For Tamil cuisine, away in Pakistan

[manlion]

I often have to visit Pakistan where I teach Islamic Theology, Koranic Studies, Persian and Arabic. Since I’m nuts on idli, dosa, rasam and sambar, even in Pakistan, I’ve managed to find places across Pakistan where I can get almost authentic South Indian dishes as I get in Madras (please, no Chennai for me; it grates). I love the way dosa and upma are made by Malayali Muslims in Chitral, Pakistan. They migrated to Pakistan from Kerala after Partition.

But the best and crispiest dosas that I’ve tasted in Pakistan are served by Tamil Hindus and Muslims, who are concentrated mainly in Karachi and Lahore. Before descanting on dosas made by Tamils, I must mention that in 1986, The Dawn of Pakistan carried an article on Tamils of Pakistan. It mentioned that Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (nephew of the Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman), who got the Nobel for his ‘Chandrasekhar Limit’ in 1983, was born in pre-Independence Lahore. Mani Shankar Aiyar was born in Lahore. Emmanuel Nicholas, a former schoolteacher of Pakistan’s one-time Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, was born in Sialkot. And Catholic Bishop Victor Gyanapragasam was from the erstwhile Layalpur, now Faisalabad.

The newspaper mentioned that the British Frontier Railways in the NWFP required accountants with sharp mathematical abilities and found Tamils to be the best-suited for the job, just as Ramanujan, whose mathematical genius awed the world, not just the British mathematician Sir Thomas Hardy. So many Tamils were sent there and a few of them chose to stay back even after Partition.

The Madrasi Para (‘colony’ in Bengali) behind the Jinnah Post Graduate Centre in Karachi is home to some 100 Tamil Hindu families, who still speak impeccable Tamil along with Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi. This is where you get authentic Madrasi khana, or dastarkhwan (as it’s known in Pakistan), in Pakistan. Two types of coconut chutneys with a bowl of piping-hot sambar and a crisp dosa with mildly spicy potato filling (often containing garlic) can transport you back to Madras if you happen to be a Tamil or an Indian. The taste is awesome, to use a cliche.

I have tasted food made by Tamils settled in Singapore and Malaysia also, but the finger-licking taste of original South Indian dishes that I experienced in Karachi is unique. I had idly with medhu vada and chutney and sambar, served on a banana leaf.

On one of the visits I also had koottu, which is a stew of vegetables or greens, usually made with lentils, and spices which makes for a side dish for a meal consisting of rice, sambar and rasam. This I had at ‘Virundhu’, which means ‘feast’ in Tamil. The owner’s father migrated to Karachi from Madras in 1946. The owner, Ganesan, served me thayir (curd) along with poriyal (dry fry of vegetables). I didn’t have this in India despite my many visits to Madras and Bangalore.

British culinary expert Gordon Ramsay aptly said the original taste of a localised cuisine in a faraway place makes the food nostalgically all the more tasty. This can very well be said of the typical Tamil gastronomic delights in Pakistan. One feels a home connection and makes a trip down memory lane. The feeling is indescribable. It’s akin to describing a rainbow to a sight-impaired person.

After partaking of the wholesome Madrasi dastarkhwan (food arrangement, in Persian), I said thank you in Tamil. The owner asked me if I knew Tamil: Tamil pesuweengalaa? I told him I understood it very well but could speak only a smattering of it. He then broke into flawless Urdu, much to my amazement. And he wrote his name and address in Urdu!

Now, I’ve begun to take my Muslim friends to these Tamil joints and they too swear by the taste of idiyappam, sevai, kozhukattai, aapam and typical Chettinad chicken. By the way, many Pakistani and Indian Muslim friends of mine are of the opinion that South Indian Chettinad chicken can beat the over-hyped butter chicken of Punjab province of India and West Punjab.

