta”.

One day, as I sank to the floor playing ‘ring around the roses’ with my preschool students, I felt a mortifying rip in my pants. It dawned upon me, finally, that I need to take some serious action about my situation. Having the ‘active’ job of being a teacher does not mean you’re living a healthy lifestyle. You need to watch your calories. You need to put your heart, along with your muscles, to work.

However, my realization did not mean that my family was instantly ready to see what I see. It took me a year to convince my mother that I need to start with classes for the 42 day challenge. I needed validation from the doctor that the kind of weight loss I need for my body to function optimally, taking a walk around my garden or trying desi totkas and Chinese kahwas will not help. I saved up money and alongside, worked on convincing my parents that I am old enough to drive to the other end of the city after dusk by myself for my sessions. 

Finally, when my weight-loss journey began, I found it to be the most liberating experience of my life. It was fun to drive around the city (haha) but rush of endorphins after my work-out was just exhilarating. I craved for it. I loved being sore the next day. I loved every drop of sweat. I loved the way my body quickly built strength and my progress made me fall in love with my physical self for the first time.

Once the challenge was over, I took the responsibility of my body unto myself and continued exercising as well as clean eating. I lost more fat but I was not spending hours at the gym, I wasn’t counting calories or starving myself. Hence, my lifestyle was sustainable, and I was already showing great improvements as far as joint pains, hormonal cycles and digestive issues were concerned. Of course, the physical changes increased my confidence. Who doesn’t like it when they drop a dress size and the people around you compliment your new body.

But more than the validation of my colleagues and friends, what I cherish is how my relationship with myself improved. I started being a little less mean to myself, talking less negatively to myself. I realized that if I put my mind to it and put in the work required, I could actually achieve my goals. And to achieve those goals, I learnt more about my body. I understood what it needs and how it works. I wondered why, in all those yesteryears, I never paused to reflect on how I felt after downing several slices of pizza. I learnt how to manage my time, prepared my own food in batches, made my food budget, and did my own grocery, prioritizing my health over a new kurta. On the mental health front, I identified what leads to my emotional-binging and learnt how to deal with those issues without using food as a crutch.

During my weight loss journey, I realized that not everyone is going to support you. You will encounter that aunty who will watch your plate in social gatherings like a hawk and give you weight loss tips that she never intends to follow herself. You’re going to get a lot of the following: “Aakhir kab tak dieting kero gi?”, “Itna sa mu reg gaya hai! Boorhi lagnay lag jao gi!”, “Pehle zada achi lagti thi!” and “Rung kaala hogaya hai dieting ker ker ke!”. When you visit relatives, they will get offended if you refuse to risk your health over their oily ‘mehmaan-daari’. I also became aware about the general fake standards of beauty of the world we live in. I lost the weight but I was the same person inside. Yet there was an instant spike in the ‘likes’ on my social media posts. However, what helped me stay positive and on track was my amazing girl gang that adapted our socializing around my scheduled cheat meals without even half a frown.

2.5 later, I’m still on this lifelong journey of the quest for health and strength, trying to pass on my positivity to others by being a fitness trainer. I respect my body and am grateful for all that it does for me, despite years of abuse and negative self-talk. I have learnt the power of doing small things on a consistent basis, instead of crash dieting for a month. I have stopped looking at numbers and focus on how I feel about my body.

For all the girls out there, who don’t feel confident about the shape of their body, start by understanding that body types, genetics and metabolism rates differ. We need not take the pressure of achieving the ‘right’ waist size. Stop feeling helpless and gain control over your food intake and physical health so you can be mentally fit and become better nurturers. The day you stop measuring your outer beauty from the fake yardstick of the society and valuing health over your waist size, half the battle will already be won. The idea is not to lose weight. The idea is to gain health.

Before and After