Silver Travel Cook Club

March 2023 – Pakistani Food: Your Essential Guide

Jules Verne

This month we’re heading to Pakistan with our partner, Jules Verne.

You could win a copy of Pakistani Food: Your Essential Guide! by Samina Parkar, filled with authentic recipes to try.

You might like to have a go at preparing Lahori murgh cholay (chicken and chickpea curry) – the details are below.


Pakistan with Jules Verne

Pakistan is a new destination for Jules Verne and you can take their full board 16 night tour ‘Mughals, Mystics & Mountains’ in September and October this year, and on various dates in 2024. During the tour guests will travel on the Karakoram Highway to the old kingdom of Hunza, where Three Empires meet, visit Lahore, Islamabad, Khaplu, Shigar, Hunza Valley and Gilgit.

You’ll travel to the beautiful, remote north of the country, where the mountains of the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Mighty Karakoram meet.  Visit Skardu, an amazingly isolated region, gateway to some of the highest mountains in the world including K2. See the beautiful alpine lakes at Kachura and explore The Hunza Valley; boasting the most incredible scenery imaginable, with its unique culture and traditions, where hospitality is a way of life. This tour has full board included, so you will definitely enjoy a variety of delicious meals along the way.


Recipe: Lahori murgh cholay

Ingredients:

  • 250g dried chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp dried red lentils
  • ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder

For the ginger paste:

  • 5cm root ginger, roughly chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 4 green chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes

For the curry:

  • 125g vegetable oil (or ghee*)
  • *Use vegetable oil, not ghee, if dairy-free.
  • 1.35kg chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
  • ½ tbsp sea salt flakes, plus extra as needed
  • 3 red onions, sliced
  • 3 cardamom pods
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground
  • 2 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely ground
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved or quartered (optional)
  • small handful coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

  1. The day before cooking, rinse the chickpeas and lentils, place in a large bowl and soak in cold water overnight.
  2. Rinse the pulses thoroughly and drain. Add to a large saucepan with 1 litre cold water and the baking powder and bring to the boil. Cook on a low simmer for 1 hour 15 – 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the chickpeas are tender but not starting to break down (the lentils will break down). Add more water if required.
  3. Place the ginger paste ingredients in a small food processor with 125ml water and blend until smooth.
  4. Add the ghee to a large saucepan or sauté pan and heat over a high heat until beginning to smoke. Season the chicken with flaky salt, then brown on all sides until deep golden; about 8-10 minutes. Set aside on a plate.
  5. Add the onions to the fat remaining in the pan, lower the heat and cook until light golden. Add the cardamom, cinnamon, black peppercorns and half the coriander seeds. Continue to cook the onions until deep golden. Add the ginger paste to the pan; take care as it will bubble vigorously. Continue to cook until the fat separates out; about 8-10 minutes over a medium heat.
  6. Return the chicken to the pan with ½ tablespoon salt flakes and stir to coat. Stir through the cooked chickpeas and lentils, along with the remaining coriander seeds and the garam masala. Simmer for a further 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water if the mixture starts to catch on the pan.
  7. Check the chicken is cooked through and tender, by removing a little meat from the bone. The meat should pull away with little resistance. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required. Top with the boiled eggs, if using.
  8. Serve in a large bowl, garnished with the coriander. Any leftovers can be chilled for 2-3 days; reheat with a splash of water until piping hot.

Thanks to Sainsbury’s magazine


How to win a copy of Pakistani Food: Your Essential Guide! by Samina Parkar

Comment below to tell us about the most remote place you have ever visited and what you ate there in the comments box below.

A winner will be chosen at random in early April 2023.
The competition closes on 31 March 2023.

Please note: this competition is now closed.

See all of our Silver Travel Cook Club recipes.

Share Article:

39 Responses

  1. We visited the remote village of Lukomir, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which at 1,469m, is said to be the highest permanent settlement in the country. Winters are so harsh, the villagers and their stock decamp to lower ground. After a hiking around the edge of the Rakitnica Canyon, we sat outside the Letnja Basta Guesthouse, surrounded by sheep smells and noises. We feasted on a coiled filo pastry dish filled with cheese and nettles, followed by hurmašica, a date shaped pastry soaked in a sweet syrup sauce and a cup of mountain herb tea. The family were so hospitable, we left clutching left the remaining pie and a wedge of warm bread.

  2. Florida , eating what I thought was chicken nuggets , but it was Alligator x

  3. Eating reindeer stew in a hut in the Arctic Circle on the remote island of Svalbard was quite an adventure!

  4. I ate a type of Piranha while i was travelling in Brazil. It was made into a tasty stew

  5. We got lost in Iceland – off road and getting dark quickly. No civilisation anywhere, just stillness. All we had was a packet of Starbursts. Freezing, dark, beautifully silent and some sour-tasting multi-coloured blobs of sugar!

