Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Almost caught up! I've posted recipes, but not the country write up. Sorry! Last week we traveled, in our  Cooking Around the World Adventure , into the Ps. First up: Pakistan. A few fun facts... The official name for Pakistan is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The name Pakistan means ‘land of the pure’ in Persian and Urdu. The national flower of Pakistan is the jasmine. The currency of Pakistan is the Pak Rupee. Pakistan is the world’s second-largest producer of chickpeas behind India. A baby is born in Pakistan every seven seconds. What we ate... As our starter, we made: Aloo Tiki And for dinner, we made: Koftay I actually liked the first dish so much that I even made it for breakfast this morning. And served it with eggs. Well, these Global Table Ambassadors are signing off for now. We'll be headed to Panama next!

Since we loved Omani Kofta with Zucchini Sauce so much, I decided to cook my version of a Pakistani Koftay as we continue in our Cooking Around the World Adventure . These are not grilled; instead they are simmered in a fragrant curry-tomato sauce with lentils. Please note that this is not a traditional recipe. I took lots and lots of culinary liberties. But, like their Omani counterparts, these were a hit! I also loved that I was able to use some leftover grilled bell peppers and fresh tomatoes from my friends' garden. Thanks, Belle and Randy! For the koftay 1 pound 96/4 organic, grassfed ground beef 1 T parsley, finely chopped (about a handful) 1 T cilantro, finely chopped 1 T basil, finely chopped 1 t oregano, finely chopped 1 t ground cinnamon 1 t ground coriander 1 t ground cumin freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper Blend everything together in a large mixing bowl so that the spices and herbs are equally distributed. For the curry ...

To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P...