Cookbook ‘Pakistan’ serves up recipes for Eid mainstays: mutton pulao, garlic chutney, sweet seviyan

This combination of photos shows cover art for the cookbook “Pakistan,” by Maryam Jillani, left, and a dessert recipe from the book called seviyan. (Hardie Grant Publishing via AP, left, and Sonny Thakur via AP)
Short Url
Updated 31 March 2025
Follow

Cookbook ‘Pakistan’ serves up recipes for Eid mainstays: mutton pulao, garlic chutney, sweet seviyan

  • As Ramadan ends, Maryam Jilani’s new cookbook sheds light on Pakistan’s varied cuisine and culinary traditions 
  • Recipes reflect diverse nature of Pakistan’s migrant communities and influences on its food from India, China and beyond 

A mainstay at the Eid Al-Fitr table of award-winning food author Maryam Jillani’s grandmother, Kulsoom, was mutton pulao, an aromatic rice dish prepared in a gently spiced bone broth. It’s both comforting and celebratory — and can be absolutely revelatory when paired with a sharp condiment like a garlic chutney.

Dessert included seviyan, sweetened vermicelli noodles simmered in spiced milk.

Here are recipes from Jillani’s new cookbook, “Pakistan,” for the mutton, chutney, and seviyan:

Mutton Pulao (Aromatic Rice with Mutton)

Serves 6 to 8 as a main course

Ingredients:




The photo taken on June 21, 2022, shows a receipe for mutton pulao from Maryam Jillani’s book, "Pakistan." (Maryam Jillani via AP)

About 3 pounds bone-in mutton, lamb or beef, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces

4 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced

4 whole cloves

2 black cardamom pods

One 2-inch cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 tablespoons garlic paste

2 tablespoons salt, or to taste

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 cups basmati rice, rinsed in several changes of water

Directions:

Fill a large pot with 8 to 10 cups water. Add the mutton, half of the onions, the whole cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon of the garlic paste, and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the mutton for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the quality of the meat, until it is tender. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat. Strain the solids from the liquid, return the liquid to the pot, and place it by the stove. Discard the solids.

In a clean, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil until it begins to shimmer. Add the remaining onions and fry on medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes until they are a deep golden-brown color. Take care to not let them burn. Stir in the remaining garlic paste and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the mixture no longer smells raw.

Increase the heat to high and add the mutton and remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Sear the meat, 5 to 7 minutes, until it has browned slightly. Pour in 6 cups of the strained mutton broth (put any leftover broth in airtight containers and freeze for later use). Taste and add more salt as needed. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Carefully pour in the rice and let cook for about 10 minutes until the water completely evaporates.

Wrap a tight-fitting lid with a clean kitchen towel and place it securely on the pot. Turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and let the rice steam for at least 10 to 12 minutes until fluffy. Carefully transfer the pulao to a serving platter and fluff with a fork.

Lahsun ki Chutney (Garlic Chutney)

Aida Khan, a London-based entrepreneur and chef, shared her mother’s recipe for this vibrant, punchy lahsun ki chutney. It’s very spicy, so a little goes a long way. Refrigerate this chutney in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

4 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled

1 1/2 small red onions, roughly chopped

1/4 cup red chili flakes

1 bird’s eye chile (optional)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the garlic, onions, chile flakes, and bird’s eye chile (if using), and blitz until you have a thick paste.

In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and onion paste and salt. Bring it to a simmer, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to low. Cook the chutney for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan, until the garlic and onions have caramelized and the chutney’s color deepens.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

Seviyan (Sweetened Roasted Vermicelli)




This image shows. dessert receipe called seviyann from the cookbook "Pakistan" by Maryam Jillani. (Sonny Thakur via AP)

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1/4 cup ghee

6 green cardamom pods, cracked

5 1/2 ounces seviyan (semolina vermicelli)

8 1/2 cups full-fat milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons blanched sliced almonds

Directions:

In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, melt the ghee and heat it until it begins to shimmer. Add the cardamom pods and fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the seviyan and fry over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until browned slightly. Gradually pour in the milk and bring the pudding to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Keep the milk at a gentle simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring continually, until the milk thickens but the seviyan still has some bite.

