Zareen’s Pakistani Kitchen
PAKISTANI KITCHEN Zareen’s
RECIPES FROM A WELL-FED CHILDHOOD
ZAREEN KHAN & UMAIR KHAN
Photography by Neetu Laddha with Khaula Jamil | Cover art by Beygumbano
no wonder i am starving to fill up on this life. i have generations of bellies to eat for. the grandmothers must be howling with laughter huddled around a mud stove in the afterlife sipping on steaming glasses of milky masala chai how wild it must be for them to see one of their own living so boldly.
—RUPI KAUR, The Sun and Her Flowers
To the generations of mothers and grandmothers who fed us with love.
Welcome to Zareen’s 1
Dear Reader 3 / From Karachi with Love 9 Midnights in Karachi 17 / The Desi Pantry 31
I.HALKA-PULKA Snacks and Starters 51
II.NAASHTA Breakfast and Brunch 81
III.MURGH Mainly Chicken 91
IV.GOSHT Meaty Mains 117
V.MACHLI From the Arabian Sea 137
VI.SABZI Vegetarian Delights 145
VII.CHAWAL-ROTI Rice and Bread 167
VIII. IZAFI On the Side 199
IX. MASHROOB Drink Me 217
X. MEETHA The Sweet Life 229
Menu Planning 249 Parting Thoughts 256
Recommended Reading 258 In Gratitude 262 / Index 265
Recipe List
54 ONION PAKORA / Onion Fritter Vg
55 ALOO PAKORA / Potato Fritter + Variations Vg
58 MEMONI SAMOSA / Savory Green Masala Chicken Turnovers
61 DAHI BARAY / Chickpea Dumplings in Yogurt with Chutneys V
62 CHOLAY CHAAT / Tangy Chickpea Salad V
64 FRUIT CHAAT / Sweet and Tangy Fruit Salad Vg
66 DESI PALEO SALAD
71 BUN KABAB / Spicy Sliders with Egg-Dipped GroundChana-and-Chicken Patty
73 BOTI PARATHA ROLLS + Variations
74 BAKED MASALA POTATO WEDGES Vg
75 MASALA FRIES Vg
77 DESI- STYLE CHICKEN CORN SOUP / Pakistani-Chinese Chicken Egg Drop Soup
79 YAKHNI / Spicy Chicken Broth
114 POMEGRANATE- GARLIC ROAST CHICKEN with Gravy H ALKAPULKA Snacks and Starters
82 M ASALA OMELET / Traditional Pakistani Omelet V
83 KHAGEENA / Spiced Egg Scramble V
87 HALWA PURI NASHTA with ALOO BHUJIA and CHOLAY / Traditional Pakistani Breakfast Platter V
88 ANDA PARATHA QEEMA / Eggs, Paratha, and Spicy Ground Beef
94 KARAHI CHICKEN
95 MEMONI CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN
99 GRILLED CHICKEN BOTI
102 CHICKEN HALEEM / Meat, Lentil, and Grain Stew
105 CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
106 MADRAS COCONUT CURRY WITH CHICKEN + Variation
111 MEMONI- STYLE KHOWSAY / Braised Chicken and Noodle Stew with Garnishes
113 SPICY CHICKEN MANCHURIAN
GOSHT Meaty Mains
120 ALOO GOSHT / Beef and Potato Curry
121 ALOO QEEMA / Spicy Ground Beef with Potatoes + Variations
122 KOFTA SAALAN / Spicy Meatball Curry
126 GOLA KABAB / Tender Smoky Mince Patties
129 CHAPLI KABAB / Fried Spiced Patties
130 MEMONI CRISPY FRIED LAMB CHOPS with Mashed
Potato Crust
134 NIHARI / Pakistani Beef Stew
139 MASALA FISH FRY
140 FISH SHAMI KABABS / Desi Tuna Croquettes
142 MEMONI COCONUT SHRIMP CURRY / Green Masala Shrimps in Coconut Milk
143 LAAL MASALA FISH / Fish in Spicy Tomato Sauce
146 TURAI SABZI / Zucchini Stew Vg 147 ALOO PALAK / Spinach Stew with Potatoes V 148 PALAK PANEER / Spinach Stew with Cottage Cheese V 151 ALOO TIKKI / Crispy Mashed Potato Cutlets V
153 LAAL MASALA ALOO / Fingerling Potatoes in Spicy Tomato Sauce Vg
154 ZEERA ALOO / Cumin-Laced Potatoes Vg
157 BHINDI MASALA / Spiced Okra in Tomato-Onion Sauce Vg
159 TARKA DAAL / Yellow Lentils with Chile-Cumin Oil Vg
160 KAALI MASOOR KI DAAL / Black Lentils with Chile-Cumin Oil Vg 161 ROASTED EGGPLANT YOGURT V 162 LAHORI CHOLAY / Lahore-Style Chickpea Stew Vg 164 COCONUT CHICKPEA CURRY Vg
168 PLAIN WHITE BASMATI RICE / Quick and Easy or Traditional Method V 170 AROMATIC YELLOW RICE V
171 SAFFRON AND BUTTER RICE with Cashews and Cranberries V 172 MATAR PULAO / Rice Pilaf with Peas + Variation V
