SPEEDY SERVE Gimlet

Fantastic value for an easy-to-like orange wine, it has savoury nuttiness, peachy fruit and gentle spice. Versatile with many summer dishes, it would be an ace match with the swiss chard and tofu yellow curry on p20. The gimlet has its roots in the 19th century when Scottish shipyard owner, Lauchlin Rose, launched Rose’s Lime Juice

Cordial. The vitamin C in the lime juice kept scurvy at bay for the sailors who mixed it with their daily rations of rum. The officer classes preferred it with gin, which is what this drink is.

I love the simplicity of simply pouring 50ml of a juniper-led gin (Beefeater is my choice) in a tumbler over ice, then mixing in slightly less Rose’s lime cordial

• Learn more about wine at Omagazine.com, from new grapes worth trying to the best wine subscriptions.

KATE HAWKINGS IS A WRITER AND WINE CONSULTANT. HER LATEST BOOK, THE LITTLE BOOK OF APERITIFS: 50 CLASSIC COCKTAILS AND DELIGHTFUL DRINKS, IS OUT NOW (£10, QUADRILLE). FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @KATEHAWKINGS

Words and recipes SUMAYYA USMANI

Pakistan is a land of diverse ethnicities and climates, and its cuisine is influenced by invasion, migration and its borders. From Arab, Mongol and Turkish invasions, to the borders of China, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran and India – this is a cuisine best described as a confluence of South Asia.

Days begin with rich breakfasts of halwa puri, nihari stew and spicy eggs, lunch is usually lighter, with dinner mostly eaten late. Eating out is a favourite pastime. Cuisine drives religious festivals such as Eid, and in Ramadan restaurants are closed during the day, opening at ‘Iftar’ (breaking fast), when streets are lined with pakora and samosa stalls.

There are marked provincial differences: Punjabi food is hearty and aromatic, infused with cardamom, saffron and cloves. Lahore, famous for street food with sizzling meat dishes and markets filled with spices. In southern coastal Sindh, Arab influences of barbecue and seafood are found. Western Balochistan is arid and barren land, and most eat spit-roasted meat and bejewelled rice in carcasses. Little spice is used, and meats are dusted with salt and pepper, as it is in northern Pakistan, with Central Asian dumplings and noodle soups, with Chinese influences of stir-frying, too.

Cities and village streets are alive with tandoor smoke and chaat snack stalls. In cities, people enjoy eating out – chicken tikkas, boti kebabs and other specialities such as kata-kat (offal chopped up with spices and tomatoes).

Food is the life blood of all Pakistanis, both the sharing and the eating of it.

Bundoo Khan-style chicken boti tikka

Family weekend trips to our favourite open-air barbecue restaurant meant we’d get to eat boti tikka with flatbreads and tamarind chutney – as the grown-up chat bored me, that was the only reason I’d willingly go along. The chicken tikka was always spicy and made my tummy rumble the minute I saw it.

I’d pull off pieces of the chicken meat, roll it up in hot naan and reach for the chutney. For this recipe you’ll need some bamboo skewers to thread the cubes of chicken on (remember to soak them for at least half an hour so they don’t get singed in the oven).

SERVES 4-6 | PREP 25 MINS PLUS MARINATING

COOK 30 MINS | EASY | GF

½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp crushed black peppercorns

¼ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted in a dry frying pan and ground

1 tsp coriander seeds, roasted in a dry frying pan and ground

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp unsmoked paprika

3 garlic cloves, crushed 21/2cm ginger, finely grated juice of 1 lemon

4 skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into 2cm cubes

2-3 tbsp sunflower oil

TAMARIND CHUTNEY

100g dried tamarind

4-5 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted in a dry frying pan

½ tsp crushed black peppercorns

½ tsp chilli powder

TO SERVE basmati rice or naan

1 In a large bowl, mix the spices, garlic, ginger and salt to taste with the lemon juice. Add the chicken and coat well, then leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hr but preferably overnight. In the meantime, soak 6 bamboo skewers in water and make the chutney. Put the tamarind into a small pan with 150ml of water, the sugar, spices and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to the boil and stir for 10-15 mins or until the tamarind breaks up and the sugar and salt have dissolved. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding the tamarind seeds and cumin seeds.

