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Food for thought: Of doodh khoya and pera lassi
By Imtiaz
Mateen
“Lahore, Lahore ay!” This is a saying I had heard often but, being a
Karachiite, never understood the true meaning of until my first
visit to the city famous for its culture, architecture and, most of
all, delicious food.
Be is chargha, murgh chholay or fried fish; hunks of barbecued meat
or mithai drenched in asli ghee; paya, hareesa or chaanp, Lahoris
relish their food with a passion. And one thing they are really
passionate about is their doodh khoya and lassi.
When I visited Lahore some time back, my cousin took me to the Old
Anarkali area for doodh khoya, straight from the airport, to give me
my first taste of Lahore.
We stopped at a big milk shop where my host asked the waiter to
bring special doodh khoya, telling him that since his guest had come
from Karachi the doodh khoya should be very special.
The waiter served us a rich concoction of milk with noodles and dry
fruit in generous sized bowls instead of the usual glass tumblers.
Upon asking the reason behind this serving style, my cousin was
told, “Sir Ji, you had asked for a really special serving, so I
chose to serve this in bowls with more dry fruit.” That’s what I
call the true Lahori genrosity.
The doodh khoya was not milky white, rahter it was the brownish
shade of caramelised milk with a thick layer of Tukham-i-Balanga
and dry fruit on top. So that was my first experience of Lahori
food.
During my stay in Lahore I learnt about a Lassi mela in Gawalmandi
which starts before sun rise and ends at 8:00pm. People mostly go
there to drink peray wali lassi before the morning prayers. In
Karachi, I had never heard about such an interest in lassi, so we
decided to go there on a Sunday morning.
When we reached Fieqa Bhai’s shop in Gawalmandi, though it was still
dark and the streets were empty, more than a dozen people were
standing in front of the shop, and a few were sitting on a wooden
bench waiting for their peray wali lassi.
Two men were busy making lassi (both the sweet and salty variety)
and Fieqa Bhai was beating peras in his large lassi pot.
He beat the milk till a thick layer of butter appeared which he
poured in every glass; this was topped up by the lassi. The glasses
were served with a tablespoon for eating the butter on the surface
and khoya at the bottom.
Though delicious, the special Lahori Lassi might be a bit too sweet
and rich for those who are not used to it. My cousin insisted that I
finish my portion, along with the khoya at the bottom, else “Fieqa
Bhai would feel offended.” He then took me to race course ground
for a morning walk and I was not surprised to see many of the same
people I had seen a little while ago at Feiqa Bhai’s shop, walking
off the calories they had just guzzled down.
Lassi is undoubtedly a most refreshing beverage, especially in the
summer; but if you plan to indulge in peray wali lassi, keep your
walking shoes handy.
DAWN REVIEW:Sunday, 14 Jun, 2009 |
