The good Yelp reviews caught my attention. Masood and I were in San Francisco for ten days and were craving good, Indian/Pakistani food. Not the mild, sweet tomato-based curries of upscale restaurant, but the authentic flavors of home. We…
Category:Recipes
There is an Indian restaurant here in Dubai called Little Hut that my family and I frequently go to whenever we crave for some good sizzlers. I always look forward to the smoke, the exciting sizzling sound, and the aroma that…
The pictures that I am sharing with you today were taken in the kitchen of my previous apartment, and I have made this pulao numerous times since then. It was a tiny, crowded kitchen but will always remain special because…
Tonight I have decided never to order pasta in a restaurant again, specially when I can easily make this delicious home-cooked sun-dried tomato fusilli! The beauty of home-cooked meals is that you know exactly what’s going in your food, plus…
Peppersass, originally named Hero, was built in 1866. Peppersass was the first mountain climbing cog railway engine in the world. It was used to build the railway and later haul passengers for about twelve years before being retired. The original name…
There was a dust storm in Sharjah and Dubai two days ago. The fierce gust of wind blew the fine desert sand, scattering brown and golden powder generously all over the city. The daytime temperature dropped the next day, from…
When it comes to grocery shopping I am the Project Manager; this means I am the main decision-maker on what to purchase for the week’s meal. But the one item that is almost always picked by Masood, the Finance Manager,…
These are my first attempt at baking brownies ever, and they turned out so great that we had these for dessert after every meal, and then some for tea. My plans were to bake something else, like a strawberry and…
“I think both mom and grandma are asleep already, let’s go. But be quiet!” I lead the pack; three innocent young girls follow me to the main gate of our house. It’s one of those hot and lazy summer afternoons…
Guests coming over for tea? These cheese sticks are a wonderful accompaniment to tea or coffee, and they’re a breeze to make! Each bite delivers the yummy goodness of cheese with a hint of cumin and sesame seeds. Your guests…
A delightful dish inspired from the original Beef Stroganoff, only this one is better because it contains bacon bits, chicken, dried herbs, and crushed red chilies.
I have a collection of ketchup sachets in my kitchen. In the U.A.E. whenever you order or take-away food, you almost always get a few packets of tomato ketchup, even if you remind them not to add ketchup. And…
Very delicate, rich and creamy—that’s what a Malai Kofta is. It is the ultimate seductress; gently tempting your taste buds to give in to the wonderful bursts of flavors. It is a Mughlai dish, served to kings and queens during…
“This looks good,” said Ammi while looking at a leaflet from Spinneys, a supermarket retailer in the Middle East. It was a cool January morning. Masood left for an emergency trip to India and I went to stay with my…
Mongolia is the most sparsely populated independent country in the world, with a population of around 2.9 million people, with 38% of them living in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. It is also the world’s second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan, which…
This was one of the simpler recipes that didn’t scare me back when I was a beginner in the kitchen. Today, I cook this whenever I want to whip up something fast and simple, when I don’t feel like eating…
Ingredients 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup packed brown sugar a can of pineapple slices in juice, drained (reserve juice) a few pieces of maraschino cherries without stems a box of your favorite super moist yellow cake mix (this makes…
Ingredients A can of fruit salad, drained (you can add fresh fruits too, but you need time and effort to chop them) A packet of strawberry jelly crystals Some sponge finger biscuits, crushed A packet of plain custard Strawberries for…
In our colorful Indian/Pakistani culture, a man doesn’t normally cook, not when there’s a woman in the house at least – more so if that woman is his mother. One such man is my brother, Mushtaq. He only enters the…
Biryani comes from the Persian word ‘Birian’ which means ‘fried before cooking’. There are many stories associated with the origins of the biryani. One legend has it that Timor, also known as Tamerlane, brought it down from Kazakhstan via Afghanistan…
The picture above was from when I first started blogging at The Purple Journal. I cringe when I see those pictures that I once thought were decent enough to be posted online. Regardless, I don’t want to delete them; it…
Originating in the Punjab region of India, tandoori murgh is a special chicken dish marinated in yogurt, and seasoned with different spices. What makes tandoori murgh so special is in the way it is cooked. It is traditionally cooked at…
This is my very first attempt at posting a recipe online. I have successfully been self-promoted from being a dishwasher, to a kitchen assistant, and now a cook. I learned this recipe from my very talented Mother-in-Law, who cooks like…