so recently i’ve been to a range of dawats at friends’ houses and noticed a suprising trend. the newbie wives (who just arrived from pakistan a year or 2 back) basically refuse to cook salan or any typically desi dish. They will make stuffed chicken, lasgna, pasta based dishes, salads, etc. Basically its more of an “american” theme or italian theme for them.
On the other hand, ones who are more long-term residents of america (15-20 yrs or whole lives) are so much more focused on nihari, biryani, palak gosht, etc. Whatsup with this trend? I don’t really care as long as the food is good, but I almost feel like maybe in pakistan the trend now is to make western foods for dawats??
disclaimer: i don’t have any issues with italian foods. i just want to know if what i observed is a common phenomena?
Maybe for the newbies the menu reflects the innate desire to show they fit in, and are british or American it is certainly more impressive to be in touch with other cuisines aside from the original desi kitchen recipes...
yes I have felt the same here in the UK and its so annoying .. I think the mindset behind this “trend” is exactly what polished gems mentioned ..
its annoying though .. coz i do believe most of the Pakistani girls are such brilliant cooks , there is such a rich variety of food in Pakistan and they should proudly use that to their benefit .. but they dont :no:
ab to maiN India kii kisii gaaoN waalii se shaadii karuuNgaa...vohii pakaayegii dil lagaa kar varna shahr-waaliyaan to saaraa waqt fashion meN lagaaatii haiN :D
lol KKF .. Good luck buddy ! its seems like women just dont enjoy cooking anymore .. At least in my social circle I have seen women literally jaan chura and proudly declare that humko cooking ati nahi hai
Very few women these days really feel proud of their cooking skills and some of them even manage careers and cook , something to genuinely applaud ..
Maybe the newbie wives think people there wouldn't like salan or any desi dish.. that they would be more used to eating gora dishes?
Or
Maybe the girls themselves are just too sick and tired of eating only desi dishes back home so they want to try out something different?
Whatever the case, it's not that of a big deal IMO. I mean they ARE new to the country/setting and newly wed girls can hardly cook so I guess it's nice of them to cook and invite people over. And they'll learn with time what to cook and what not to.
ok i have seen thousands of girls(newly weds) who says “hamai to cooking nai ati” but when they cook it tastes awesome…whats the point of saying hamai cooking nai ati:smack: are they scared or what…i cant understand…
I asked this lady once, who said something similar to everyone but always cooked awesome food .. When we became friends , I asked her subtly why women from Pakistan dont feel proud of their cooking skills ..
She said she was under the impression that women abroad are very modern and dont go into the kitchen much and also in Pakistan, the cooks and kaam wali’s are readily available to do the cooking , so its like a common thing now that girls who dont know how to cook are considered “modern”
Till date, I have been unable to understand what being “modern” has to to with “cooking skills” .. I do wonder occasionally , if cooking is seen as a nokar’s task in desi culture?
It’s not just this thread but I’ve read/heard comments from other people as well…I think it’s sad that cooking non-desi food is cause for criticism and bashing…are we really that insecure that we will get offended at not having biryani at a davat?
also–I LOVE cooking…desi food and any other food…and I love desi food…but I know ppl can be concerned about lingering odors…and alot of ppl are sensitive to smell, so, no i don’t blame them for not wanting to make desi food every single day…and I don’t think that’s “nakhray” or being confused at all.
like i said in the original post, i don’t have any issues with this. just wanted to know if its a real trend so i can hop on the bandwagon before i start feeling paindoo
Well there is a way of doing things .. when we invite gora’s, we make less of our desi dishes and focus more on what would intrigue them from their cuisine.
I too keep a mixed menu sometimes but it very much depends on the guests .. for example a few months back I invited a gora family of 5 for dinner and I had made chicken pie, lasagna and a lamb curry with saffron rice ..
The same formula goes for the desi’s too, when we have desi guests over we try to put on the menu what highlight the best of the desi menu with a tinge of non desi cuisine maybe .. for example Nihari, haleem etc are considered high profile dishes so we focus on them .. with maybe a non desi side dish or salad or starters ..
Its called being considerate of the guest’s comfort zone …
I was served a bowl of custard with pieces of cake ‘floating’ in it and was told it was trifle. I just smiled, and took a bit of custard and was bulldozed into saying it was the bomb!
But yeah, the trend of alot of desi girls from the homeland cooking international dishes for dawats gets on my nerves. Maybe the girls I have met and simply crap cooks, but their dishes were bland, or too spicy so not even like the true dish.
My rule of thumb is, if the chef has to tell you what the dish it, or describe the dish then it’s a failure.
mashallah all three of the above have fabulous cooking skills ..
