Sumayya Usmani

AS spring approaches, I suddenly have the desire to eat desserts. One of my favourtes is a dessert is inspired by a Pakistani/Hyderabadi one called khubani ka meetha, which is traditionally made with dried Hunza apricots, topped with fresh buffalo cream and apricot kernels. The simplicity of this dessert has always been what makes it so moreish. I am always trying to find way to replicate its simplicity using other fruits, especially ones I never grew up with such as rhubarb. This version of mine uses lightly spiced, stewed rhubarb, with a lemon and cardamom scented coconut cream and toasted almonds. To me, this is the best celebration of an imminent to look forward to.

I don’t know why one even bothers buying those horrid cardboard-like plastic packaged naan bread in supermarkets, it’s nearly an insult to the long tradition of bread making, specially that of the sub-continent where at any given mealtime the house smells of fresh chappati’s or hot tandoori naans – or maybe I am just a purist when it comes to naans!

Something that is reminiscent of those, desert cool wintery winds in Karachi are these poppy seed pooris which are my Dadi’s (Dad’s mom) recipe – something handed down generations in my Dad’s family. I won’t forget the last time she ever made these for me, it was one of those cool crisp Sunday winter brunchs at her place where the entire family gathered to eat over the family dining table, munching raw green chilli’s with potato bhaji and these pooris, washed down with cardamom cooked chai.

There is one aroma that transports me to a time of childhood glee and recklessness – the smell of semolina fried gently in ghee and cardamom. One of the simplest desserts of Pakistan is semolina halva, and my Nani (maternal granmother) rejoiced in making this dish – I share my recipe for a Pakistani laddo (a round shaped sweet) – made with pistachios, semolina, coconut and Arabic gum – this edible gum is found in most Asian food stores and my mother always adds this, it is meant to give bones strength – based on a old Lucknowi recipe that my Dadi’s (paternal granmother) family had been making for generations. I have now improvised this and added coconut, as the original recipe does not call for it. A great little treat for cold nights with a cup of hot chocolate – it seems winter isn’t ended, so we may as well enjoy a little comfort.

Something about the turn of the weather in Scotland from winter to spring, makes me rather nostalgic about home. I love my life here, but sometimes I can’t help but think of the flavours and memories of home, that make me reminisce about my childhood – and those carefree days of life in Pakistan as a child.