My Muslim friends in Pakistan love a certain pink-coloured soft drink served after food, and thakkali saadam (tomato rice) in these South Indian eateries in Pakistan’s metros.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/for-tamil-cuisine-away-in-pakistan/article25414464.ece

 

[Asimzranger]

in karachi 4 places make best dosa or atleast where i checked
1. Gazebo Chat
2. Briyani of the seas
3. Bombay chowpatty
4. Mirchili

 

[xyx007]

Tolerance is the foundation of co-existence in Pakistan specially interfaith Harmony. When you have a tolerant society it allows you to grow. Sindh has a unique society which is above religious and sectarian divide. People of Sindh follow Sufi saints and don’t promote religious and sectarian fanaticism. because of this unique diversity of Sindh, you find all kind of interfaith people in Sindh and living their life so peaceful and harmony. respecting and protecting our minority culture and their freedom this is what Islam teach us.
https://images.dawn.com/news/1180398

 

[manlion]

Introduction to Tamil cuisine

idiyappam - string hopper -steamed rice noodles

aapam

kozhukattai - steamed sweet dumplings

Chettinad Chicken

thakkali saadam (tomato rice)

upuma

puttu

 

[Vikki]

Tolerance is the foundation of co-existence in Pakistan specially interfaith Harmony. When you have a tolerant society it allows you to grow. Sindh has a unique society which is above religious and sectarian divide. People of Sindh follow Sufi saints and don’t promote religious and sectarian fanaticism. because of this unique diversity of Sindh, you find all kind of interfaith people in Sindh and living their life so peaceful and harmony. respecting and protecting our minority culture and their freedom this is what Islam teach us.
https://images.dawn.com/news/1180398

But Sufis and sufism are no longer considered muslims or islam according to mainstream islamic teachings...Sufism is a blend of hinduism(advaita) plus islam...ok..this is the reason it has this liberal and inclusive quality to it

in karachi 4 places make best dosa or atleast where i checked
1. Gazebo Chat
2. Briyani of the seas
3. Bombay chowpatty
4. Mirchili

great to hear that brother....did you taste it?do muslims there go to those places to eat them?I mean do they have demand there in Karachi?Muslims here in deccan hyderabad love south indian food...idli,sambar,vada and dosa have become the part of their cuisine now(just like other hindus)

 

[Asimzranger]

don`t derail the topic

But Sufis and sufism are no longer considered muslims or islam according to mainstream islamic teachings...Sufism is a blend of hinduism(advaita) plus islam...ok..this is the reason it has this liberal and inclusive quality to it

but yes people do love afternoon tea with some dose or chart

 

[manlion]

in karachi 4 places make best dosa or atleast where i checked
1. Gazebo Chat
2. Briyani of the seas
3. Bombay chowpatty
4. Mirchili

 

[Jackdaws]

in karachi 4 places make best dosa or atleast where i checked
1. Gazebo Chat
2. Briyani of the seas
3. Bombay chowpatty
4. Mirchili

I saw a few outlets of Bombay Chowpatty in Dubai. Is it the same?

 

[MultaniGuy]

Pakistanis do not eat South Indian cuisine.

 

[Asimzranger]

I saw a few outlets of Bombay Chowpatty in Dubai. Is it the same?

i think so does it have logo of a man with mustache if yes i think its same.

Pakistanis do not eat South Indian cuisine.

they do but with pakistani touch like with chicken, beef ,mutton,mix vegi dosa e.t.c

 

[MultaniGuy]

i think so does it have logo of a man with mustache if yes i think its same.


they do but with pakistani touch like with chicken, beef ,mutton,mix vegi dosa e.t.c

Be honest now, do Pakistani eat South Indian food like people from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Be a little reasonable here.

 

[Jackdaws]

i think so does it have logo of a man with mustache if yes i think its same.


they do but with pakistani touch like with chicken, beef ,mutton,mix vegi dosa e.t.c

Yes. That's the logo - I just looked it up.

 

[Asimzranger]

Be honest now, do Pakistani eat South Indian food like people from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Be a little reasonable here.

We do maybe its only a Karachi thing but there are cuisine from round the world here in Pakistan so people do taste different foods.

