food of lahore

Lahore is a city of live hearted people, always finding an occasion for enjoyment, entertainment and food feast. The traditional food of Lahore is found in the walled city of Lahore, while the Western and Chinese cuisines are generally found in the posh localities of Lahore Cantonment, Gulberg, Shadman and Shahjamal. However, recently, a noval idea of establishing Food Street outside the walled city for the easy excess to locals and tourists has gained much popularity.

Gawal Mandi boasts of an excellent variety of non-vegetraians food including Kababs of 103 kinds and fish of 77 types in Lahore. The tradition food which are available in Lahore are HAREESA, CHICKEN KABAB, BIRYANI, SEEKH KABAB, TAKA TAK, CHURGAH, QAWAH, SUBZ CHAI (GREEN TEA), LASSI, NAHARI, SOMOSA, KATLAMA, BARAF KA GOLA, MURGH CHANAY, SARDAR DI MACHI, KHEER, FRUIT CHAAT, DHAI BHALLEY AND PAAN.

Now the famous "Phajjay Kay Paye" (joints of goat) originated from old Lahore are available here beside Doctor Nihari, Sardar's fried fish, pathooray, katlamma and much more. For the the sweet tooh, a variety of sweet dishes are available like Jalaibees, Firni, Kheer and others. Also the sizzling smoke of BBQ food being prepared in abdunance is there round the clock.

Lahorei bring their outstation guests to these streets to show their hospitality. They order kilos of various varities of cooked meat, chicken, fish and other food itmes. After the food a glass of iced lassi made of yogurt, water, sugar and "pairay" a sweet made of thickened milk and sugar, served in a large aluminum glasses adds to the everlasting taste. Those who are good at it, prefer to drink it in one breath, called "Deek" in local punjabi language.

By the way there is a "Paan" also available there. It has many substances wraapped in the beetle leaf and one do not forget it before leaving the food streets. There is a traditional break fast of "halwa and Poori" served with lassi , Nihari and Hareesa. These dishes are difficult to digest too since these are very rich in oil and pappers, so one should be careful, just in case.

Traditional Foods Of Lahore

Soup corner

For a healthy diet it is important to include some home made soups in our everyday meals. Home made soups are good for a health, prevents us from coughing and fever. Such soups are packed with the goodness of fresh ingredients and are very low in fat. Soups are easy to make and added bonus is the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables available all year.
There are many kinds of soups that suit different occasions at various times. Light soups can be served as a starter to a meal. And hot and spicy soups taste great on a cold or a rainy day.
The nutrition value of soup varies, depending upon the ingredients used. Thin or plain soups are lower in nutritive content as compared to thick soup. A bowl of spinach soup provides one third of an adults daily iron requirements.
Soup can be classified as protein rich food and vitamin and mineral rich soups. To thicken soup in a tasty way, try using tomato paste and plenty of vegetables. As the mixture cooks the vegetables swell and thicken the soup.
Another creative thing that can make unassuming soup looks attractive the way it is served. We can sprinkles carrots curls or fresh coriander leaves which make soup more delicious.


Fruit facts
Pomegranate like other fruits is an excellent source of minerals and nutrients. Recipes of pomegranate are rich in minerals like magnesium and potassium. Magnesium activates 100 enzymes in our body and help muscles and nervous systems. It has been discovered that pomegranate contains unique fatty acid called punicic acid, believed to give the fruit its healing power. And help to prevent from cancer.

Wasting Food: A threat to our environment

FOOD is our basic necessity,we need to consume it everyday and good food appetite enables us to perform our daily activities efficiently.We think we're a "green" nation but still, three million tonnes of food are being wasted every year. That's 145kg per person and collectively, is enough to feed the entire nation for three weeks. Apparently the most wasted foods are fruit and veg, followed by meat, bread and dairy, and the main problem is that we buy or cook too much.Once we throw out food, it rots in landfill and produces methane, an extremely harmful greenhouse gas. So we're all wasting good food and money, while also adversely affecting the environment. Many households suffer from a lack of planning when going food shopping, resulting in buying more than what is needed. Just stick to the following rules and you'll find your bills, and your waste, will decrease:

* Once a week, sit down and organise a menu for the whole week.

* Figure out what amount of each ingredient makes up one portion; for example, half a cup of rice per person, etc.

* Add up these portions to figure out exactly how much you need per meal.