174 CHICKEN PULAO / Chicken Rice Pilaf 178 KARACHI BIRYANI
181 ROTI / Whole Wheat Crepes Vg
184 PARATHA / Pan-Fried Wheat Flatbread V
189 LACHHA PARATHA / Multilayered Flatbread V
193 NAAN / Leavened Flatbread + Variations V
197 PURI / Puffy Fried Bread Vg
201 PLAIN RAITA V
202 CUCUMBER RAITA + Variations V
203 BEET RAITA V
247 MANGO KULFI / Mango Ice Cream V I ZAFI
203 HARA RAITA / Mint-Cilantro “Green” Raita V
205 HARI CHUTNEY / Mint-Cilantro “Green” Chutney Vg
206 HARI CHUTNEY WITH ANARDANA / Mint-Cilantro Chutney with Pomegranate Seeds Vg
206 IMLI CHUTNEY / Tamarind Chutney Vg
207 WICKED SPICY CHUTNEY Vg
207 RED HOT GARLIC- CHILI CHUTNEY + Variation Vg
208 KACHUMAR / Chopped Tomato-Onion Salad Vg
209 KARACHI- STYLE COLESLAW V
212 MEMONI CARROT ACHAR / Spicy Carrot Pickle Vg
214 CHAAT MASALA Vg
215 GARAM MASALA Vg
218 MANGO LASSI + Variations V
222 KASHMIRI CHAI / Kashmiri Pink Tea V
225 DOODH PATTI CHAI / Milk Tea V
227 FALOODA / Rose Milkshake with Toppings V
230 FIRNI / Creamy Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Saffron + Kheer Variation V
233 SHEER KHURMA / Roasted Vermicelli Pudding V
234 BESAN- CASHEW BURFI / Gram Flour and Cashew Fudge V
237 CARDAMOM TIRAMISU V
238 ZAFRANI CARAMEL CUSTARD / Crème Caramel with Saffron V
241 SOOJI HALWA / Sweet Semolina Confection with Cardamom V
243 ROSE ICE CREAM V
246 PISTA KULFI / Pistachio Ice Cream V
WELCOME TO
TO ZAREEN’S
Dear Reader
This cookbook is a food crawl down memory lane, with easyto-follow directions. It features the most popular dishes from Zareen’s, our award-winning California-based restaurants, and our favorite homemade meals and street fare from our childhoods in Pakistan. We hope to share our knowledge, nostalgia, and the joy of great Pakistani food with you, the American home cook. The success of Zareen’s restaurants lies in making Pakistani food accessible to American palates without compromising on authenticity. We hope to do the same with our cookbook. Our motivations in writing this cookbook are threefold. First, we want to instruct home cooks toward a mastery of Pakistani cooking. Second, we want to share a nostalgic ode to the food of our childhoods. Third, we hope to inspire our readers to support our mission of women’s empowerment, which is at the heart of our restaurant and all related endeavors.
All cookbooks aim to teach. The good ones make the learning process undaunting. Given the perceived complexity of South Asian cooking, approachability was priority number one for us. So we shaped our recipes with easy-to-follow steps, generally available ingredients, and a close eye on preparation time. Having run
cooking classes and restaurants, we also thoroughly kitchen-tested our recipes so you won’t find untested measurements that lead to underwhelming meals.
Given the incredible diversity of South Asian cooking, we curated our recipe selection to include the most popular dishes from thousands of Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi specialties and staples. We chose some dishes American home cooks might already know from their favorite Indian and Pakistani restaurants. We also included some South Asian street foods that have become popular thanks to social media.
We hope you will find here authentic Pakistani recipes made accessible to American home cooks.
SHARING OUR NOSTALGIA
A good cookbook is more than a manual. Like any beloved book, it is a communion between writer and reader. Through evocative descriptions and photographs, we want to convey our passion for Pakistani cuisine to you. We want to share our nostalgia for the foods of our childhoods with all our readers: from the children of South Asian diaspora eager to learn the culinary heritage of their