Much like India, Pakistan too has several kinds of curries hailing from the different parts of the land. There’s Punjabi, Lahori, Sindh, Pashtun, Blochi, Mughlai, Kashmiri, Parsi, Gujarati and Bihari. My family come from Lahore, so naturally the food I will describe in my posts hail from Lahore too, though on some occasion they may be influenced by other regions.

Lahori food is wholesome, full of flavor and have enough spices to put hairs on your chest! One of the major cultural attractions in Lahore is Gualmundi, or in other words ‘Food Street’. When I first went there, I felt like a kid taken to the candy shop!  The street is literally full of Lahori and Pakistani delicacies. There’s Haleem, Nihari, Kheer, Batereh, and let’s not forget Dhey Paleh! This place is definitely worth a visit if you’re a foody looking for adventure.

There’s one dish in particular that I found myself craving a few weeks back and when I heard my family in London were about to tuck into some chicken curry. My mouth immediately began watering and I just knew that I had to make some for myself that weekend. Chicken Curry is a simple yet delicious Pakistani dish. I can’t describe the taste, aroma or pleasure this dish gives, it can only be experienced…

For this dish I recommend using a whole chicken cut into no less than 8 pieces. Bones are essential to add a nice flavor to the sauce – boneless chicken will also be nice however, but not as nice.

Recipe

1 whole chicken cut without skin and into no less than 8 pieces

2 medium – large onions sliced

3 cloves of garlic crushed

1 inch garlic chopped

2 black cardamoms

6 green cardamons

1 cinnamon stick

4-6 bird’s eye green chillies chopped

3-4 tbsp tomato puree

1/4 cup plain yoghurt

Salt to taste

2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ajwain seeds

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 litre water

3 tbsp oil – I use olive oil in all of my cooking

fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

Marinade the chicken in the yogurt and 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 of the chopped chillies for a few hours if you can.

In a pot, heat some oil and gently fry the black and green cardimoms and cinnamon stick for 1 minute, add the onions and continue to fry on a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until they have softened. Add the crused garlic and ginger and fry for another minute. Add the chopped chillies and about 1/2 a cup of water and cook on a low heat to further soften the onions. Once most of the water has evaporated add the tomato puree and remove from the heat. Blend the mixture to a puree or mash with a potato masher to break down the onions as much as possible.

Add the turmeric, salt, red chilli powder and a drop of water if the sauce is too dry and return to a medium heat. Stir frequently to avoid the sauce from sticking. Once the sauce has reduced and is close to drying out add the chicken with the marinade to the sauce. Fry on a medium to high heat, stirring frequently so that the chicken turns white evenly. If your sauce is too thick at this point add 1/4 cup of water. Fry for no more that 5-7 minutes, then cover securely and simmer for 10-15 minutes. It’s advised to check half way through to stir and ensure the chicken is releasing its juices.

Once the chicken has released its juices turn the heat up and cook without the lid for a further 5 minutes or so or until the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has begun to release some oil. Remove the cardimon pods. At this point bring the heat down to medium and add a tbsp of oil to induce the oil release and the ajwain seeds, cumin and corriander powder and stir frequently. Once the oil has separated from the sauce add the water, allow to boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. Check to ensure the chicken is cooked fully and then turn off the heat. Season with salt to taste and spinkle the garam masala and corriander on top.

Serving tip: Serve with plain boiled rice and a side salad. This dish may also be eaten with naan bread or even with regular french stick, if desired.

Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid on Saturday rubbished the Indian media report which states that the Indian Armed Forces are preparing to fight China and Pakistan.

“Leave alone China, General Deepak Kapoor knows very well what the Indian Armed Forces can not and what the Pakistan Armed Forces can pull off militarily,” said General Tariq Majid.

He was responding to a question on the Indian Army Chief’s jingoistic pronouncement of Indian military preparations to fight China and Pakistan simultaneously.

General Majid said he doubted the veracity of the Indian media report attributed to General Kapoor, saying that “he (Kapoor) could not be so outlandish in strategic postulations to fix India on a self destruct mechanism.”

General Majid further said that if the news report is correct, then the statements of Indian Army Chief are uncalled for and only “display a lack of strategic acumen.”

Shortlink: http://wp.me/pzzIg-7T

Death toll rises in Pakistan game blast

Dozens are wounded when an explosives-laden truck is detonated at an outdoor volleyball game. Officials say the attack targeted members of an anti-Taliban ‘peace committee.’

Reporting from New Delhi and Peshawar, Pakistan – At least 75 civilians were killed and dozens were wounded Friday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at an outdoor volleyball game in northwestern Pakistan, police said. The attack apparently was aimed at members of an anti-Taliban “peace committee” that has been challenging the influence of insurgents, officials and town elders said.

The bombing took place as a crowd of more than 200 people watched a match between local teams about 20 miles south of the town of Lakki Marwat in North-West Frontier Province. The site is close to South Waziristan, where Pakistani troops have been battling Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in recent months at the urging of U.S. leaders.

The bomber drove a double-cab pickup truck packed with 550 pounds of high-intensity explosives onto the field, which is in a densely populated neighborhood, police said. Witnesses said the ground was littered with flesh after the blast and that several bodies were damaged beyond recognition.

The force of the bomb rocked the area, destroying several nearby houses. Survivors struggled to free badly wounded victims from the rubble. Several critically hurt people were taken by car and wagon to other hospitals in Lakki Marwat district after the local government-run hospital became overwhelmed.

“Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area,” Police Chief Ayub Khan told reporters. “This attack seems to be reaction to their expulsion.”

