Pakistani Meal

I chose to cook a Pakistani meal so I could make rumali roti. I have always been fascinated by the see-through roti but did not have the special equipment needed to make it. Recently a friend told me about a stove top method and I have wanted to try it. This menu was planned around rumali roti.

Alu bhujia was a new way of cooking potatoes and very tasty too. Potatoes being very popular in my house this was my choice for main vegetable side. Maste khiar or cucumber salad is a variation of one of the most popular salads in this part of the world. The Lahori dal added the needed protein to the meal. I debated on whether to make rice to go with the dal and finally decided not to make any. Shir khurma or sevinya is a simple dessert made with vermicelli.

I did not try any new ingredients for this meal but used well known ingredients in a different way. I have made roti or chapati almost every day for years but this roti was something different. I am glad I tried it. I also made a new friend in the process. She has a blog and lives in Pakistan. I checked with her before finalizing the recipes.

Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Rumali Roti 
• Alu Bhujia
• Lahori Dal 
• Maste Khiar 

And for dessert

• Shir Khurma

Lahori Dal (Pakistani Red Lentil Dal)

Dal is a staple in Southeast Asia. Whether it is eaten with rice or chapati it is usually a part of the meal. The lentils available are cooked in a whole lot of different ways. This is one such preparation.

This dal preparation is very interesting. Usually dal along with onion and other spices is cooked in a pan. The tempering oil and spices are added to the simmering dal. In this recipe the dal is simmered in a pan with spices. The onion is added to the tempering oil and poured over the top. The addition of cream (I used cashew cream) give the dal a delicious rich flavor.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
1 cup lal masoor dal (red lentils)
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. oil
3 tbsp. cashew cream (soak 5 cashews in water for 30 minutes and grind to paste)
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/4 cup onion, diced
salt to taste
lemon juice to garnish

Soak dal for an hour. Drain and discard the water. Add 2 cups water and pressure cook the dal until it is tender. In my pressure cooker that is 5 -7 minutes on high heat with whistle. In pressure cookers that whistle that would be 2 whistles. Let the pressure subside. Mash the cooked dal with the back of a spoon.

Pour the dal in a pan and bring it to a boil stirring frequently to ensure it does not stick to the bottom. Lower heat and let it simmer. Add the turmeric power, paprika, garlic, half the oil and cashew cream. Continue to let it simmer and thicken on low heat.

Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in a separate pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the onion and saute until tender and begins to turn color. Add the onion mixture to the simmering dal. Season with salt and turn off heat.

Add the juice of half a lemon when you are ready to eat. Tastes best hot.

Maste Khair (Pakistani Cucumber Salad)

Cucumber salad in made in every country of this region. They are called by a whole lot of different names but the base is usually cucumber and yogurt with a variety of flavoring agents. This version is flavored with mint leaves.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
1 cucumber
4-5 mint leaves
1/2 cup yogurt
salt and black pepper to taste

Peel the cucumber and shred it. Mince the mint leaves and add them to the shredded cucumber. Combine with the yogurt, salt and pepper.

Maste Khair is ready.

Alu Bhujia

I found this recipe while looking for vegetable sides to go with the rumali roti. My daughter loves potato in any form and this dish seemed so appetizing I decided to try it. I was not disappointed. We all enjoyed it very much. It is a very simple dry vegetable side that will enhance any menu.

Recipe adapted from here.
You will need
3 medium russet potatoes
1 onion
1 red chili pepper
1 tbsp. oil
handful cilantro
salt and black pepper to taste

Slice the onion. Heat oil in a pan and add the onion along with the red chili pepper. Saute until onion is tender and deep golden brown. Take the onion out of the pan and keep aside.

Meanwhile wash and brush the potatoes to get rid of the dirt. You can peel the potatoes if you wish but this recipe calls for potatoes to be used with this skin. Slice the potatoes into thin slices. Add them to the pan in which the onions were cooked.

Saute the potatoes until they are cooked. Turn up the heat and brown them. Add the onions and minced cilantro. Season with salt and black pepper. Let the mixture heat through and turn off heat.

Tastes best when hot with chapati or poli.

Rumali Roti

Rumali roti is one of the many paper thin rotis made in this region. It is usually made with specialized equipment. I adapted this recipe to make it on the stove top. The result was a read-through-it-thin roti that was super soft too.

I had heard of rumali roti and always thought it was an exotic roti as it is made with specialized equipment. When I found out it can be done on the stove top I had to try it. As long as you can roll the roti really thin you cannot go wrong with this recipe. You should give it a try.

You will need
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1-2 tbsp. rice flour
1 tbsp. oil

Sift the wheat flour and all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and using water form a soft dough. Knead it well and keep aside covered for 20-25 minutes. Divide the rested dough into lime sized portions. Make sure you have an even number as you will use two at a time.

Heat a griddle pan. Roll out one portion of dough on a working surface using a little flour if needed to prevent it from sticking. Keep aside. Repeat for the second portion of dough. Add a couple drops of oil on the second portion of rolled dough and spread it around lightly with a brush or your fingers. Sprinkle some flour over the top.

Place the first rolled out dough over the top of the second.

Now continue to roll out this disc until it is really thin. You are rolling out the two disc placed one over the other.

Place the rolled out roti on the hot griddle pan. Keep the heat high.

Flip it over when the underside is cooked and develops brown spots. Repeat for the second side.

Quickly take it off the heat and separate the two rotis.

For each roti place the uncooked side back on the hot griddle pan for a few seconds.

Fold each roti separately into quarters and store in a airtight container lined with a tea towel or kitchen towel.

Repeat for all the rotis.

Rumali rotis taste best when hot. Eat with any vegetable side.

Shir Khurma (Sevaiya)

I made this very simple dessert as part of my Pakistani meal. However, sevaiya or what we call kheer is prepared using a similar recipe in a lot of the neighboring states. In Maharashtra we call this sevaiyachi kheer.

I picked this dessert for a reason. It takes me back to my college dorm. I shared a room with two other girls and one of them celebrated Eid at home. Her sister-in-law made the most delicious pot of shir khurma and my roommate brought us pretty good size portions. Unfortunately we had to share it with our rather large circle of friends. As roommates we thought we were entitled to a larger share. We were crazy back then. So we would save a good big portion for us and pretend as if the shir khurma came in a much smaller container than it really did. We would have a light dinner and then share the contents of the smaller container. It would be gone within minutes. When all our friends would leave we opened up the saved portion and ate to our hearts content. Putting this down in words makes it sound so weird but back then it seemed perfectly right. I savored the taste of this dessert recalling all those old memories.

You will need
3 cups milk (whole milk or 50% whole milk and 50% lower fat milk)
1/2 cup cream
2 handfuls vermicelli
2 tbsp. slivered almonds
2 tbsp. pistachios
2 tbsp. raisins
1 tbsp. dried dates, chopped (I left these out)
2 pods cardamom, shelled and seeds pounded to a powder
1 tbsp. ghee

Soak the nuts in a little milk for 3-4 hours. Drain and keep aside.

Roast the vermicelli in the ghee with the cardamom powder. Cool and keep aside with the nuts and raisins.

Bring the milk and cream to a boil. Lower heat and add the vermicelli and nuts. Let it simmer until the vermicelli softened and the sevaiya thicken to the desired consistency.

Turn off heat.

Shir khurma can be served hot or cold.