May Update
My Vittles debut, a bhuna gosht recipe and other news
Order my debut cookbook, Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants and Roadside Stands. Featuring 100+ delicious recipes, stunning photography and essays that ground the food in place and context, "Pakistan" is the most complete look at Pakistani cuisine to date! If you already have a copy, please consider leaving a review on Amazon to support the long-term success of the project.
New Work
A short dispatch today to share my Vittles debut: a tender cross-border reported feature on how voice notes are being used to share recipes in India and Pakistan. I worked on this piece with Delhi-based editor Sharanya Deepak, and am very proud that it came out during a tense month when both the Pakistan and Indian state were convincing their citizens that our differences were greater than our similarities. They may convince the entertainment industry but never the food community, which reaffirmed my belief in humanity during a harrowing week. Give it a read and the very sweet voice notes embedded in the piece a listen.
Bhuna Gosht (Slow-Cooked Beef with Yogurt) Recipe
I was craving a spicy, low-effort beef dish, and updated the old bhuna gosht recipe on the blog. I have served it to multiple friends, and it’s a winner. You don’t need any hard to source ingredients, and it’s difficult to mess up. And in case you missed it, this dahi chicken (chicken with yogurt) recipe is also excellent. I know I have posted back-to-back meat recipes in the past month so please stay on the lookout for a reworked and very good chana dal recipe in the upcoming week!
Other News
Book
In anticipation of our upcoming move to the US, I have begun to plan my book tour for August (OMG). So far, I’m looking at Atlanta, Houston New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC. If you are based in any of these cities, I would love to hear from you! What are bookstores and venues that you love?
Cooking
It’s been a joy to start eating and cooking food that is not Pakistani! I finally started working my way through Iranian Rome-based food writer Saghar Setareh’s gorgeous and meticulously written cookbook, Pomegranates & Artichokes, which shares stories and recipes from her family’s journey from Iran to Italy. I made the beautiful sweet saffron omelet, and excited to work through more recipes once I up my saffron supply. If you are curious about her work, check out her newsletter, Noon. I have also been enjoying Clarissa Wei’s Made in Taiwan (also fantastic). The three-cup chicken recipe has become a household favorite.
Reading
I finally started reading Manboobs, a coming-of-age queer memoir by Komail Aijazuddin, and can’t put it down! What took me this long??? Next on the lineup is Dirty Kitchen, a memoir of food and family, by Filipino-American filmmaker, Jill Damatac.
Press
I had my first podcast interview! Many thanks to my longtime editor, Matt Rodbard, for having me on the This is Taste podcast. You can catch it here in the latter half of the interview with the amazing Hawa Hassan about her exciting new cookbook, Setting a Place for Us. I can’t wait to get my copy!
That’s all for now. Thanks for being here!
😋
Hi Maryam - I bought your book not long ago and have loved learning about Pakistani food. It’s a beautiful introduction to it and I made quite a feast! I think I learned about you because I am a long-time subscriber to Vittles. I live in San Francisco and the bookstore that hosts many cookbook authors is Omnivore Books (https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com). Their events page is always full. If I can be of help in any way please let me know. I would love to attend a book event for you here!