04/10/2025
As Ramadan ends, a new cookbook sheds light on Pakistan’s varied cuisine
By Albert Stumm
The Associated Press
www.asianreporter.com/food/2025/04-pakistan.htm
April 7, 2025
Also included below are these recipes:
> Mutton Pulao (Aromatic Rice with Mutton)
> Lahsun ki Chutney (Garlic Chutney)
> Seviyan (Sweetened Roasted Vermicelli)
When Maryam Jillani was growing up in Islamabad, the last day of Ramadan was about more than breaking a month-long fast with extended family.
A joyous occasion, the Eid al-Fitr holiday also was marked with visits to the market to get new bangles, wearing her best new clothes, and getting hennaed. Not to mention the little envelopes with cash gifts from the adults.
“But, of course, food,” said Jillani, a food writer and author of the new cookbook Pakistan. “Food is a big part of Eid.”
At the center of her grandmother Kulsoom’s table was always mutton pulao, a delicately spiced rice dish in which the broth that results from cooking bone-in meat is then used to cook the rice. Her uncle would make mutton karahi, diced meat simmered in tomato sauce spiked with ginger and chilies.
Cutlets, kebabs, lentil fritters, and more rounded out the meal, while dollops of pungent garlic chutney and a cooling chutney with cilantro and mint cut through all the meat. For dessert were bowls of chopped fruit and seviyan, or semolina vermicelli noodles that are fried then simmered in cardamom-spiced milk.
The vegetable sides were the one thing that changed. Since Ramadan follows the lunar Islamic calendar, it can fall any time of year.
These dishes, and many of the associated memories, make it into Jillani’s book, but she would be the first to acknowledge they represent just a sliver of the nation’s varied cuisine.
Her father, who worked in international development, used to take the family to different parts of the country. Later, she did her own development fieldwork in education across rural Pakistan.
Along the way, she found striking differences between the tangier, punchier flavors in the east, toward India and China, and the milder but still flavorful cuisine in the west, toward Afghanistan.
“I knew our cuisine was a lot more than what we were finding on the internet,” she said.
After moving to Washington, D.C., as a graduate student, she started the blog Pakistan Eats in 2008 to highlight dishes that were lesser known to western cooks. Research on the book began 15 years later, and she visited 40 kitchens in homes across Pakistan.
“Even though I hadn’t lived in Pakistan for over 10 years, each kitchen felt like home,” she writes in the book’s introduction.
She includes what she calls “superstars” of the cuisine, such as chicken karahi, one of the first dishes Pakistanis learn to make when overseas to get a taste of home. The meat is seared in a karahi (skillet) and then braised in a tomato sauce spiced with cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, and chilies before a dollop of yogurt is stirred into the pot.
Other recipes reflect the diverse nature of Pakistan’s migrant communities, such as kabuli pulao, an Afghan rice dish made with beef, garam masala, chilies, sweetened carrots, and raisins.
“The idea behind the cookbook is to try to play my small part in carving out a space for Pakistani food on the global culinary table,” she said.
And of course, honoring her grandmother’s mutton pulao.
Jillani hosted Eid this year at her home, now in Manila, the Philippines, and made it, as well as an Afghan-style eggplant, shami kebabs, and the cilantro and mint chutney.
She also considered a second mutton dish. “I’ve been a bit homesick,” she said.
Editor’s note: Albert Stumm writes about food, travel, and wellness.
Photo credit:
PAKISTANI CUISINE. This combination of photos shows the cover art for Maryam Jillani’s cookbook Pakistan, left, and a dessert called seviyan. (Hardie Grant Publishing via AP, left, and Sonny Thakur via AP)
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The cookbook Pakistan serves up recipes for mutton pulao, garlic chutney & sweet seviyan
www.asianreporter.com/food/2025/04-pakistan.htm
April 7, 2025
A mainstay at the Eid al-Fitr table of Maryam Jillani’s grandmother, Kulsoom, was mutton pulao, an aromatic rice dish prepared in a gently spiced bone broth. It’s both comforting and celebratory — and can be absolutely revelatory when paired with a sharp condiment like a garlic chutney.
Dessert included seviyan, sweetened vermicelli noodles simmered in spiced milk.
Here are recipes from Jillani’s cookbook, Pakistan, for the mutton, chutney, and seviyan:
Mutton Pulao (Aromatic Rice with Mutton)
Serves 6 to 8 as a main course
About 3 pounds bone-in mutton, lamb or beef, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
4 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
4 whole cloves
2 black cardamom pods
One 2-inch cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons garlic paste
2 tablespoons salt, or to taste
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cups basmati rice, rinsed in several changes of water
Fill a large pot with 8 to 10 cups water. Add the mutton, half of the onions, the whole cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon of the garlic paste, and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the mutton for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the quality of the meat, until it is tender. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat. Strain the solids from the liquid, return the liquid to the pot, and place it by the stove. Discard the solids.
In a clean, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil until it begins to shimmer. Add the remaining onions and fry on medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes until they are a deep golden-brown color. Take care to not let them burn. Stir in the remaining garlic paste and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the mixture no longer smells raw.
Increase the heat to high and add the mutton and remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Sear the meat, 5 to 7 minutes, until it has browned slightly. Pour in 6 cups of the strained mutton broth (put any leftover broth in airtight containers and freeze for later use). Taste and add more salt as needed. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Carefully pour in the rice and let cook for about 10 minutes until the water completely evaporates.
Wrap a tight-fitting lid with a clean kitchen towel and place it securely on the pot. Turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and let the rice steam for at least 10 to 12 minutes until fluffy. Carefully transfer the pulao to a serving platter and fluff with a fork.
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Lahsun ki Chutney (Garlic Chutney)
Aida Khan, a London-based entrepreneur and chef, shared her mother’s recipe
for this vibrant, punchy lahsun ki chutney. Its very spicy, so a little goes a long way.
Refrigerate this chutney in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Makes 1 cup
4 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 1/2 small red onions, roughly chopped
1/4 cup red chile flakes
1 bird’s eye chile (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
In a food processor, combine the garlic, onions, chile flakes, and bird’s eye chile (if using), and blitz until you have a thick paste.
In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and onion paste and salt. Bring it to a simmer, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to low. Cook the chutney for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan, until the garlic and onions have caramelized and the chutney’s color deepens.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.
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Seviyan (Sweetened Roasted Vermicelli)
Serves 12
1/4 cup ghee
6 green cardamom pods, cracked
5 1/2 ounces seviyan (semolina vermicelli)
8 1/2 cups full-fat milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons blanched sliced almonds
In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, melt the ghee and heat it until it begins to shimmer. Add the cardamom pods and fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the seviyan and fry over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until browned slightly. Gradually pour in the milk and bring the pudding to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Keep the milk at a gentle simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring continually, until the milk thickens but the seviyan still has some bite.
Transfer the seviyan to a serving bowl. Top with sliced almonds. Let it cool to room temperature before serving. To store, transfer to an airtight container, refrigerate, and use within 2 to 3 days.
Photo credit:
CULTURAL COOKING. Pictured are the ingredients needed to make the mutton pulao recipe in Maryam Jillani's Pakistan cookbook. (Maryam Jillani via AP, File)
