Home-style Karachi food at Cafe Aisha
It’s just like home! That’s the first thing that came to my mind as I settled down on my dining table at the colorful Café Aisha located in a quiet corner of England Cluster in International City.
If you have even been invited for dinner to a South Asian (especially Pakistani) household, you will know exactly what I am referring to. The homely interiors, colorful accents, majlis styled seating, posters on wall, artifacts, and a guitar! – All these are some of the many highlights that bring out the comfortable atmosphere of this friendly café. And I have not even started talking about the food yet!
This is one of the very few places that will make you feel more like a guest than a customer. Café Aisha maybe tiny in size, but their food and hospitality makes it worth a visit.
These were our first round of delicacies at Cafe Aisha. Pictured here is the spiciest chicken dum biriyani with beef gravy, aloo tikki, shammi kebab and cucumber salad with the signature raita.
Aloo tikki
These comforting cutlets of mashed potato mixed with light masalas are made to homestyle perfection at Café Aisha. Crunchy on the outside, these are shallow fried and feature an absolutely mushy potato stuffing within. Not too spicy, just what you’d expect from home food, these creamy tikkis are served alongside the humble tomato ketchup for a little flavor.
Shammi kebab
One of my all time favorites, these amazing patties pack a punch when it comes to flavor and wholesomeness. Made with minced and grounded mutton mixed with different lentils and lots of spices, these kebabs can be eaten as is or as a burger – commonly known as bun kabab.
I’m hoping to see Café Aisha get these little nuggets of deliciousness sandwiched in bread the next time I’m around. Also lots of hot chutney to accompany that raita please 🙂
When it comes to home style food, you can’t miss out on dal and roti. And then some kheema aloo to fill in the non veg counterpart.
We tried out the extremely warm and comforting dal tadka that was topped with hot ghee, red chillies and fresh cilantro, along with some spicy yet homely kheema aloo. The parathas made the perfect carb accompaniment to go with these yummies.
That’s the star of the place! The spiciest biryani I’ve had in a very long time. The chicken dum biryani.
If you love spicy Biryani then Café Aisha is the place to be. They cook this delicacy in the classic Karachi homestyle, layering rice and chicken in the vessel, making sure the chicken gets cooked with all the juices and spices of the marinade. And the best part: there are lots of green chilies too.
The rice is just perfectly cooked and flavored so well with all the biryani spices, it keeps you occupied until the last grain.
Try this. You won’t regret!
We ended this delicious Karachi styled dinner with their specialty – Doodh Patti Chai. This was the epitome of home style and really got me nostalgic about the tea my mom made for me. Perfect for winters, summers, all seasons; and highly recommended.