2 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Thread about four chicken pieces onto each skewer, then put on the baking tray. Brush the chicken with oil and cook for 20-25 mins or until the chicken is brown around the edges and cooked through. Serve hot with the bowl of chutney alongside and your choice of basmati rice or naan.

PER SERVING 261 kcals | fat 7.2G saturates 1.3G | carbs 22.4G | sugars 13.1G fibre 0.8G | protein 26.2G | salt 1G

Prawn karahi

Based on my maternal grandmother’s recipe, this is best made with fresh raw prawns rather than already cooked ones.

SERVES 4 | PREP 10 MINS | COOK 20 MINS | EASY | GF

2 tbsp ghee or 1 tbsp unsalted butter with 1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp nigella seeds

½ tsp ajwain seeds (optional)

1cm ginger, finely grated

4 large ripe tomatoes, skins discarded, coarsely grated

2 tbsp concentrated tomato purée

¼ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder or other chilli powder or paprika

450g shelled, deveined, fresh raw prawns

TO GARNISH juice of ½ a lemon

21/2cm ginger, cut into fine strips

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 Put the ghee in a wok or frying pan over a medium-high heat and, when it is hot, fry the cumin, nigella and ajwain seeds (if using) for 1 min until fragrant.

2 Add the ginger and fry for 10-15 seconds or until fragrant, then stir in the tomatoes. Lower the heat slightly, add a splash of water and stir until it starts to simmer. Add the tomato purée, turmeric, chilli powder and salt to taste.

3 Keep cooking for 7-9 mins or until the sauce thickens and the oil begins to rise to the surface. Add the prawns and cook, stirring, for 3-4 mins or until they turn pink – be careful not to overcook the prawns or they will go rubbery.

4 Turn off the heat, add the garnishes and cover, leaving to infuse for a minute or so before serving.

PER SERVING 157 kcals | fat 8.6G saturates 4.6G | carbs 5.5G | sugars 5.5G fibre 2.5G | protein 13.1G | salt 1.2G

Street-side kulfi

SERVES 6-8 | PREP 15 MINS PLUS OVERNIGHT FREEZING COOK 6 MINS | EASY | GF

5-6 green cardamom pods, seeds extracted and ground 397g tin of sweetened condensed milk

500ml whole milk

4 tbsp ricotta

5 tbsp dried whole milk powder

1 tbsp cornflour large pinch of saffron threads

1½ tbsp pistachios kernels, finely ground

1 tbsp ground almonds honey or sugar, to taste (optional) poppy seeds, to decorate

1 Whizz the cardamom, milks, ricotta, milk powder and cornflour in a blender or food processor until combined. Pour the mixture into a pan and warm over a low heat, stirring for 15-20 mins or until the mixture thickens. Stir in the saffron, half the pistachios and half the almonds. Let them warm through, then take the pan off the heat.

2 When the mixture has cooled slightly, taste it and adjust the sweetness by adding honey or sugar, if you like, then leave to cool to room temperature.

3 Pour the cooled mixture into kulfi moulds, then seal and freeze overnight. You could also use cones made from baking paper to make kulfi on a stick: stand each cone upright in a small glass and pour in the mixture to the top of the cone. Let them semi-freeze for an hour or two before inserting a lolly stick into each one.

4 When ready to serve, if using moulds, dip them into warm water to help ease out the kulfi. If using paper cones, gently peel the paper away. Roll the kulfi through the poppy seeds and the remaining ground pistachios and almonds to decorate, then eat straight away.

PER SERVING 269 kcals | fat 11.1G | saturates 5.7G carbs 33.1G | sugars 31.3G | fibre 0.3G | protein 9.1G | salt 0.2G

Recipes extracted from Andaza: A Memoir of Food, Flavour and Freedom in the Pakistani Kitchen by Sumayya Usmani (£25, Murdoch Books).

Photographs: Jodi Wilson. Recipes are sent by the publisher and not retested by us.

1GEOGRAPHY