Lahore ..... Winter of 2012
The GT Road goes through Khasa, I see my room in the
officers mess on the first floor. There is some excitement, curiosity of
visiting Lahore. I have visited all our
neighbors, only Pakistan was an unfulfilled task from the corporate point of
view. Definitely one big agenda from a personal view point as both my parents
had lived in Pakistan… my father was 19 and my mother was 9 when they left
Pakistan (with their respective families) during India and Pakistan partition
in 1947. My daughter was tense about my visit, so was my mother, wife, father,
brother and others were cool but excited.
As I walked through the border, the first utterance of the
tall and well built Ranger (equivalent to the Indian Border Security Force)
was, Mianji Idhar aa jaiye. (Pakistanis’s from Punjab refer to Indian Muslims
as Mianji not respectfully almost in a
derogatory way).
Reeling from the slow painful and dirty border formalities
on the Indian side, the cleanliness and efficiency from the Pakistanis in
handling of the paper work was
almost a surprise. The only thing amiss, very few people in uniforms e.g man
introduces himself as the Deputy Superintendent of Customs….. I thought he was
a porter or a dubious money changer. That is the veil of deception at the
border outpost.
We enter, the driver Patras says call me Peter, works
sometimes with our host, a pastor on Sundays and also carries a Government
employee card from the Soil survey of Pakistan…… talk about deception. It’s my
circumspect attitude to the erstwhile home where my ancestors were unceremoniously
driven out with a midnight knock or is it really the way I sound. Too early I
have been in Pakistan territory, only a few minutes I should be cool and watch
the way. So Peter says,” you have Tata, we have Bata “as we bypass Batanagar in
the outskirts of Lahore. Subsequently, noticed Bata and Hush Puppies have a serious presence in
Pakistan.
Is this a food blog or what, it is turning into a comment on
the society. As food is part of the fabric called society. Eating in or Eating out is part of that fabric. So
the Hotels we lived in was part Le Meriden new Delhi, part The Ashoka New Delhi and part The Oberoi Towers in
Mumbai put them all in a blender and you have The Pearl Continental, Lahore
affectionately called PC the Governor Of
Punjab to the humble Auto Rickshaw driver.
We venture out the first night after drinking Murree Classic
Beer from the only distillery in Murree ( a hill station) set in 1861, whilst
Dyer Meakin later called Mohan Meakins was set up in 1855 in Kasauli. The beer
is full bodied and dark almost like an Ale ( In a can as well as bottle). Like everywhere
else I liked the one in a bottle. Followed by a Murree 12 year old single
malt…. I have a reservation against single malts a little peaty cannot drink
enough of it.
Now the meal a first Lahore meal outdoors (indoors does not
count), reached Lakshmi Chowk yes Lakshmi Chowk found a place near BUTTS
(Bakers and Sweets set up in 1947), an expanse of street food joints the format
is as follows:
A)
Buy your meat (mutton), or Chicken have it
cooked in the way you like served in Tasla made of Iron a large Wok ( Punjabi Curries,
more with Tomato and Ginger)
B)
Kababs…. Mutton Tikka, Seekh Kabab and the beef
variants, Chicken legs etc etc ( North West
Province)
C)
Tak-a-Tak
Gridle, a large tawa, cooks, Keema, Brain, Kidney, Testicles, Innards
all organ meats, Chops, Chicken you name it. With butter tomatoes, masala green
chillies. This format , we understand from earlier researches comes from Africa.
The tak-a-tak is the sound that they make when tossing and turning on the
gridle which makes a musical cacophony, which has even inspired ring tones on the mobile phones.
D)
Large and long fillets of river fish, many in Punjabi
fried with chickpea floor in a large karahi. Wok. Soft flaky fish.
In attendance, you have masseurs, singers and musicians
while your food cooks. It is man thing pretty much like everything else to
please the feudal lord in reality or in his head. The next stop is usually the t danseuses domain Heera Mandi.
Even the driver of the 5 star hotel’s politely asked us would we like to
go, we politely refused.
On the food at Laxmi chowk we ate seekh kabab, boti kabab and rotis followed
with a brain and kidney tak-a- tak luscious masala, butter, tomatoes light
spices. Fantastic taste and experience. Soon, we were craving for something
sweet. We walk into the sweet shop, copious amount of various halwas. We see it
like it. Hang on ! The Gajar Halwa ( Carrot Pudding) is garnished with sliced
boiled eggs. Sweet and candied stuff
with boiled eggs, some other time. Elsewhere, poor man’s meal an Aloo ki tiki (
Potatoe chop with eggs. We hogged out a
fantastic meal for Pakistani Rupees 600 includng tips which is nearly Indian Rs
325. Not bad foran evening out
My Grandfather often started his stories “ when I Was the
SHO ( Station House Officer) of the Old Anarkali- Police Station. I had to go
to Purani ( Old) Anarkali. We walked from the mouth of the street, streets are
clean, business closing down for the day, a bazaar of shoes and slippers, Then
the eating joints, we see a very wide street, some very large cauldrons on the
street. We then reach a rustic place and then a fancy place and as usual we go
to the rustic place with rustic prices. Well the found was ordinary the service
was good the format was pretty similar to the previous night. On the way in and
out along the bazaar say footwear stores called, Khussa (in rustic Punjabi
means slippers)., Also on the way were very large Deghs of Aluminium with
Biryani and Paya Curry called Kharodas.
Now, for the last evening called Cuckoos den……. This is the upmarket street
food brought in from vendors and stalls and served piping on acold terrace,
heated with gas heaters. The food ordinary, the view magnificient of the Bara
Masjid squeeky clean environs. The old parts pof the city are also very
clean. Good.
So that’s that on the food in Pakistan.
