JULY 14-20 2013
JULY 14-20 2013
Feature
Write or Retreat
Cover Story
For the record Scratch beneath the surface and a world of vinyl collectors will emerge in Pakistan
Kashmiri youth fight their battle in Indianadministered Kashmir with the help of a very powerful weapon... words
32
Feature
Between Iraq and a hard place Surrounded by Syria, Iran and Turkey, Kurdistan is an ancient region that welcomes tourists
24
36 Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with the beautiful people
40 Review: World War Z 42 Food: Reheating oil
repeatedly is a bad idea, say gastroenterologists
Magazine Editor: Mahim Maher and Sub-Editors: Dilaira Mondegarian and Mifrah Haq. Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, Jamal Khurshid, Anam Haleem, Essa Malik, Maha Haider, Faizan Dawood, Samra Aamir, Kiran Shahid and Asif Ali. Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Executive Editor: Muhammad Ziauddin. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi. For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag 4 Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Afreen Shiraz of Ellemint Pret hosts an exhibition in New York
Farah, Irum and Maheen
Sabeen Amjad
PHOTOS COURTESY IDEAS PR
Rabia Hammad
Maliha Qhwaja Bushra Sarwar and Naima Ahmed
6
Shazia JULY 14-20 2013
Zara and Niche
Sabika, Afreen and Lubna
Samina
31 JULY 14-20 2013
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Alishay
Saira and Sadaf
The Orange Art Company displays its latest collection in Lahore
8
Asma JULY 14-20 2013
Shooni
Ayesha and her daughter
Maina and Samia Bokhari
Nazi and Ayesha
Mona and Farnaz
PHOTOS COURTESY REZZ EVENTS AND PR
Ayesha, Tania and Tehmina
JULY 14-20 2013
PEOPLE & PARTIES
The Arena in Bahria Town hosts the premiere of Man of Steel in Rawalpindi Sadia and Ayesha
Almeena, Hassan and Saj
Farah
PHOTOS COURTESY NUCLEUS EVENTS
Huda
Ayesha, Mahnoor, Ali and Shazeb
Ijaz and Sulmeen
Neena and Omer
Zahra and Farooq
Ahsan Iqbal
Asfanyar Bhandara
Janie, Emaan and David
10
Sharmeen and Fakir JULY 14-20 2013
Neena and Mr and Mrs Tipu
JULY 14-20 2013
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Pappa Roti opens up in Islamabad
Farah Hussain and Shanze
Amna and Ayesha
Laila with her husband
Fari, Natasha, Sama and Hina
Juju and Nida
Ayesha and Seema Durrani
12
Sulmeen and Sehar JULY 14-20 2013
Samina and Seemi
Aleezay
PHOTOS COURTESY REZZ PR AND EVENTS
Fareezee and Saima
JULY 14-20 2013
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Sobia Nazir and Rezz Aly Shah
Marium
PHOTOS COURTESY REZZ PR AND EVENTS
Marium and Anum
Farah, Marium, Omair and Maha
Reema, Pashmina and Natasha
Fatima, Samina, Ayesha and Marium
14
Roshannie JULY 14-20 2013
Honey, Alia and Raheel
Natty
JULY 14-20 2013
COVER STORY
24 JULY 14-20 2013
Scratch beneath the surface and a world of vinyl collectors wil emerge in Pakistan
BY SHAHERYAR POPALZAI
The greatest of love affairs are inexplicable obsessions. In Naushad Ali Khan’s case the object of his undivided attentions is the LP (Long Play), or 33rpm microgroove vinyl record. He is prepared to go to the ends of the earth for it. Once, he picked up his gramophone and travelled to Umerkot because he had heard a Hindu there owned a Kundan Lal Saigal record that he had been dying to hear. When he reached the gentleman’s house, he informed him that he had come for the record. “He told me the record belonged to his father and was not for sale and I told him I had only come to listen to it,” Naushad tells The Express Tribune. “He invited me in, served me food, and we listened to [it] around six times.” When it was time for Naushad to go home, the Hindu told him he was crazy and handed it to him as a gift. The song was Ek Bangla Banay Nyaara from the film President (1937) and today Naushad owns
25 JULY 14-20 2013
Somebody
one of the biggest Kundan Lal Saigal collections in Pakistan. Naushad could have listened to Ek Bangla Banay Nyaara on tape, CD or even online. But as he and other collectors will tell you, vinyl is king. “Vinyl records have the master sound,” he explains simply. “There is a lot of flavour.” According to the experts, LPs sound better because a vinyl record has a groove carved into it that mirrors the original sound’s waveform. This means that no information is lost as happens with digital recordings on CDs and DVDs. Original sound is analog by definition but digital recordings just take snapshots of the analog signal. As a result, they do not capture the complete sound wave. If you want to listen to the real deal, choose vinyl. Given technology’s steady march into different, smaller, sleeker more long-lasting formats, most people who listen to digital music can’t really tell the difference. Tell someone you collect records and they will laugh in your face for listening to music on an “ancient” format. Once they’ve stopped laughing they’ll ask if people still even own records. Their cultural ignorance can be blamed on four decades of