* When you go shopping, stick to the list. Avoid impulse buys as they tip the balance and result in throw-outs. Lots of us get confused over food labels. A use-by label is an exact date after which a food product shouldn't be used, so don't buy foods that are too close to this date.If something has a best-before date, you do not have to throw it out on this date — it's just specifying that it will taste better before this date. Ensure you don't buy overripe fruit and veg, else you'll be chucking them out with the trash within a day.When storing food, use cling wrap, plastic containers and sealable plastic bags to keep them fresher for longer. And why not rearrange your fridge into sections, such as sauces on the top shelf, then dairy, then meat then veg at the bottom? This way, you'll avoid finding surprises at the back.What to do with your leftoversSo many of us suffer from a lack of confidence when it comes to cooking. If you find your fridge full of leftovers, try these easy use-it-up recipes:

* Bubble and squeak. Roughly chop leftover cooked vegetables such as carrot, potato, leek or cabbage and mix in bowl with one egg, onion, garlic then form patties with hands. Fry in oil and butter over low heat for five minutes on each side, then turn up the heat and crisp up. They're delicious served with sausages and gravy, leftover cold meats and salad or as part of a fried breakfast.

* Sri Lankan curry. If you've got leftover roast chicken or beef, make a curry. Fry an onion and a clove of garlic in oil, then add a teaspoon of each turmeric, cumin, ground coriander and grated ginger. Add a few chopped tomatoes, a cup of stock and a cup of coconut milk. Simmer for 20 minutes, throw in your leftover meat and simmer for a further five minutes.

* Frozen yoghurt. Add a spoonful of sugar to leftover yogurt and whisk until fluffy. Freeze for one hour, remove and whisk again. Repeat an hour later and throw in any leftover fruit. Freeze for a minimum of four hours before serving.

* Cheese fondue. We've all had chunks of hardening cheese sitting forlornly at the back of our fridge, right? Well use them up! Throw cheeses (Emmenthaler and Gruyère are best but mozzarella, goat's cheese, tasty or raclette work too) into a non-stick pan with a clove of garlic, a teaspoon of mustard and a cup of white wine. Simmer gently, stirring all the time, until melted and then dip in hunks of bread and leftover fruit and veg such as celery, apple, tomato and carrot.


Rida Shafqat

Apple Pancake

Ingredients

Pancake mix (2 cups)
Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
Water (1 cup)
Apple-sauce (1 cup)

Preparation:
First, you need to preheat a skillet to 375 degrees. Then, combine the pancake mix with some water, applesauce and cinnamon. Stir this combination till the ingredients blend well. Then, use some vegetable oil to lightly brush the skillet and follow this by pouring about ¼ cup batter onto the skillet for each pancake.Cook this for about a minute and then flip it over to cook the other side for another minute till it turns a shade of golden brown.
This recipe can help you prepare 12 deliciously yummy pancakes.

Rida Shafqat

LASAGNA

The main lasagna recipes are those with tomato and besciamella sauce. Lasagna is only another shape of pasta and so, it also matches with an infinity of seasonings.

You’ll need (4 people):

• 4 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 200 gr of ground veal meat (instead of ground, it can be minced too)
• 2 cans of peeled tomatoes
• ½ minced onion
• 2 pieces of minced garlic
• minced parsley
• some basil leaves (if you don’t have them, don’t worry)
• salt

How to do it?


Put the oil inside a pan (it's better to use a "high" pan, to avoid squirts), turn on the gas and add the minced onion. Leave it for a while, mixing it to avoid overcooking, and then add the minced garlic and the minced meat. After colouring it for a while, add the peeled tomatoes cut in medium pieces. Mix it all and leave it on high gas for a while. As it begins to boil, regulate the gas to avoid overcooking it, but leave it a little bit high. Otherwise you'll get a "too liquid" sauce, and a good one should be dense. Mix it every now and then. When your Italian tomato sauce is ready? When the oil is separated from the tomatoes. It'll take about half an hour for this quantity, but pay attention when you mix it that you'll notice that you can see the oil apart from the tomato cream.

Rida Shafqat

Achoo, damn the ‘Bird Flu’

