Pakistani Cookbooks?

[wannabechef]

Hi,

I'm interested in learning how to cook Pakistani/Indian food. I want a book that has relatively simple recipes and is for a beginner of this type of cuisine.

The reason I say Pakistani and not Indian, is that I feel that I enjoy food in Pakistani restaurants generally more than Indian. I know they are similar in many ways, and even have many of the same dishes and ingredients, but I generally found the Pakistani versions to be spicer and generally more flavorful. I also would like to learn some good meat dishes and kebabs, and I know a lot of Indian books are more veg-centric.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks - WBC

[Shinboners]

I don't know of any Pakistani cookbooks, but the following link shows the recipes from the Pakistan episode of "Food Safari".

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/show/food-safar...sine/#Pakistani

[Ce'nedra]

When in doubt, search for SBS Food Safari!

Edit to add:

I don't know about Pakistani food but if you're still interested, I have a really good Indian cookbook that features fairly simple yet authentic recipes.

It's called 'Simple Indian: The Fresh Taste of India's New Cuisine' by Atul Kochhar.

Edited November 10, 2008 by Ce'nedra (log)

[adey73]

Atul Kochhar's book & restaurant are very good.

As is 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi, a bit of a bible.

Am off to Goa in 3wks and am as excitable as an 8yr old about it!

here are some Kochhar recipes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/recipes...r&submit=Search

Edited November 10, 2008 by adey73 (log)

[prasantrin]

It's not a book, but try the Pakistani section of bararchi.com (quite a good site, imo), and Desi Cookbook.

A few titles of paper books (as opposed to online ones), but I've not tried any of them.

Edited November 10, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[dougal]

...

The reason I say Pakistani and not Indian, is that I feel that I enjoy food in Pakistani restaurants generally more than Indian. I know they are similar in many ways, and even have many of the same dishes and ingredients...

←

Hmmm.

The cooking of most of the population of Pakistan, would I think be described as Punjabi in style. But I'm sure things get different towards the Afghan and Iranian borders, for example. And in Kashmir...

Most "Indian" restaurants (I think worldwide, not just in the UK) are actually Bengali or Bangladeshi. Bangladesh, being Moslem and once actually part of Pakistan, shares a certain amount of dietary code with Pakistan, but Bengali cuisine would differ somewhat from Punjabi...

I think its as much of a mistake to talk about "Indian" cooking as it would be to talk about "European" cooking. Its a colossal generalisation!

There are distinctly different regional cuisines in the sub-continent, and I think that distinguishing them would be a great place to start.

Madhur Jaffrey's book 'Tastes of India' was a great primer. I think its been republished under the title 'Flavours of India' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flavours-India-Mad.../dp/0563370777/

I think this book may have other identities in the USA including http://www.amazon.com/Madhur-Jaffreys-Flav.../dp/1884656064/ but the point is that this is an inexpensive book structured by the regional cuisines.

[nickrey]

Try this on-line cookbook http://www.pakirecipes.com/

[wannabechef]

Thanks everyone. I searched online for some Pakistani recipes and found that even for dishes of the same name, there are wide variations in the recipes. This includes spices used, method of cooking, etc. I was really surprised about this, but as others said in the thread, I guess Indian and Pakistani cultures are themselves so complex and diverse, that depending on what region, etc, there may be a hundred variations of the same dish. So, I guess I just have to use trial and eror and try a bunch off different recipes and stick with whichever version I like best.

I will defiantely check out some of the books and sites you guys recomended. Thanks!

~WBC

[Tan Can Cook]

The following books are great and they demonstrate the distinctive qualities of what separate Pakistani Pakwan (Pakistani Cuisine) from Indian food. The Essential Sindhi Cookbook by Aroona Reejhsinghani focuses cuisine from Sindh Province of Pakistan. The remaining books provide general highlights and overview of the various cuisines and food practices from the provinces making up Pakistan.

 

Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands by Maryam Jillani is pre-ordered and will be published in March 25, 2025. The Pakistani author is currently based in the Philippines and has an active social media on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/maryamxjillani/. I was informed by her that the book focuses and provides on the comprehensive culinary culture of the various provinces making up Pakistan.

 

Zareen’s Pakistani Kitchen: Recipes from a Well-Fed Childhood by Zareen and Umair Khan (husband and wife co-authors and co-owners of the restaurant of the same namesake in Redwood City, CA) will be out later in March 18 2025. This book features the cuisine of the Memons—an ethnic community in Pakistan originally hailing from Gujarat, India, and Karachi, Pakistan.

 

Sindh: Sindhi Recipes and Stories from a Forgotten Land by Sapna Ajwani is not yet out here in the USA via Amazon US. It has been published in India by the large and famous publisher that is HarperCollins India. If you don't want to wait, check out the independent bookseller going by the name "Books Puddle" based in New York at Abebooks.com. The vast majority of my 45 regional cookbooks are purchased from them. Their other names are "Table Top Art" on Amazon Marketplace and "Cold Books" on Biblio.com. They specialize in authentic, genuine copies of regional Indian cookbooks imported from India.

 

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes and Memories from Pakistan by Sumayya Usmani does not need any introductions. A great author and wonderful memoirist, her book contains wonderfully genuine Pakistani recipes with instructions on specific provincial spice blends commonly use in Pakistani homes in Pakistan.

 

The Food and Cooking of Pakistan: Traditional Dishes From The Home Kitchen by Shehzad Husain is the least of my favorite—"diluted"—and I don't recommend it. Each of us is on a different cooking journey, with varying experiences and goals for learning Pakistani cuisine. With Shehzad-ji's book, she doesn't provide recipes for essential Pakistani-style spice mixes like garam masala, chaat masala, or Baluchi-style Saoji masala, etc. Another note is that Shehzad-ji often calls for canned, processed chickpeas in many of her dal recipes. She prefers vegetable ghee, as opposed to the real and much more flavorful ghee that is easily available on the market!

 

Select the book(s) that aligns with your cooking goals and preferred format.