change. Records started going out of fashion in Pakistan in what is believed to generally be the mid- to late 1970s. Zeeshan Chaudhry, the general manager of EMI Pakistan, says the manufacturing plants started shutting down around the same time. A more portable format had arrived, giving people a reason to move away from the bigger, unwieldy LP record. Listeners had discovered the cassette tape. Record labels started investing as it was cheaper and handier. Eventually, tape was eclipsed by the compact disc, which was in turn swept aside by the digital. According to EMI’s Chaudhry, they were the only label in Pakistan and were by default the only ones releasing vinyl. “[People] had a special taste for music back then,” he says. “Their ears were tuned for the good and bad sound.” Over 65 years, EMI released an immense LP catalogue, including notables such as Ahmed Rushdi and Sohail Rana and even a number of obscure Pakistani rock bands no one remembers today. It was thus Kundan Lal Saigal fans like Naushad Ali Khan who were buying LPs in Karachi those 30 years ago. When he was growing up he had seen people place a mic in front of the gramophone at family functions and the sound had him hooked. His first purchase was a Jesse Green record from Shalimar Recording Company in Saddar and he
26 JULY 14-20 2013
was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don’t have any surface noise. l said, Listen, mate, life has surface noise John Peel (1939 – 2004) DJ, radio presenter, producer, journalist and the man who gave us the Peel Sessions
Records started going out of fashion in Pakistan in what is believed to generally be the mid- to late 1970s. Zeeshan Chaudhry, the general manager of EMI Pakistan, says the manufacturing plants started shutting down around the same time
has been collecting ever since. Around the time cassette tapes started going big in Pakistan, Naushad happened to move to the UK to play club cricket. As it turned out, this was an LP-buyer’s paradise. His trips to second-hand stores and one-pound shops eventually benefitted people in Pakistan. Every time Naushad would return, he would bring back vinyl and lend them to stores that would make master tapes — one for him and one for themselves to make further copies. Today Naushad helps manage a weekly market at Sakhi Hassan and buys and sells records and sound equipment on the side. He is the best person to go to in order to track down and purchase records. His network includes over 200 kabarias and extends to Parsis and Christians in Karachi. p y kabarias as parts of lots Second-hand records are imported by which also include toys, electronic equ equipment and books. Naushad gets first dibs on most of the rrecords. His contacts call him each time they get a shipment. shipmen In return for this service, he pays for their phone credit. The phone call is followed by quick trips to warehouses in Gulbai and Shershah to sort throug through records he would want. But the sellers insist he buys in bulk. So some days even though he may only want to buy four fo out of a lot of 200 records, he’ll have to buy all of them at Rs30 R per LP.
27 JULY 14-20 2013
“One time I found Are You Experienced? by Jimi Hendrix in a lot of 79 records,” says Naushad. “I offered the guy Rs300 for that [one] record, but he said I’d have to buy all of them for Rs7 each.” He ended up keeping on 13 records and gave the rest away. Michael Jackson and Barbara Streisand really aren’t really his cup of tea. If you ask Naushad for his favourite records, he will bring out a bag with a lock and carefully open it. Nestled inside are original Jimi Hendrix releases. “These and all of my blues records are my most prized possessions,” he says. As vinyl disappeared so did some names. One of them is Mairaj who will invariably be mentioned in any conversation you have with a record collector. He owned a store in Khori Gardens where he would sell records and other sound equipment. But after his death, all you will find are a few scratched records stowed away at the back as his sons sell plastic and tent materials. Collector Faisal Gill used to buy from Mairaj. “People would leave their records with Mairaj and we would go and buy them,” he explains. “There were others as well, Mansoor near Regal Chowk, Ghafoor in Ghaas Mandi. A lot of people bought their records from these guys.” Faisal Gill is a bit of a legend himself in this world. The sound therapist, who works with children with special needs, has been buying for over 20 years and while he has lost count a rough estimate would put his collection at 6,000. His first records were handed down to him by his father and the first record he bought was a German compilation of pop music. When stores selling tapes started clearing out their records to make way for more cassettes and CDs, Gill was one of those who picked up most of their libraries. “I purchased records from Scanners and Virgin,” he says by way of example.