 

[Jaanbaz]

Never saw or heard South Indian food in Karachi, maybe its not well known, In Karachi Sajji(Baloch) cuisine has become very popular.

 

[manlion]

"Strangers to their roots and those around them": Tamils in Pakistan

Their youngsters draw their inspiration from Rajnikanth - a cultural icon and the ‘god’ of South Indian movies. Rajnikanth is a symbol of their culture, their way of life, and expression of their roots. For them, Rajnikanth’s words have an authenticity that could never be gleaned through subtitles and translations.
When it comes to dance, Prabhu Deva is the man that they look up to. When they talk among themselves, Tamil is what they speak — a language they are proud of.But the elders of this truly unique community, the Madrasi Hindus of Karachi, feel that owing to their small size, their younger generation is slowly drifting away from its rich cultural heritage. They attribute this phenomenon to a lack of cultural resources, such as literature and movies, being available in the city.
The Madrasi Para, located behind the Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre’s (JPMC) staff quarters, in what seems like a forgotten corner of the hospital, is home to the biggest Madrasi Hindu community in the city.
“We are trying to stop this drift away from our culture; we offer Tamil classes during summer vacations and provide an introductory course in Tamil literature,” said Kari Das, a senior of the community.

“The Hindu Tamils in the city migrated from Madras (now Chennai) in groups, with the hope of better economic opportunities. They came to Karachi just months after partition,” explained Kasiligam, the Sarpanch of the Madras Hindu Panchyat and one of the oldest living members. “About 50 to 60 families came to Pakistan from Madras to find jobs.”
Today, some 64 years later, the families remain closely-knit and live in three main settlements in the city. “In Drigh Road, Korangi and here”, he said, as he points to his home. “The Madrasi Para houses about 100 Tamil Hindu families,” he added.
Although the young people in the community speak Tamil, most of them are unable to read the language. “We conduct all our prayers in Tamil and the occasions we celebrate are distinct from those celebrated by other Hindu communities.”
Behind the JPMC staff quarters is a road that leads into a tiny, rundown lane. At the end of this lane stands the mouth of a maze—a cluster of narrow pathways that these people call home. The pathways are dotted with two-room apartments, outside of which sit women in their home-clothes — cooking, gossiping and fanning themselves with newspapers.
Little children burn their restive energies by playing games in these poorly-lit alleys. Stray dogs roam around freely, being poked and kicked around from time to time by children and adults alike. The houses are decrepit, their doors, lacking knobs, remain open for most of the day. But, unlike how it is in the rest of the city, they don’t feel the need for security or privacy – they live like one huge family.

One of the lanes takes you to the Maripata Temple, which is the biggest Tamil Hindu temple in Karachi, and a centre for religious and cultural education. Sixty-eight year-old Lalatanga is presently the overseer of the temple.
She tells us proudly: “my husband built this temple. He was the caretaker till a few years ago, when he died of heart-attack.”
Lalatanga said that the worst time that her community had to face was in 1992, during the Babri Mosque crisis in India. “This temple was destroyed by some people and we had to hide all our young girls in a missionary hospital. They are the most vulnerable segment of our community during such times.”

The temple is the centre for all cultural activities that take place in this community. The most important of these is Pongal – the celebration of the new harvest which takes place around mid-January. “It’s like your Eid,” Lalatanga explained, trying to stress the importance of the event in the popular vocabulary.
“During the Pongal festival, the whole Madrasi community comes together from across the city and gathers in this temple. It is the only Madrasi event we celebrate every year.”
On Sundays, the families make Idli and Dossa, signature-south Indian dishes. “On holidays (Sunday), our women make South Indian dishes, because they require a lot hard work,” said Kari Das. These are just some of the cultural traditions that they have managed to hold on to.

The Tamil Hindus, being a sub-group of a religious minority, are torn between the urge to blend into mainstream Pakistani culture and the need to keep a grip on their own rich cultural heritage.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/352172-strangers-to-their-roots-and-those-around-them