Mushtaq Marwat, an elder in Lakki Marwat, said members of the peace committee, many of whom were watching the volleyball match, had earlier received threats from militant groups operating in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region.

Analysts said the attack was part of a retaliatory campaign the Taliban has waged against the army and public since the government launched an offensive against insurgents in South Waziristan in October. It underscores the challenges ahead this year in the battle to stem insurgency along both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border.

One of the militants’ objectives is to sow terror among the general population in hopes of putting more political pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari’s government to back down.

“The Taliban are increasingly frustrated, as you saw with this sports attack,” said Ishtiaq Ahmad, professor of international relations with Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University. “They spare no opportunity to engage in pure and simple terrorism against unarmed civilians. This has the largest psychological impact.”

A second objective, analysts said, is to increase misunderstanding and distrust between Washington and Islamabad in hopes of preventing coordinated attacks from both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border in the spring. In a few months, the snows will have melted and many of the 30,000 additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan promised by President Obama will be in place.

On other fronts, a suspected U.S. missile strike killed at least two alleged militants in a car in North Waziristan on Friday. It was the second such attack in less than 12 hours.

In 2009, the U.S. carried out at least 50 missile attacks using unmanned drone aircraft in Pakistan’s lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the adjacent Bannu district. Dozens of people were killed, including Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders.

U.S. officials rarely discuss the missile strikes, which the Pakistani public views as a threat to national sovereignty and a danger to civilians. Islamabad publicly condemns the attacks, although it is widely believed that it assists with intelligence and logistical support in secret.

With time, the drone attacks have become more effective and involved fewer civilian casualties, although militants have begun altering their movements in response.

Locals said two people were killed and four were wounded in Friday’s drone attack after two missiles hit a car parked outside a residential compound. The victims’ identities could not immediately be learned.

A drone attack late Thursday reportedly hit the house of a local tribesman in Mirali Tehsil, in North Waziristan, killing seven people. Officials and family members confirmed that pro-Taliban commander Haji Muhammad Umar, 48, was among the casualties.

For the Original Full Story

The Pakistani Taliban claimed Friday that they used a turncoat CIA operative to carry out the suicide bombing that killed seven American CIA employees in Afghanistan.

The suicide bomber struck the CIA’s operation at Camp Chapman in eastern Khost province. The base was used to direct and coordinate CIA operations and intelligence gathering in Khost, a hotbed of insurgent activity because of its proximity to Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, former CIA officials said.

Qari Hussain, a Taliban suicide bombing mastermind, told an AP reporter that a “CIA agent” contacted Pakistani Taliban commanders and said he’d been trained by the agency to take on militants but that he was willing to attack the U.S. intelligence operation on the militants’ behalf. He did not specify the nationality of the “agent.”

Two former U.S. officials told the AP that the bomber had been invited onto the base and not searched. One official, a former senior intelligence employee, said the man was being courted as an informant and that it was the first time he had been brought inside the camp.

.

Filmed in Pakistan, India, Canada and United States, A Voice From Heaven is a tribute to one of the most beautiful voices in the century: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the king of Qawwali. The story interweaves excellent Nusrat performance footage and a rare behind the scene glimpse into Nusrat’s life. Interviews conducted with the many friends, artists and producers with whom Nusrat has collaborated with, including Rick Rubin, Michael Brook, Bally Sagoo and the Asian Dub Foundation, tell the story of a man and his music of peace and spiritual love.

.

.

.

Part 1

.

.

Part 2

Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 |

.

OR

Click Here to Play All the Videos (PlayList)

.

.

Naiye Saal Ka Pehla Din aya
To main ne teri yadoon ko
Apnay Ansoon se nihla ker
Apnay Sapnoon ke Kapray Pehnaye

Ankhoon main judai ka Kajal Lagaya
Mathay pe be-basi ka jhoomer Sajaya
Aur Phir
Inhien Tanhaye Ki Payal Pehnaye

Daleeri Ke Kajray Pehna Ker
Apnay Naam Ki bindya Inke Mathay pe Sajaye
Aur
Apni Wafoon ki Chadar Ourd Ker Main ne
Teri Yadoon ko
Naiye Saal Ke Suraj Ki
Pehli Kiran Ko Sonp Diya

Courtesy: PKKH

By: Daily.Pk

A fire broke out in a chemistry laboratory at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, located just a kilometre away from the nuclear reactors, leaving two research students dead, but scientists said there was no danger of any radioactivity.

Scientists at the suburban Trombay-based BARC said a loud bang was heard in the chemistry lab after which black smoke billowed out. It was not immediately clear if the bang was caused by an explosion or triggered by a chemical reaction.

No research involving radioactive material is conducted in the multi-storeyed Modular lab, in which the chemistry lab was housed, scientists said. It was also stated that no reactor, radioactivity or radiation was involved in the accident.

The victims, who were between the age group of 22 and 25, were identified as Umang Singh of Mumbai and Partha Bag of Kolkata. The identification was done on the basis of their ID cards on their person since their bodies were charred beyond recognition, a BARC release said.

Some scientific equipment was also damaged in the blaze, scientists said.

“The fire broke out at 12.5 pm in the chemistry lab on the third floor of the Modular lab of BARC. There was a loud bang, after which black smoke billowed out of the chemistry lab filling the corridor,” said BARC director and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Sreekumar Banerjee.

BARC’s fire brigade officials rushed to the spot and doused the blaze within 45 minutes. The fire-fighters later made their way to the lab and located two badly charred bodies. pkkh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWdj-_av7_E

A report on India’s poor nuclear safety arrangements:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5RCfCWbOwM