LPs sound better because a vinyl record has a groove carved into it that mirrors the original sound’s waveform And as records became harder to find in the markets and secondhand markets became inaccessible, collectors closed rank. It is through these circles that they buy, sell and trade records. So, for example, a collector might get word of a wanted record available at someone’s house and will just show up to request a sale or trade. Now most of the purchases come from abroad, and Gill says he doesn’t have the time to run after sellers and sort through the lots. But if you’re lucky and your network isn’t as strong, you can still definitely find some gems at the weekly markets in your city. In Islamabad, for example, an Indian correspondent, Rezaul Hasan Laskar, who started his career as a music journalist, has had plenty of good luck while he worked there for roughly five years before returning home recently. He began collecting vinyl when he moved to Pakistan. “My wife would go to the [lunda] bazaar and I never had the time to,” he says. “One day she said you have to come check it out and I started going with her on weekends. It was crazy! I picked up my first LP player for Rs400 and a number of records from classical to rock and roll.” Over time the sseller got to know Laskar and would call him every time a new shipment would come in. This way he’d get to p pick records before anyone else did. But the records weren weren’t always clean. “Sometimes you pick up stuff that doe doesn’t play or is too badly scratched and sometimes you pi pick up pristine copies,” he said. Prices in Islama Islamabad are lower than in Karachi. In the capital you can bu buy a record for Rs20 at the bazaar and for Rs100 at stores. S Sellers in Karachi are, however, slightly more savvy and ca can go as high as Rs2,000 for a record. But as you can imagin imagine, if it is a rare LP of The Dead Kennedys, there’s probably n no limit to how much you will pay. WITH INFORMATION FROM DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS WEBSITE HOWSTUFFWORKS.CO HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM
FEATURE Agha Shahid Ali would have been proud. Were the famous Kashmiri poet alive today (he died in 2001), he would have surely commented on the publication of Towfeeq Wani’s 264-page novel The Graveyard: a saga of a million bloodstained flowers. Indeed, 17-year-old Wani’s description of the trials of a ‘half-widow’, a phrase that poetically refers to a woman whose life hangs in limbo because her husband is either
mother, grandfather and a younger sister in the conflict zone. Wani shows his protagonist struggling to give meaning to his existence during the uprisings that ran from 2008 to 2010. Wani thus got the shouting out of his head and on to the page: wailing widows, waiting half-widows, disappeared sons... “In a conflict zone, [the] youth register their protest through different methods... street protest, semi-
or
Write Retreat BY SANA ALTAF
the subject of an enforced disappearance or whose death is unconfirmed, could very well have come from an Agha Shahid Ali ghazal. ing number of young Kashmiris Wani is the face of a growing who have struggled to find a less violent but just as effecles in the Indian-administered tive way to fight their battles in. territory or process their pain. iving in Baramulla district in Wani was a 13 year old living 2009 when a second mass uprising gripped the valley. He would spend most of hiss time alone in his room, ance young men who watching at a tortured distance o the streets. They looked like him pour into hurled stones at the Indian security forces and were battered in return. Nearly 100 people he Indian secuwere left dead in 2010. The ely, still acting rity forces responded savagely, under the authority of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powerss Act that was introduced 20 years earlier to end the first, 1989 uprising. Wani’s room filled with the anti-India slogans. His head became an echo chamber. He began writing the novel erawhile he was studying literaniture at Aligarh Muslim University. It tells the story off Sahil, a teenage boy, who 32 lives with his half-widow JULY 14-20 2013
Young people are fighting a different battle in Indian-administered Kashmir with the help of smaller but more powerful ammunition
song or literature,” he says. “My nars, debates, songs writing medium is writing.” As someone on once famously theorised, novels w write nations. Wani’s emotional narrative is likely to thus resonate with many Kashmiris. He has, in particular, tried to show h how relationships are shaped an and altered during such turbulent times times. But more importantly, Wani’s expos exposition of the difference between a ‘martyr’ ‘ma and a ‘benefactor’ will arti ticulate important phenomena e emerging from this long-runni ning conflict. Those who died dur during the fighting are ‘martyrs’ and th those who live and fight for the cause of fre freedom are ‘benefactors’. “Why some p people take to guns and stones while others choose writing, is because of the differenc difference in their thinking,” he says. If you’re angry and full of rage you’ll pick up a stone and if you’re sober and patient, then you’ll pick u up a pen. The Grave Graveyard was published by Power Publishers in Kolkata this June, and was scheduled for release on July 8 at Central University, Kashmir. It places Wani as
