Photos from 22nd Jan 2012

To commemorate the first anniversary of the Arab Spring - khana commune London rustled up a lunch to celebrate some of the most wonderful traits of the Arab people – warmth, hospitality and mouth-watering cuisine, at a special lunch on Sunday, 22nd January 2012.

Zina, founder of khana commune Singapore was in town, and we were joined by guest chef Layla El-Wafi, an American-British-Londoner who traces her roots to both Libya (her late father) and Egypt (her mum). This has been a most remarkable year for her and her family.

Here are some photos from what turned out to be a fabulous get-together.

to start
karkade (chilled hibiscus drink from Cairo) and the scent of arabic bukhoor

shurbah leebeeyah (libyan lamb, tomato and “bird’s tongue” pasta soup)

egyptian lentil soup (v)

mains
egyptian koushury (v)

yemeni mandi (roasted lamb and chicken on saffron rice) with traditional tomato herb chutney

tunisian cous cous topped with harissa fish and a harissa vegetarian stirfry

to sweeten

syrian semolina cake drizzled with rose-infused syrup and bahraini dates

drinks

yemeni kishr and north african mint tea

khana commune mentioned in Singapore Airlines’ in-flight magazine

Singapore Airlines’ in-flight magazine has done a neat little feature on supper clubs serving Asian food in London, and amongst the very illustrious others, khana commune gets a mention. Thanks Krisflyer and thanks Goz from +65 for sending the image to me.

An Arab Spring celebration: lunch on Sunday, 22nd January

Shepard Fairey’s latest art print

Just over a year ago, a young Tunisian man set himself on fire in a desperate protest against police brutality, a life of poverty and injustice. Never in our wildest imagination could we have imagined that this one tragic event would trigger a revolutionary tsunami through the Arab world, causing her people to rise and topple some of the most entrenched dictators in living memory. We have seen the backs of Ben Ali in Tunisia, Mubarak in Egypt and Ghaddafi in Libya. Yemen and Syria may be next. All in one short year.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the Arab Spring – khana commune London will bring to you some of the most wonderful traits of the Arab people – warmth, hospitality and mouth-watering cuisine, at a special lunch on Sunday, 22nd January 2012 at 1.30 pm. Sundays are lovely in East London – a great opportunity to explore Columbia Road Flower Market, Spitalfields Market and the old Truman Brewery Area near Brick Lane before joining us for lunch. Please email me if you want a suggested itinerary.

Zina, founder of khana commune Singapore will be in town, and we will be joined by guest chef Layla El-Wafi, an American-British-Londoner who traces her roots to both Libya (her late father) and Egypt (her mum). This has been a most remarkable year for her and her family.

On 22nd Jan, we will cook up a five course meal featuring favourites from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Syria.

to start
karkade (chilled hibiscus drink from Cairo) and the scent of arabic bukhoor
shurbah leebeeyah (libyan lamb, tomato and “bird’s tongue” pasta soup)
or egyptian lentil soup (v)

mains
egyptian koushury (v)
yemeni mandi (roasted lamb and chicken on saffron rice)
with traditional tomato herb chutney
tunisian cous cous topped with harissa fish and a harissa vegetarian stirfry

to sweeten
syrian semolina cake (v)
bahraini dates (v)

drinks
yemeni kishr and north african mint tea

Photos from 14th December 2011

The full spread in all its glory, including the home-mulled organic apple juice (pink in colour, served in little ball glasses as shown below).

 

to start

seafood served on a himalayan pink salt block

pakistani haleem – a gorgeous meat and lentil stew

 

the mains

mama’s special recipe roast lamb – it was in the oven all day and had become so soft, we could not serve it on the bone

halal chorizo from andalucia (courtesy of Abdul-Rehman) with brussels sprouts

mama’s special tomato and herb salad with tamarind

 

to sweeten

guest pastry chef aiysha with her traditional american apple crisp

taking turns to sniff at abdul-rehman’s extensive coffee collection

Photos from 25th November 2011

Mama, who is usually in Singapore having a good time at khana commune Singapore, was in town for this khana commune dinner in London on 25th November 2011. She did most of the cooking but took very little credit for it, as usual! Here’s a photo of her beautiful hands chopping herbs for the starter:

And here are a few photographs of the food:

to start

aloor chop (potato kebab) and piaju (onion and lentil fritter)

pakistani coriander chutney

the mains

chilli paneer with sweet peppers and red onion

bengali broccoli bharta (mash) with onions and mustard oil

bengali mishti kumra (pumpkin stirfry)

bengali-style tandoori chicken just out of the oven

pakistani tarka daal infused with green mango

pulao rice

to sweeten

mama’s amazing gulab jamon

an array of coffees including kisher (cascara)

Menu for our end of year dinner: 14th December 2011

We are pleased to announce another dinner date – Wednesday, 14th December at 7 pm, and the menu is going to be centred around a special family recipe for slow-roasted whole leg of lamb and a dish that has halal chorizo from Andalucia, Spain (brought in by Abdul-Rehman after his recent trip there) as a main feature.

To book your place, please visit our Eventbrite page, where you can pay by Paypal (you won’t need a Paypal account to do this, just your credit card information). If you would like to save the transaction fee and pay by direct account transfer, please contact me on fareena @ khanacommune.com (without the spaces).

The menu:

to start

pakistani haleem, a meaty lentil stew served
with fresh lemon, ginger and coriander

seafood seasoned and served
on a himalayan pink salt block

mains

mama’s special whole leg of lamb, slow-roasted all day in a spicy sauce

seasonal vegetables baked with Andalucian halal chorizo

daal (lentils) with caramelised onion

pulao rice with caramelised shallots

tangy tomato and herb salad with thethool (tamarind)

pakistani coriander chutney

mama’s tomato and red chilli chutney

to sweeten

a very traditional apple crisp, made by our guest pastry chef
served with ice cream

to drink

home-mulled apple juice

yemeni kisher, aeropresse coffee and a selection of teas

still and sparkling water

Menu for our next dinner: 25th November 2011

We are pleased to announce our next dinner will be held on Friday, 25th November 2011 at 7 pm, and the menu is very vegetarian-friendly although non-vegetarians won’t be let down!

To book your place, please visit our Eventbrite page, where you can pay by Paypal (you won’t need a Paypal account to do this, just your credit card information). If you would like to save the transaction fee and pay by direct account transfer, please contact me on fareena @ khanacommune.com (without the spaces).

Here is the menu so far (subject to slight changes depending on the availability of fresh ingredients at the time):

to start

piaju – onion and lentil fritters

aloor chop – potato parcels with veg or meat filling

coriander chutney

mains

chilli paneer with sweet peppers

traditional bengali tandoori chicken

broccoli bartha (mash) with a hint of mustard oil

mishti kumra – seasonal pumpkin stir-fry

pakistani tarka daal infused with green mango

pulao rice with caramelised shallots

to sweeten

mama’s handmade out-of-this-world gulab jamun

to drink

homemade lebur shorboth – lemonade

yemeni kisher, aeropresse coffee and a selection of teas

still and sparkling water