Food I Eat: Koki

My wife’s family is Sindhi and when Pakistan and India split, they left their homeland, Sindh – now part of Pakistan – and eventually settled here in Kolkata. Sindhis are sprinkled across the country, usually you’ll find them where business opportunities are to be had. They have their own traditions, their own language, and of course their own food. Almost every Sunday we have Sindhi Curry for lunch – often referred to as Sunday Curry, it’s eaten with rice, yogurt, and often I crumble some crisp paapar to give it some crunch. It’s a delicious meal, but probably my favorite Sindhi food is Koki.

Koki is a sort of a pancake that you eat with your tea for breakfast. Hardcore Sindhis will eat koki everyday, however my waist line can not afford this luxury. Made mostly from flour, ghee, and water – the dough is flattened out and heated to create a crisp outside and softer almost flaky inside. Onions, coriander, spices, etc can all be added to the dough and some people will eat it with a chutney or pickle. However, a plain koki is a great way to start your morning. Give me my tea, my koki, and the morning paper, and I’m happy.

I usually try to reserve koki as a once a week indulgence and have made it my Sunday morning ritual -  adding to the Sindhi/Sunday theme. However, once in a while, our cook will ask me on a Wednesday or a Friday if I want koki and it’s really hard to say ‘No.’ Maybe if I cut down to two instead of always having three – or starting exercising regularly – I could have it more often.