the youngest novelist in Kashmir. Many other young people are also writing, even if they are not necessarily interested in it as a profession. In her unpublished poem Razor wire, 21-yearold Areeba Nazir describes about how it twirls and twists in her “forgotten heaven”, line Dal lake, and the foothills of Zabarwan, row the gates of Nishat and Kashmiri Muslim villagers mourn as the body of Kashmiri rebel Shahnawaz Ahmed alias Tahir Khan,of Hizbul Mujahideen is carried by during a funeral ceremony at Tral, some 40kms south of Harwan. “The situation in which I Srinagar on July 2, 2013. Indian troops shot dead three rebels while one special operation group [was] brought up has urged (SOG) soldier died and five were injured in a firefight with militants in the restive Himalayan me to write such poems,” state. About a dozen armed groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for Kashmir’s she says. While she builds independence or for its merger with Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP her portfolio she continues to contribute occasionally to newspapers in Kashmir. ‘Kashmir Truth to be Told’, maintained by Yousuf, is These young writers come from a rich literary heritage. packed with hundreds of posts on Kashmir that date to Baba Umar, a Doha-based journalist and a native of Kash- 2006. Most of the posts here are stories of suffering. Othmir, traces writing as a form of resistance to Dogra rule in er blogs such as ‘Kashmir’ are an ode to their homeland. the valley. He gives the example of legendary poet Peer- On it blogger K writes, “The only knocks we heard were zada Ghulam Ahmad ‘Mahjoor’ (1885-1952) who railed of the military or the militants. The only parades we against the rulers. His work Bidad (The Complaint) gave witnessed were the military identification parades. The rise to “one of the most popular slogans of anti-India bri- dreams we dreamt were shattered by the sound of bulgade in Kashmir”, as Haroon Mirani reports in an article lets. The games we played were of death and life.” for the website Kashmir Newz on July 3 this year. Much of the events that have unfolded there are de“[The] Kashmiri youth [were] mostly faced [with] ques- tailed in the news but fiction provides a much different tions [about] their history, identity and roots,” Umar perspective. “The pain of killings, torture, rapes and says. This was a reaction to the “blinkered approach” other human right violations have been strong enough used by colonial writers or pandits. According to Umar, to urge the youth to write,” says the president of the Mealso a recipient of the India Federation of India, ternational Committee of Kashmir Chapter, Shabir Red Cross best humaniHussain. “The wide covtarian reporting award, erage of our conflict has this reinforced the need [awoken] Kashmiris to to “have local narrative[s], write their own narratives, propounded and propagatrather than someone else ed by Kashmiri ‘warrior’ writing for them.” writers.” This led many Kashmiris (L) Towfeeq Wani and The to write blogs, contribute Graveyard which is availto newspapers and magaable online at: WWW.THEVOXKASHMIR.COM/2013/06/26/ zines and write poems to AIM-OF-WRITING-NOVEL-WASinform the world about TO-CONTRIBUTE-TOWARDS-FREEtheir experience. Blogs 33 DOM-STRUGGLE/ are most easily accessible. JULY 14-20 2013
and a hard place
Surrounded by Syria, Iran and Turkey, Kurdistan is an ancient region that welcomes tourists BY ALI REZ
36 JULY 14-20 2013
“How can you live in Pakistan? It’s so dangerous there,” says the bartender in the trendy Erbil bar. I point out that things aren’t exactly smooth in Iraq either, but then this is Kurdistan — that one corner in Iraq which has shaped itself into a safe, tourist-friendly haven. Erbil — one of the oldest continuously habitated cities in the world, now in its 5th millennium — boasts modern construction all around it, but its heart is ancient. A citadel that sits on top of a hill is surrounded by a network of roads where bakers bake and traders trade the same way as they have done for centuries. People here are some of the friendliest you’ll meet — from the money changers who literally sit on the pavements with their bundles of notes and without any security, to the little kids running up to you pointing at your camera, and asking “Sahaafi?” They speak candidly. An elderly man in a tea house says to me: “We love what America did to Saddam. But we hate what it did to Baghdad.” The Kurds are battle-hardened folks, who are proud of their heritage. “Saladin, the hero of Islam, was a Kurd!” points out my guide Sardar as he speeds into the town
(Clockwise from top) Supporters of the KDP party wave flags at the foot of the ancient citadel. Iraq produces roughtly 12,000 metric tons of table olives per year and eats about 30,000 metric tons, importing, mostly from Turkey and Syria. The Hamilton road cuts its way through the deep Gali Ali Baig. The traditional Jli Kurdi or Kurdish attire for men. The 38-metre high Minaret of Madrasat al-Muzaffar built in the 12th century Seljuk style.
