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Summaya Usmani's debut book will make you crave her mother's cooking

Summaya Usmani's debut book will make you crave her mother's cooking

Ms Usmani has turned to memories of dishes cooked in her grandmother’s and mother’s kitchens for inspiration
11 Dec, 2016

Over the years, I must have bought hundreds of cookbooks, and most of them are crammed into groaning bookshelves. Some of them I cook regularly from, others I read for pleasure, and some just gather dust.

My latest acquisition — Sumayya Usmani’s Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes and Memories from Pakistan — falls into the first and second categories.

Sumayya Usmani’s welcome debut cookbook, Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes and Memories from Pakistan, is probably the most beautifully produced and written cookbook I own. Unsurprisingly, it has been named among the top 10 cookbooks of 2016 by the Observer. Considering how many hundreds of books in this category are published every year in England, this is high praise indeed.

Summaya Usmani at the launch of her cookbook in Karachi - Photo courtesy ArtChowk Gallery
Summaya Usmani at the launch of her cookbook in Karachi - Photo courtesy ArtChowk Gallery

Ms Usmani has turned to memories of dishes cooked in her grandmother’s and mother’s kitchens for inspiration. Many of the dishes she describes so lovingly and evocatively appeared regularly on my parents’ dining table. Sadly, during my formative years, boys and young men simply did not enter the kitchen. Reading The Tamarind Tree, I can see what I missed.

Many of the dishes she describes so lovingly and evocatively appeared regularly on my parents’ dining table. Sadly, during my formative years, boys and young men simply did not enter the kitchen. Reading The Tamarind Tree, I can see what I missed.

The author’s culinary memory is precise, and she has recalled old classics as well as dhaba food. Her description and recipes of these dishes is greatly enhanced by superb photographs in a gorgeously produced publication. So I was delighted to pick up a copy in Karachi before I travelled to our beach house in Sri Lanka where I have already cooked from a couple of Ms Usmani’s recipes.

We have a large kitchen from where I have a view of the sea, and I love cooking with Nandi, our wonderful cook and housekeeper. Having someone to chop and slice for you is an obvious advantage in cooking in our part of the world.

Here is a simple recipe for a Karahi Ginger Chicken; my only criticism is that the recipe is for 200 grams of chicken. Who cooks just 200 grams of chicken?

I tend to cook more than is needed just so I can keep any leftovers in the fridge. Of course, in a house with staff, there never are any leftovers. So while I am reproducing the recipe from the book, I multiplied all the ingredients by a factor of six when I cooked a kilo and a half of chicken for my household.

This is a simple dish, and the result was much appreciated by our guests from England. They all took details of The Tamarind Tree to buy their own copies.


Karahi Ginger Chicken

Representational image — Photograph courtesy journeykitchen.com
Representational image — Photograph courtesy journeykitchen.com

Ingredients

200 grams of chicken breast, cut into 2-inch chunks;

2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used ghee);

1 tsp of cumin seeds;

1 tsp each of garlic paste and grated ginger;

2 large tomatoes, finely chopped;

1 tbsp tomato puree;

2 tbsp plain yogurt;

½ tsp red chilli powder;

½ tsp freshly ground pepper;

¼ tsp ground turmeric;

salt to taste;

1 tbsp unsalted butter.

For the garnish:

2-inch piece ginger, finely julienned;

2 green chillies, finely chopped;

handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped;

10 mint leaves.

Method

1) Heat the oil in a wok or deep pan over medium heat.

2) When hot, add cumin seeds and let them splutter for 30 seconds.

3) Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a further 30 seconds until the raw smell of garlic disappears.

4) Add the chicken to the pan and cook until it is sealed all over.

5) Now add the tomatoes and cook for five to seven minutes until soft, then add the tomato puree and the yogurt and cook for eight to 10 minutes, or until the oil starts to separate.

6) Add the chilli powder, turmeric, black pepper and salt and cook for a further five to seven minutes until the chicken is cooked.

7) Add the butter, turn off the heat and cover.

8) Before serving, add the fresh ginger, mint leaves, fresh coriander and sliced green chilli.

This is a simple dish that would go down well at parties. The Tamarind Tree is also full of meat dishes that sadly must wait before I try them out as the quality of meat in Sri Lanka is quite mediocre.

Meanwhile, there are all kinds of other delicacies to check out. This is a book that would make a great present for foodies as well as those who just enjoy food.


Originally published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 11th, 2016

Comments

Akhleshwar Dec 11, 2016 06:59pm
"Having someone to chop and slice for you....". The feudal mindset persists, Irfan.
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Vijay Dec 11, 2016 07:11pm
An excellent book full of mouth watering dishes. For those living in Canada and US it is available on Amazon.
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Jewels Dec 11, 2016 09:03pm
The aformentioned ginger kharahi seems to be based on the original Peshawari Karahi recipe, which is with lots of ginger and a bit black pepper, but no other spices.
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Pakistani Dec 11, 2016 10:18pm
I'd like to gift a good written book of Pakistani recipes to some of my international friends, but I just recognized that this book isn't the right one despite it's amazing title. I don't know why she had to begin her cooking book with religious discussions and negative sentences like, "whenever you think of Pakistan you imagine a land plagued with troubles". Couldn't it just be a book about Pakistani cuisines and not trouble inducing words? Besides that, her book comes with tons of typos. For instance, on page 12 she writes, "In the southeastren province of Sindh And Arab imprints can be felt." Unfortunately, I don't have access to her complete book, so cannot say anything about the authenticity of recipes. Maybe I'll read the book if I found a free copy somewhere, and then buy it if it was good enough, but certainly as of now I won't recommend it to any international friends.
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cricket lover Dec 12, 2016 10:41am
I am loving this book.
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Hina Dec 12, 2016 11:41am
Its is an amazing book, it has a lot of stuff that's very good for beginners,
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azeem usmani Dec 14, 2016 03:05pm
i am a student living in hostel far and away from my family. i like very much to cook something especially against girls to make a cultural fun. that is eminence of our region.
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