Sailing the seas

The Arabian Sea breeze carries with it the warm, salty promise of my hometown, Karachi. Pakistan’s coastline is unexplored by most, leaving an absence in many minds of its captivating beauty and abundant seafood. Karachi is the largest Pakistani port and is a haven of edible treasures, from both the briny sea water and the fresh Indus River which flows into it.

My early years were not conventional. I spent much of my childhood growing up on a cargo vessel captained by my father. My passion for the sea, for food and for cooking all began there. Food was my main connection to reality and home in this surreal life. My mother never stopped cooking onboard, making everything from cakes to seafood biryani, all in one electric frying pan. Being on a boat for months on end, there was little understanding of the provenance of food, but certain moments would bring it to life. I remember catching the flying fish that leapt on to the ship’s lower deck, quickly coating them in salt and crushed red chillies, and flash frying them… a pure flavour of the ocean.