named after the conqueror of Jerusalem. Even today, the Kurd soldier is called a Peshmarga, translated as ‘The one who faces death.’ We zoom up Hamilton Road, a magnificent highway carved through the mountains by a New Zealand engineer, and one that links Iraq and Iran. We cut through deep canyons, eat kebabs next to raging waterfalls, all the way to the Iran border where there are lush hills, shepherds and the odd oil tanker. This doesn’t feel like a war zone (except for a rusty tank left as a reminder). This is lovely. This is ancient Mesopotamia, thriving in the modern world.
38 JULY 14-20 2013
(From the top, clockwise) Shepherds have been grazing sheep in these lush hills near the Iran border for millenia. Taking an afternoon break on a bench in the centre of Erbil., Iraq’s fourth largest city by most standards. A tank from Saddam Hussain’s dreaded army rusts in peace. The Iraqi tea house is where elders meet to gossip and play board games. Iraqi tea is often made with liberal amounts of cardamom and sugar. A rest stop pavilion by the Bekhal waterfall on the magnificent Hamilton road that links Iraq with neighbouring Iran.
39 JULY 14-20 2013
FILM
It’s the end of the world as we know it
A little more heart would have won ours in World War Z BY AATIR SIDDIQUE
Zombies attack the human race and threaten to kill every person in sight; the humans flee at first, there’s a dash of drama, and after some deaths here and there, the humans ultimately overcome this seemingly bizarre menace. That’s the basic premise of almost every zombie movie ever made, and World War Z is no different. Don’t expect any groundbreaking progress in terms of plot. However, it’s the treatment of the various setpieces that still manage to make the film worth a watch. Fortunately, director Marc Forster wastes no time with unnecessary pleasantries and drives the film into action right from the beginning. The Lanes, a quintessential happy family of four, witness a sudden stampede of eerily strange creatures that turn a peaceful Philadelphian traffic jam into a chaotic civilian nightmare. From there on, our leading man Gerry Lane, (played by a gracefully ageing Brad Pitt), after ensuring the safety of his family, embarks
on a global escapade to unravel the mystery of this pandemic and find a possible cure. He does this while simultaneously stumbling and struggling through unforeseen adventures. What works in favour of World War Z are some genuine thrills and moments of panic which have the audience gripped enough despite the lack of any significant character development. It requires considerable suspension of belief to absorb the idea of a single man hopping across the world to rein in such an alarming virus. But Pitt manages to pull it off with a convincing performance that is testament to his commanding screen presence. Despite the fast-paced action, though, if you feel something is missing you won’t be wrong. You are picking up on the movie’s lack of grief given the magnitude of what it is showing — a global catastrophe and the loss of thousands of human lives. It is safe to assume that the film-maker wanted to tap into our
deepest fears of the worst kind of attack on human kind. Apocalyptic themes fascinate us, but then the director should be able to give them the weight they emotionally deserve. If you are a Brad Pitt fan or like this genre in particular, this is the movie for you. Otherwise, you aren’t missing out on much. And this is not the last we will see of Gerry Lane anyway. In the penultimate shots of the film, Pitt’s voice-over emphatically claims, ‘This isn’t the end, not even close.’ We know that in Hollywood, that’s just code for one word: sequel.
The walking dead 28 Days Later (2002)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Prometheus (2012)
Long before filmmaker Danny Boyle shot to Oscar glory with Slumdog Millionaire, he ventured into the zombie genre with 28 Days Later. Ironically, the movie shares several similarities with World War Z. However, it lacks the stupendous budget of WWZ and does rest on some substandard production values, particularly noticeable if you see it in today’s CGI-friendly age. However, it serves a different brand of horror, a more intimate and morbid one.