Transfer the seviyan to a serving bowl. Top with sliced almonds. Let it cool to room temperature before serving. To store, transfer to an airtight container, refrigerate, and use within 2 to 3 days.


Pakistan PM vows crackdown on human smugglers after four citizens die in Libya boat tragedy

Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan PM vows crackdown on human smugglers after four citizens die in Libya boat tragedy

  • The foreign office confirmed the incident off the coast of Harawa on Tuesday that left at least 11 dead
  • Similar boat tragedies have also occurred before, prompting official efforts to dismantle trafficking networks

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday vowed strong action against human smugglers who entice Pakistani nationals with promises of better economic prospects abroad, risking their lives at sea, as the country confirmed the deaths of four citizens in a boat tragedy off the coast of Libya.
Sharif’s remarks came after officials confirmed that a migrant vessel had sunk off Libya’s Harawa coast, leaving at least 11 people dead, including four Pakistani nationals.
Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Tripoli said the victims were identified through national documents recovered from the scene.
“Deeply saddened by reports from our Mission in Tripoli of yet another boat capsizing incident off the Harawa coast near Sirte City, Eastern Libya, in which at least four Pakistanis have been confirmed dead out of 11 casualties,” the prime minister said in a post on social media.
“Our Mission and the Foreign Office are working with the local authorities to retrieve the remains of the deceased,” he added. “While we are taking strong action against those responsible for luring our citizens into this death trap, we will continue to come down hard against such elements so no family has to carry the coffins of their loved ones in such accidents.”

The foreign office identified the victims as Zahid Mehmood from Gujranwala and Sameer Ali, Syed Ali Hussain and Asad Ali from Mandi Bahauddin in eastern Pakistan after the tragedy.
Two additional bodies recovered from the shipwreck remain unidentified, officials said, as the Crisis Management Unit at the foreign ministry continues to monitor the situation.
Each year, thousands of Pakistanis embark on perilous journeys across land and sea in search of work in Europe, often falling prey to human smugglers who arrange illegal crossings for large sums of money.
The Libya route remains one of the most trafficked and dangerous passages.
In February, Libyan authorities recovered the bodies of at least 16 Pakistani nationals after a similar boat tragedy off the coast near Zawiya city, with nearly 10 others reported missing.
Last year, over 260 Pakistanis drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the coast of Pylos, Greece, one of the deadliest Mediterranean disasters in recent history.
Pakistani authorities have since intensified efforts to dismantle trafficking networks, arresting several agents and cracking down on operations that facilitate such illegal migration.


Pakistan denies claims UN rights resolution unilaterally softened to accommodate Israel’s concerns

Updated 16 April 2025
Follow

Pakistan denies claims UN rights resolution unilaterally softened to accommodate Israel’s concerns

  • Pakistan presented the resolution on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation earlier this month
  • It says the resolution is part of an annual OIC initiative and is only tabled after Palestinian endorsement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday denied social media claims that a United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution presented by its diplomat in support of Palestine earlier this month was unilaterally diluted to accommodate Israeli concerns, saying the posts were based on inaccurate media reports and misrepresented the resolution’s outcome.

The statement followed a story by a global wire service, which reported that US lobbying, despite Washington’s withdrawal from the Council, had succeeded in preventing the inclusion of a powerful investigative mechanism in the Pakistan-led resolution on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The report subsequently triggered criticism on social media, prompting the foreign office in Islamabad to issue a clarification.

“We have taken note of certain social media posts concerning the recently adopted Human Rights Council resolution on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT),” the statement said. “These posts, based on inaccurate media reports, reflect a misunderstanding of the resolution adoption process and mischaracterize its outcome.”

The resolution, which focused on accountability for Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories, is part of an annual OIC initiative at the Council in Geneva.

