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 On the very first day of my visit I had a taste of the exotic Karachi cuisine in the house of Sait family. The sisters gave me a memorable home cooked Karachi meal which consisted of Seek Kabab, Roast Chicken, Biryani, different kinds of salad and a bread called Bagirkhani (the dough for which is made with milk). I was also served a locally popular drink of Karachi called ice cream soda. It is green in colour like (khas ka sharbet) but smells like ice cream. The desert they had prepared was Firni (which is my favourite and is an integral part of our Kashmiri cuisine, where it was invented by the Mughal royalty, during their many extended vacations in Shalimar Gardens). It is actually a type of rice pudding made with rice flour and milk, garnished with almonds, covered with silver foil and set in an earthen bowl. They also served me large helpings of a very crunchy and juicy fruit from the melon family called
sarda.
Again on my last day in Karachi I partook of their hospitality. They were proposing to take me to a Chinese restaurant which I vehemently opposed. I thought it will be a shame to eat Chinese food in Karachi. I wanted to settle down for nothing less than a typical Karachi meal, the memory of which would stay with me for ever and ever. Finally we settled down for 'Bandoo Khan's Restaurant'. Bandoo Khan is a legend in Karachi. His is not a glamorous place but always over flows with customers. After reaching there I saw, jetting out on the pavement, five large barbecue fires burning nonchalantly. The expert cooks were busy in roasting legs of Chicken and rolling seeks (iron rods covered with the minced meat) over these open fires, emanating exotic smells. At Bandoo Khan's service is quick, and the menu uncomplicated which consists only of five items i.e., seek kabab, chicken roast, parantha, halwa and kulfi. We ordered all the five and came out, after an hour, licking our the fingers. Outside we helped ourselves to a special sweet 'pan' to complete the meal.
At the restaurant I saw the elite of Karachi dinning there along with the lesser mortals like us. Later I learned that Bandoo Khan was the most influential person in town. Every important person, be it a minister or a civil servant, ate at his place and he could get any favour done for any body. For example, if a civil servant wanted a transfer, Bandoo Khan was the man to help him. At the right time while serving the kulfi or a delicious seek Kabab he could gently whisper the recommendation to the Minister Sahib or Secretary Sahib. This speaks volumes about the power of Bandoo Khan's delicious Food. My sincere suggestion is, do not miss Bandoo Khan's food in case you happen to be in Karachi.
Coming back to 'Pan'. Eating pan is an expensive habit in Karachi. The habit was cultivated in pre-partition India when chewing pan was a day to day routine. But eating pan today in Karachi is a past time. The betel leaf has become a scarce commodity in Karachi, so are the betel nuts, suparis, pan parag and other pan masalas. If you are visiting Pakistan take plenty of betel leaf and nuts for your hosts. They will really appreciate it. They will also appreciate if you take the gift of cashew nuts. In spite of all the pistas, badams, sultana and chilgozas they still miss the good old cashew nut.
There were two more memorable dinners which I attended in Karachi. One was given by Commander Nassim Chowdary, Federal Secretary for Rural Development. I understand that the paternal branch of Commander Nassim's family was from Haryana. The food had been ordered from the best place in Karachi. The menu included among other goodies mouth watering Sag Chicken, Shammi Kababs and the 'Sheer Chai' the salted Kashmiri tea garnished with almonds and cardamom. I could not believe that the Sheer Chai (salt tea) which I have always enjoyed back home in Kashmir will be served to me in Karachi.
To make Sheer chai the dark black tea leaves are boiled for over half an hour into a very strong decoction after which milk, salt and cream are added. This tea gives warmth and nutrition, activates the mind and in addition is a very good digestive. It was the right thing to take before going through a night-long entertainment programme which was part of the dinner. We had a live gazal concert by Gulbahar Banu and party. It was a real treat. Apart from singing Gazals of the great masters like Galib and Mir, she sang folk songs in Punjabi, Sindhi, Multani (Saraiki) and topped it all with 'Damadam Mast Kalandar' of Runna Laila fame. Gulbahar Banu, though not too well known, is an up and coming artist who has been a disciple of her own father. Before partition the family lived in UP. She is an ambitious young lady and has a great desire to perform in India. One day Insha Alla (God willing) she will get there.
The other dinner was hosted by Mr. Shamsul Haq, the Director of CIRDAP, the sponsor of our workshop. Mr. Haq is a Civil Servant of Bangla Desh and hence resembles any good old civil servant of India. This dinner was hosted on the lawns of the Beach Luxury hotel with lots of sea food and such frontier delicacies as Kadahi Gosht (pan cooked meat). During the course of this party I met some of the finest people in Karachi which included leading journalists, a well known music composer and the owner of a recording company. When I informed him that Mallikai Tarunum (queen of the melody) Noorjehan, was my father's good friend, he immediately arranged a gift of two Noorjehan cassettes which his company had just brought out. This amazing collection contained the songs she had sung during last fifty years. It was a wonderful gift. I still listen to this cassette whenever I think of my father.
It was my good fortune to meet the Commissioner of Karachi region during this dinner. The Commissioner Sahib's family had hailed from Hyderabad in India. He was about nine at the time of migration to Pakistan. He had fond memories of Hyderabad. He belonged to the 1965 batch of Pakistani Civil Service and had been on a course to UK along with Indian Civil Servants. He was very keen to give a taste of Pakistani hospitality to me and arranged an elaborate sight seeing programme for me the very next day about which I will discuss next week.
(To be continued - next week)
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