After the success of their 2002 collaboration, Minority Report, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg joined forces yet again for War of the Worlds. Set in a world where alien invasion threatens to wipe out mankind, the movie proved to be a darker and edgier take on aliens. Despite the grandeur and the dazzle of its special effects, the film makes a conscious effort to keep the story about a father’s affection. This arc helps maintain credibility and delivers some of the finest moments of the film.
The film is director Ridley Scott’s mysteriously frightening sci-fi flick about a quest for the creators of human life on a far-off planet. It is another feather in the cap of the talented filmmaker who has given us several unforgettable films such as The Gladiator. In the movie, Scott delivers a setting that is aesthetically a visual delight and offers a much-called for break from an overdose of CGI. All in all, Prometheus may not be a classic of any sorts, but it still manages to leave a solid mark in a genre.
1
40
JULY 14-20 2013
2
3
Frequent reheating of cooking oil releases cancer-causing chemicals
Oil’s not well
problem is that constantly reheating and reusing a batch of oil can break it down to release cancer-causing chemicals. During cooking, proteins and carbohydrates in the food react with the hot oil. Oilsoluble flavours in the food and its seasonings are therefore released into the oil you are using. If the oil is heated to a very high temperature, as when you fry, chemical reactions take place. In frying, food is heated to temperatures typically between 149 degrees Celsius and 215 degrees Celsius. The fatty acids in the oil break down into harmful trans fats. Additives, such as food colouring, preservatives and metal compounds found in food, react with the fatty acids from the oil to produce toxic aldehydes. Repeated or high-temperature frying makes the levels of trans fats and aldehydes in the oil go up each time. The toxic aldehydes are organic compounds. And just how toxic they are can be judged from the fact that aldehyde-based compounds are used as disinfectants in operation theatres, says intestinal-gastroentologist Dr Irfan Daudi. These chemical compounds are carcinogenic — meaning they are potentially cancer-inducing. Repeated use of the same cooking oil irritates the lining of the digestive tract. These chemicals interact with the cells in the lining of the food pipe, the stomach and the intestines and alter their genetic makeup, thereby killing the cells. They have been linked to different types of cancer and neurodegen-
erative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. “In our part of the world, the incidence of certain cancers like oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer, gall bladder cancer is very high,” Dr Daudi says. “There is also a huge association of high cholesterol with certain cancers such as breast and colon cancer.” Hence, his advice is to throw away that cooking oil after a single use. There are certain cholesterol-free vegetable oils, which should not be heated at all. Research by a team of food science experts at the University of the Basque Country, Spain discovered that heating sunflower, flaxseed and olive oil leads to degradation of fatty acids into aldehydes. Another study by the University of Minnesota’s Food Science and Nutrition department found similar results with soybean oil when it was heated up to 185 degrees Celsius. For a long time, vegetable oil has been considered healthy compared to animal fat-based oils such as butter and desi ghee because they contain healthy unsaturated fats. But cardiologist Dr Khawar Kazmi says that when heated extensively, vegetable oil also produces trans fats, which are even more harmful than saturated animal fats. They are potentially atherogenic, meaning they lead to an increase in ‘bad cholesterol’ and clog up arteries. There are two things we do wrong when cooking: the amount of oil we consume and the number of times we reuse our cooking oil or subject it to extensive heat. “The recommended amount of oil to be consumed is about 1 litre per person per month. But here an average person is consuming three times more,” says Dr Kazmi. There are certain vegetable oils which do not break down into trans fats as swiftly as the others because they are more heat-stable. Dr Kazmi recommends palm oil for the cooking of Pakistani cuisine. Olive oil should ideally only be used in salads. T
Signs your cooking oil needs to be discarded
How to reuse oil safely
BY MIFRAH HAQ
Cooking oil is expensive which is why we re-use it and this Ramzan we’ll need more of it for those samosas and pakoras at iftari. The only
• When the oil darkens or smells of food that is fried in it. • The oil becomes more viscous, that is, it pours slowly. • Food particles remain suspended or collect at the bottom of the oil container or frying pan • When smoke appears on the oil’s surface 42 • When foam appears consistently while frying JULY 14-20 2013
• Ideal temperature for frying is 190 degrees Celsius. Tip: to test the heat drop a piece of bread into the oil; if it sizzles and bubbles in a few seconds, it’s a good temperature. Do not fry in cold oil for the risk of soaking it up, nor heat the oil so much that it smokes. • Do not mix different types of oil. • Store oil in a cool, dark place.