According to the foreign office, the resolution is only presented after the Palestinian delegation expresses satisfaction with the negotiated text, followed by final endorsement from the OIC member states.

“At no stage the text is modified unilaterally,” it added. “The resolution adopted during the latest HRC session adhered strictly to this process.”

The final text adopted by the Council referred the matter of setting up an independent mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for serious crimes in Palestinian territories to the UN General Assembly.

Pakistan rejected any suggestion of compromising its position on Palestine, reiterating that it does not recognize Israel and, as a matter of principle, does not engage with it in multilateral forums.

The foreign office noted that two other OIC-sponsored resolutions on Palestine were also adopted during the Council’s latest session, reinforcing Pakistan’s “unwavering and historic commitment” to the Palestinian cause.


Pakistan opposes expansion of permanent Security Council seats, calls for elected representation

Updated 37 min 49 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan opposes expansion of permanent Security Council seats, calls for elected representation

  • A Pakistani diplomat says ‘there is no justification for creating new centers of privilege within the UN’
  • He says the UN should accommodate interests of underrepresented blocs like the Arab Group, OIC

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday opposed any expansion of the permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, warning against “creating new centers of privilege” within the world body and instead advocating for a more democratic and regionally representative Council.
The statement came during an informal meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform, where long-standing divisions between two key camps — the G4 nations and the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group — were once again laid bare.
While the G4 — India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — seek permanent seats for themselves in a restructured Council, the UfC group, led by Italy and including Pakistan, favors an expansion only in the non-permanent category to ensure greater regional equity and accountability.
“We remain staunchly opposed to proposals for permanent seats, as there is no justification for creating new centers of privilege within the UN,” said Ambassador Usman Iqbal Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.
“Our goal is to democratize the Council and support a reform that corresponds to the interests of the large majority of member states and regional and cross-regional groups, not just a few self-appointed states,” he added.
Jadoon stressed that any increase in the Council’s size must reflect the dramatic rise in UN membership since 1945, particularly from small and medium-sized states, and warned that allocating a limited number of additional seats permanently to a handful of countries would diminish chances for broader representation.
He reiterated Pakistan’s support for the UfC proposal to raise the Council’s membership to 27, composed entirely of elected non-permanent members, with seats distributed among the UN’s five regional groups.
The approach, he continued, would better accommodate the interests of underrepresented blocs such as the Arab Group, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
“Each seat allocated permanently to an individual country will be a permanent blow to equitable geographical distribution or regional representation in any sense of the word,” Jadoon argued.
The Pakistani diplomat maintained that permanent seats occupied by individual states, even without veto power, would entrench the status quo and undermine accountability, an outcome he described as antithetical to the spirit of reform.
 


Roadside bomb kills three in southwest Pakistan as two polio workers abducted in northwest

Updated 16 April 2025
Follow

Roadside bomb kills three in southwest Pakistan as two polio workers abducted in northwest

  • The first attack occurred in Mastung, a district in the insurgency-hit province of Balochistan
  • Polio workers’ kidnapping happened ahead of a nationwide anti-polio drive starting April 21

QUETTA: A powerful roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security personnel in Pakistan’s restive southwest on Tuesday, killing three officers and wounding 18 others, officials said.
Separately, gunmen also abducted two polio workers in the northwest.
The first attack occurred in Mastung, a district in the province of Balochistan, according to government spokesperson Shahid Rind.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatists, who frequently target security forces and civilians in the province as well as other parts of the country.
Balochistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan, with an array of separatist groups, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army which was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019, staging attacks.
The separatists seek independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence in Balochistan has persisted.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a statement, denounced the attack and vowed to continue the “fight against terrorism” until it's eradicated.
Meanwhile, gunmen attacked a vehicle and abducted two polio workers who were on their way home after visiting a health facility in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a local police officer Zahid Khan.
The kidnapping happened ahead of a nationwide anti-polio campaign which will begin April 21 to vaccinate 45 million children.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the abductions but authorities have previously blamed militants for such attacks.
Insurgents falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children despite the government and medical experts’ vehement denials.

