“Inspired by the shared histories and fusion of our respective cultures, my Jamaican American friend Zach and I collaborated to make two different versions of the same classic household recipe we both grew up with. Both recipes evoke memories of our mothers’ & grandmothers’ heartwarming home-cooking. We were excited to explore these recipes together and traverse time and space by sharing our memories and stories of the dish and the ingredients used.

The funny (and at times, highly annoying) thing about South Asian food in the West is that everything is a curry. The Pakistani dish presented here is called Salan in Urdu—which basically means any dish with meat or veggies with a runny onion-tomato based sauce. The closest and most relatable translation to it in English is…curry. The Pakistani dish presented here, however, is technically not a curry because it does not make use of the curry leaf or curry powder. The Jamaican recipe, on the other hand, is indeed a curry because it starts with a curry powder fry as its base. We thought it important to point that out.” Editor’s note: For the Jamaican variation on the same dish, see Curry Chicken.

TEHMINA BROHI is a Pakistani-born, NYC-cultivated citizen of the world. She is also the founder of Istani, a handcrafted apparel and lifestyle brand inspired by her Pakisani heritage and designed for people of hyphenated and multicultural identities. As an entrepreneur and artist, Tehmina is most excited to work on projects that weave together cultures, traditions, and stories—across time and across the planet.

Jan 22, 2021. Photo by Tehmina Brohi.