Ethnic cleansing to match that of Adolph Hitler’s, and panic to rival the end of days, all for a simple flu. You may have heard of the infamous ‘Bird Flu’ and some of you may even have strolled into your barn with a shot gun and the intention to switch to an all beef diet, but not all of you know where the disease comes from and how dangerous it truly is.
The bird flu is also known as the ‘Avian Influenza’, which has numerous sub-species, most of which are non-infectious. In cases where a particular strand is infectious, it is usually asymptomatic (does not cause or exhibit symptoms), so the carrier bird doesn’t really have a disease. Usually when a certain strain does show symptoms, it is the result of a mutation caused while crossing to a different bird species, which again usually results in symptoms so minor it is often ignored. However, with peoples needs for pets and domesticated birds, the mutation could occur several times while crossing the species barrier resulting in the creation of a strand of avian flu which can kill over 90% of an entire flock within days, and spread to other flocks in close proximity and kill over 90% of them, necessitating the need to essentially go Elmer Fudd and kill every bird and bunny in the area. Because migratory birds are capable of carrying H5N1, it also has the capacity to spread to other parts of the world.
The H5N1 strain of the avian disease is a particularly nasty one which allows for the exchange of genetic material between species, making it possible to infect humans. However, the species barrier is quite significant which makes cases of bird-to-human transmission a rarity. There is a little evidence of limited human-to-human transmission with research being conducted into the risk. The risk factor for contraction of the virus comes in when handling poultry, with about 60% of reported human infections from the current Asian strain leading to death. There is also a risk of the virus mutating and turning into a virulent disease capable of human-to-human transfer.
Generally if humans manage to contract a strain of the virus, their symptoms include, fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, conjunctivitis, and, in severe cases, breathing problems and fatal pneumonia. The severity of the infection may depend on the patients own immune systems ability to fight it off, or if they have been exposed to the strain before which may have left a lingering immunity. With the high mortality rate of the virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has taken an interest, and said that the statistics may be inaccurate due to a significant number of people never reporting or requiring treatment for the bug. Still the world has freaked out and appropriate to their paranoia the United States is working with the WHO, the FAO, the OIE and 88 foreign governments to address the issue with planning, greater monitoring (i am glad they have those spy satellites to keep an eye on those pesky birds) and full transparency in reporting and investigating avian flu occurrences. Not to mention the number of US government departments working together, with more efficiently than they did on the Middle East crisis, to co-ordinate a global response to the ‘threat’. All i can say is, ‘Polly wanna cracker?’
Mohsin

HI Tea any one??

So you want to have Hi-Tea at you’re place? There are two essentials things that are needed to have Hi-Tea. The first is you should be Hi (the atmosphere is perfect) and the other of course is the Tea.

Generally tea is consumed in late afternoon and that can also be a replacement for late lunch or early dinner if you are an early bird (early to bed early to rise). Generally Hi-Tea is a bit more lavish as it contains more eatables than ordinary evening tea which usually consists of milk tea and a plate of biscuits.

Hi-Tea time, usually late afternoon, is more flexible to allow for guests and still have time in the evening to do other chores.
To throw a successful Hi-Tea the most important aspect is the atmosphere. One cannot simply set out trays laden with food and tea in a bed room while every one is scattered around the house.

The first thing is to set aside an area of the house that will allow some space and privacy.
The next thing is the sitting area. It can be a drawing room with a buffet table or a garden set with comfortable chairs that are set about a centrally located table (to set the tea and other food items).

Still not lavish enough?? Go to you’re local florist and get a big bunch of assorted seasonal blooms. Cut the stems and place the blooms randomly around the sitting area in beautiful glass jars. Jam jars and honey jars also make up good decorative vases. Arrange them so you and your guests are surrounded by the beautiful blooms but make sure that they don’t get in the way of the guests.

Use doilies under your plates, bowls and other tableware. Get some attractive napkins that go with the floral decoration and the tableware and oh yes don’t forget to polish that silver tea set!

To throw a perfect Hi-Tea proper table ware is of vital importance. Firstly the tea set is the center point of the event. Most people usually own ceramic tea sets which are usually decorated with flowers, be more elegant and serve eat in the silver tea set or have the fine gold or platinum china. Now-a-days modern looking tea sets have geometric designs or simply colors splashed on to them or are monochromatic (black and white or totally contrasting colors).

Other things that are essential are the tea cups and saucers, teaspoons, desert plates, desert forks and spoons, spreading knives, and the napkins. These can be placed on the table before hand or can be stacked neatly on the buffet table.

Other thing that completes the getting “Hi” or the atmosphere is numerous tea candles randomly placed around the setting and add some music that should provide the guests with a pleasant background.
Now coming to the main element of Hi-Tea is of course the Tea. These days there is a large variety of tea available in the market from the traditional yellow label to orange mint and jasmine. When serving tea, it is always best to offer as many different types as you can get and let the guests choose. The flavored tea usually comes in tea bags and can be placed in baskets and served along with a teapot of boiling water so the guests can choose what ever they fancy.
Mixed tea is also very popular among Pakistanis and is usually made from loose tea. The crushed tea leaves that come in boxes.
And keep a sugar pot and low calorie sweetener along with the tea.

Finally select the food that will be served with the different variety of teas. Some of the common items are
Sandwiches: chicken, beef, cheese, vegetable and other spreads. Try using an assortment of white and brown bread for weight conscious people.
Next add some cakes, short breads, biscuits and pastries to the food collection.
Then comes every one favorite NIMKO!! A must have for every Tea and Tea party.
Also the important part of the menu is the fried items (not for weight conscious people) shami kebabs, chicken wings, chicken nuggets, kebab sticks, fried chicken pieces and pizza.
Finally comes the eastern delicacy the Chaat Family: channa chaat, gool gappy, bhel puri, fruit chaat, lobia channa and dahi bhally these are light but fulfilling and they taste delicious.
So…Hi-Tea anyone???

Mohsin