Pakistani Food Archives - Flour & Spice

Chicken Methi Qeema with Matar (Ground Chicken with Fenugreek and Peas)

September 21, 2018 No Comments

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For the longest time my daughters would insist they don’t like qeema. I try not to take this personally but for someone who grew up on Aaloo Qeema and Daal this was hard to stomach. Then one day we were at a friends house for brunch and she had made a chicken qeema and lo and behold they were gobbling it up. Naturally I smiled and was all like “look at you,that’s great!” but inwardly I had that ugly moment that every mom has had. That “what’s wrong with my qeema” moment.

To this day I am not sure what the answer to that question is – I will stick to my guns on my making of a really good Aaloo Qeema as well as a good Chicken Karahi Qeema. However, I have discovered there is something about the quick magic of Methi Qeema that my kids really like.

Pakistani Food, Seafood

15 Minute Shrimp and Coconut Curry

August 25, 2018 4 Comments

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There is a kind of summer afternoon that is almost magical. The afternoon that is neither too hot nor too cold, pleasantly breezy, and magically mellow. As I sit and type this I hear the gentle swishing of leaves and branches, the lake water lackadaisically lolling against the dock, the kids quietly painting, and Coke Studio in the background. We are up in the Kawarthas for our annual cottage vacation. The first time we came up here my little one wasn’t born yet and now she is the one who is most enthusiastic and will plunge right into the lake on overcast days with an infectious glee.

Beef, Pakistani Food

Nihari – A Classic Pakistani Dish

June 10, 2018 No Comments

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There are few dishes that can stand on their own. That don’t need a second fiddle, a side, anything else really except the garnishes that accompany it. Biryani is one such dish, but if I am to be honest than my favourite one dish meal is Nihari. With it’s strong spices, beautifully tender meat, the sourness of the lemon, that bright leafy cilantro. If I had a last meal request it would be Nihari.

Beef, Pakistani Food

Dum ka Keema – Spicy Smoked Ground Beef

June 1, 2018 No Comments

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There are foods that I think of as Paratha foods, the kinds where even the tenderest chapati does not have the same oomph. A good Dum ka Keema, spicy, smoky, heady punctured with the brightness of mint, the boldness of ginger, that just calls for parathas. It is the one dish that I will always eat at a dinner because there is something about this potent combination I find hard to resist. If there are parathas on the table then whose counting helpings. Definitely not me.

Condiment, Pakistani Food

No Oil Lemon Pickle (Achar) – Khattay Leemoo

May 29, 2018 20 Comments

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Disclosure: I have partnered with YMC and Bernardin and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

I always thought these lemons were a just my mama thing. As in I was actually convinced that no other person on this planet makes this super simple, clean, oil free lemon that is delightfully sour and the perfect condiment to brighten up your biryani and khichri alike. I shared an image of the process in my Instagram stories and was stunned when so very many of you responded and said that your mother, your mother in law, an aunty, a grandma, they all make it as well. In fact it was someone on instagram who supplied the moniker Khattay Leemoo.

Mind Blown.

So now I am going to put this pickle in the category of things that I keep humble delicious “ghar ka khana” (food cooked at home) dishes like daal and aaloo gosht in. Their utter simplicity means they may not be restaurant dishes, but they are definitely a worthy addition to the home cooks repertoire. Also can I just say how fun they were to do?