Pink salted milk tea
Kashmiri chai, called pink tea or gulabi chai across Pakistan, came down from Kashmir to become the winter drink of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad: it is ladled out at weddings, sold from steaming pots at tea stalls on cold nights and served with nankhatai biscuits at family gatherings. The colour is real chemistry, not food colouring: green tea leaves are boiled hard with a pinch of baking soda until the brew turns deep red, then whisked and splashed to get air into it, and finally cooked with milk until it blushes pink. It is lightly salted in the old Kashmiri way and sweetened in the city way; add as much sugar as you like. The mistake people make is using black tea; only green tea leaves turn pink. Chef's tip: pour in ice-cold water as soon as the brew is reduced, and beat it hard; the shock and the air are what lock in the bright colour.
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Sprouting whole green grams makes them crunchier, quicker to cook and more nutritious. All you need is muslin, water and a warm spot, and they're ready in 3–4 days. Use them in salads, bhel, usal and stir-fries. Any other whole pulse sprouts the same way.
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Home-made paneer is softer and creamier than shop-bought, and it takes just milk and a little citric acid. Hot milk is curdled, the whey drained off and the curds pressed into a block that slices cleanly into cubes. Use it in curries such as paneer makhani and mutter paneer, in parathas or in tikka.
A soaked, Bircher-style muesli you stir together the night before. The oats soften in the yogurt overnight and the grated apple keeps it fresh and juicy. In the morning, add the strawberries and breakfast is ready. Any berries work in place of the strawberries.
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