Pakistan has reported six new cases of polio since January.
According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus has not been eradicated.


Pakistan fails to meet target of 50% Shariah-compliant banking by Jan. 2025 — data

Updated 16 April 2025
Follow

Pakistan fails to meet target of 50% Shariah-compliant banking by Jan. 2025 — data

  • Pakistan’s central bank set a target to increase Islamic banking deposits’ share to 50% by January 2025
  • Pakistan increased market share of Shariah-compliant banking deposits to only 24.9% by December

KARACHI: Pakistan’s government failed to achieve a target set by the central bank to increase the share of Islamic banking deposits in the country by 50% by January this year, according to official documents seen by Arab News, as Islamabad attempts to rid the country’s banking system of interest. 

Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court (FSC) directed the government in April 2022 to eliminate interest by 2027, maintaining that Islam prohibited it in all its forms and manifestations. The FSC determines whether Pakistani laws comply with Islamic law or not. 

Following the order, the government and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have taken measures ranging from changing laws in October 2024 to issuing Sukuk (Islamic bonds) to replace interest-based treasury bills and investment bonds.

According to a presentation shared by the SBP with bankers in August 2024, a copy of which Arab News has seen, the central bank set an “indicative target” for the government to increase the share of Islamic banking deposits to 50% by January 2025, 65% by January 2026, 80% by January 2027 and 100% by December 2027. 

Pakistan, however, missed this target and was able to increase the market share of its Shariah-compliant banking deposits to only 24.9% by December 2024, the document stated. Noor Ahmed, the chief spokesperson of the SBP, did not respond to Arab News’ request for comments. 

“The SBP and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan are making a lot of efforts but the government should do more to speed up this process of conversion,” Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, the head of Shariah-compliance at Meezan Bank Ltd., told Arab News.

Meezan Bank is Pakistan’s largest Islamic bank which operates more than 1,000 branches in over 300 cities across the country. Pakistan has six full-fledged Islamic banks and 16 conventional banks that also offer Islamic products. 

INTEREST-FREE BANKING ON THE RISE

The demand for interest-free banking, however, is increasing in the country. 

This increasing demand is reflected in the over 20% growth of annual deposits that Islamic banks have been reporting in recent years, with their total assets swelling beyond Rs10 trillion ($35.6 billion) for the first time, said the SBP’s Quarterly Islamic Banking Bulletin from October to December 2024. 

Total deposits of Islamic banks grew by 17% to Rs 7.91 trillion ($28.2 billion), which accounts for 25% of the total banking industry, the bulletin said. Islamic banks extended Rs 4.04 trillion ($14.4 billion) of financing to borrowers, while their investments totaled Rs 4.99 trillion ($17.8 billion).

“The steady rise in assets, deposits, financing, and investment highlights the sector’s resilience,” the central bank said in the report.

Both conventional and Islamic banks are expanding their branches across Pakistan. This led to a 21% year-on-year growth in the number of branches of Islamic banks to 6,017 and a 17% hike in conventional banks operating Islamic banking windows to 2,253.

“This expansion underpins the increasing accessibility and demand for Islamic banking services across the country,” the SBP said in the bulletin.

Pakistan’s leading banks are converting their branches into Shariah-compliant to align with the legal requirement for all banks to transition to Islamic banking by 2027.

In November, MCB Bank Ltd. converted 39 of its conventional branches into interest-free ones while the United Bank Ltd. has also converted all its branches located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwest Balochistan provinces into interest-free ones.

“The government’s biggest challenge is to convert all its loans and financing into Islamic financing,” Siddiqui said. 

He urged the government to take all its deposits to Islamic banks and convert its treasury bills and investment bonds into Sukuk as a first step.

“You should at least announce the conversion of National Bank Pakistan [into a Shariah-compliant bank], which is the state-owned bank,” Siddiqui said. 

The banker said the government could speed up the process of conversion if all its institutions could carry out their transactions such as salaries and pension funds through Islamic banking.