Haala's Dastarkhaan

“Dastarkhaan” is a word derived from Persian word Dastarkhwan, which means “table cloth” or “great spread”.  The term refers to a long cloth that is spread on the floor, or ground, to be used as a sanitary surface for food before the meal is set. The food placed on the Dastarkhaan can range from simple food to a feast. The cultural significance comes from various traditions, signifies a meal where family and friends sit together and enjoy their meal. With most people preferring to use dining tables than sitting on the ground to eat, dastarkhaans are not used as often as they were few years ago. But, even today when families get together in India/ Pakistan and most parts of middle east and central Asia, it is the most preferred way of serving meal. Unlike a dining table, a dastarkhaan can accommodate any number of people. Some prohibitions include never stepping on the dastarkhaan.

This website is sum of recipes that I have invented and created after a lot of  research.  Food cannot be categorized into a set pattern. Tastes and flavors go beyond one person’s imagination. It would be tough to say that one person can conquer it all and would be able to serve everything ever cooked around the world, and present it on a platter. No amount of travelling unseen destinations or meeting people from different religions or customs can give you a complete idea of their food choices. But, trying to learn more and having keen interest in exploring different horizons of traditions and flavors around the globe does broaden your view and your vision of looking at the world changes, your perspective towards people, and their food definitely becomes more accepting.

I have been inspired family inheritance, friends, books, people,  travelling or by just reading about some culture. Not everything you try will be everything you like but, you willing to try does make you more daring and helps you understand the community better. I once heard a beautiful saying “ Boti aur Boli ka rishta jeebh se hai to agar Zubaan samajhni hai to zaaiqaa samajhiye” which means, “ Your tongue senses your speech and taste, so if you want to understand a language, understand the flavor ” .

It’s simply amazing how many different cuisines around the world are so delicious, yet so different from one another. Belonging to a country like India makes me feel so fortunate since every state/ region is so different from each other. I have tried a lot of dishes from different states of India and I tried my level best to get to the history and detail about origination of the recipe. I feel knowing a little story behind every recipe makes you connect better with the recipe. I have incorporated as many pictures as possible so, steps are easy to understand and a picture always explains better than words. Secondly, the pictures of the process have not been modified to look better, the main reason behind that is to make the appearance of food look as real as possible. I want every person going through is website believe that everything posted here is done by one person and not a team and also that its doable in the vicinity of your home kitchen. Good food is a result of patience and love. Skills can be learnt and enhanced.