  6. Near a watering hole in Namibia we had a scottish bridie from a bakery set up by a Scot

  7. Visited Red Frog beach in Panama, beautiful place. Nothing exotic to eat just chicken.

  8. Eating mountain chicken in Montserrat W.I. many years before it became critically endangered.
    The mountain chicken (Leptodactylus fallax) is not a chicken. It is a frog. Officially named the Giant Ditch Frog and locally known as a mountain chicken possibly because of its large drumstick like legs which were once eaten for food.

  9. Isle of Skye on the north west coast eating the freshest caught fish. AMAZING!!!!!

  10. I have been to many countries and eaten lots of wonderful and even odd food but I haven’t managed Pakistan yet.
    Like most Brits I eat what we often call ‘Indian food’ much of which is created by people from Pakistan or Bangladesh but would love to be able to cook it at home myself.

  11. In Cafe Sol Shimla looking down on the most spectacular view of the mountain slopes of the himalayas eating lamb dumplings after visiting Jakhu Temple.

  12. A spicy vegetarian curry in an old British Raj relic hotel in the shadow of the K2 Mountain in the Indian Himalayas.

  13. India, trying to make and the eat rota’s with a lady who spoke no English, I don’t speak Marathi, both of us in absolute giggles over my ineptitude. (My friend was translating – when she could as she was in stitches as well). It wasn’t exotic – but the food was amazing and a forged link between people that I won’t forget. Beautifully flavoured food, made with care and served with grace – that doesn’t need complexity.

  14. Not exactly remote but my husband often refers to the roast armadillo he was offered in Grenada in the Caribbean.

  15. Underground cooking in Fiji – Lovo
    The underground oven that is used to cook the feast

  16. On a trip to New Zealand I thought it would be a good idea to go on a survival wekend.
    That evening we went out to forage for our tucker, I was ok gathering mushrooms and other items to cook but when it came to finding and eating the Witchetty Grub I just couldn’t do it.

  17. Goat water in Montserrat, not untasty but absolutely lethal due to the needle-like fragments of bone.

  18. We have just returned from Stewart Island in New Zealand and enjoyed a lovely date scone with a cup of Earl Grey.

  19. Orkney Islands, Kirkwall UK. Traditional Scottish dishes including haggis and tatties 😉 I travelled there on my own by Buss, boat and car 😉

  20. Fort William in Scotland. I tried haggis from the chipshop thinking it was a battered sausage but it was too spicy for me.

  21. The first place I ever travelled to was Beirut. I was overwhelmed by the food markets, smells, taste and colours. I had a taboulli salad with an intense mix of herbs and a touch of bulgar wheat. wonderful!

  22. Sorry to say but braised halved ducks heads were a turn off in China some years back ..

  23. Finnish Lapland, just 20 mins drive south of Russian border. I don’t remember food but do recall the darkest hot chocolate and red berry juice to warm us up

  24. A weekend on a farmer’s field in Northumberland with our touring caravan, on a cold and rainy weekend. It felt really remote, but we bought takeaway fish and chips that tasted so good!

Comments are closed.

Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest travel tips on top destinations.

Join the club

Become a member to receive exclusive benefits

Our community is the heart of Silver Travel Advisor, we love nothing more than sharing ideas, inspiration, hints and tips between us.

Come feel the love on a Princess cruise. You’ll enjoy the MedallionClass experience others simply can’t, and it’s exclusively for everyone. Visit incredible destinations and be involved in the best experiences around each one of them.

Experience more with Princess and connect effortlessly with the world around you, spend time away with loved ones, take a moment for yourself, and fall in love with your holiday of a lifetime, every time.

With over 20 years of experience, Wendy Wu Tours has mastered the art of creating exceptional, fully inclusive tours which showcase the very best of each destination.

Each tour is led by a world-class guide, who will highlight the very best of their homeland, and includes authentic cultural experiences so you are not just seeing the sights, but truly immersing yourself in local life.

Say hello to ease at sea. Ambassador’s purpose is simple: they want to inspire every guest to experience authentic cruising, effortlessly and sustainably. Passionate about protecting our oceans and destinations, their ships comply with the highest industry emission standards and there is no single-use plastic on board.

On your voyage, you will receive the warmest of welcomes from the Ambassador community as you sail upon the friendliest ships afloat.

This is a global co-operative co-owned by local partners using real local experts and guides, which supports local communities, environments and wildlife. It offers travellers quirky places to stay, activity holidays and learning experiences. Not In The Guidebooks gets travellers off the beaten track into local culture with day experiences and longer, immersive adventures.

From wild wellness breaks in Wales to painting in Portugal, sustainable adventures in Mauritius to food safaris in Brazil, this is immersive, exciting travel.

Seabourn’s five intimate ships carry guests to the heart of great cities, exclusive yacht harbours and secluded coves around the world, while two new purpose-built expedition ships will combine exhilarating adventures in remote destinations with the sophisticated amenities of the world’s finest resorts at sea.

From the luxury of all suite accommodations to complimentary fine wines and spirits, and a no tipping policy, Seabourn exemplifies the definition of travelling well.