Eid & The Festive Tablescape | The Magic of BABULAA's Food
Pakistani cuisine is truly a heirloom gastronomic art based on a unique assortment of different aromatic flavors and spices. While it has incorporated Middle-Eastern, Central Asian and Western Asian influences over the course of history, it still has been able to maintain its originality. With a diverse range of dishes ranging from the ever-famous Nihari, Pulao, Haleem & Chicken Karachi to Sajji and Chapli Kabab, Pakistani cuisine is some of the most extensive in the world. And we Pakistanis need an excuse to enjoy food. Everything we do is associated with eating be it a housewarming party, a desi wedding or just a simple get-together.
And this is the spirit that Hussayn has tried to capture in his latest fashion film ‘BABULAA’ featuring the ever-radiant Noor Zafar as Maharang who returns from overseas, connects to her roots and enjoys a traditional feast with her family. To make the ultimate festive tablescape, Hussayn partnered with Sultan’s Kitchen which has been providing constant support to the Fahad Hussayn label ever since its conception. From providing extravagant dishes as props for the shoot to making home-made food in bulk for the crew, Sultan’s Kitchen has both been a great set design and a generous catering partner.
BABULAA showcases the Wazir family hosting a lavish Eid dinner to depict the season of goodwill, as a celebration of the moral and emotional fabric of a household. It shows how it is in the moral code of our society to sit down and dine with our family as a form of respect to our elders. Decorated in a sumptuously rich banquet of Biryani, Koftay, Shami Kebab, Steam Roast, Sheer Korma and the heavenly Kheer, the Wazir family is shown enjoying the traditional Eid feast. It shows how the women of the household actually take pride in making these rich delicacies and delectable desserts. Because making such elaborate dishes is not just a work of art but also a way to rekindle tradition.
Take for example the quintessential Biryani - the name of that aromatic magical creation without which life would have been flavorless. Made usually with basmati rice, flavored with fragrant spices such as saffron and layered with mutton or chicken along with a thick gravy - this dish has been the centerpiece of South Asian cuisine since the Mughal era. South Asian folklore traces the origins of Biryani to Mumtaz Mahal, the Mughal emperor’s Shah Jahan's queen, who first made this dish for the soldiers of the state’s army. But whatever is the case, this dish has been the bedrock of any family reunion. Biryani is in more ways than one a celebratory dish i.e. it is cooked at a time of celebration, and when it is cooked it is time to celebrate.
Then there’s the traditional delicacy Kheer - a mouth-watering South Asian dessert made of rice pudding without which any Pakistani dinner or luncheon is incomplete. It’s also an excuse for us Pakistanis to stay at the dinner table longer. Kheer actually happens to be a very old desert with the very first bowl of this popular South Asian dessert made from rice, ghee, milk, and sugar, which had a very thick and creamy texture. But later the dish became synonymous with rice pudding as it became more popular in the subcontinent. Before this, the Persians had their own version of this dish, known as Sheer Biring, served cold with honey or jam. The Afghanis also came up with a similar dish known as Shohla-e-Zard served with all sorts of dry fruits. But regardless of these cultural influences, South Asian Kheer is an original blend of saffron, rice, milk and sugar - a formula that has endured for over two thousand years.
Thus maintaining such an important part of our heritage intact in BABULAA was a huge responsibility and Hussayn knew what he had to do. The get-together of the Wazir family was also a nostalgic reminder for the utopian days of yore when extended families used to sit together, eat and talk about random things for hours and hours, just for enjoying each other’s company. BABULAA’s use of the festive tablescape was thus a way to evoke those emotions and relive that tradition. It was a way to depict the concept of love threaded deep into the fabric of our society, so much so that mealtime is almost treated as a sacred occasion in our culture. Eating together is in essence a way to de-stress, a chance to come close to each other and a testament to the ties that bind us. And Sultan’s Kitchen was instrumental in creating that ultimate nostalgic atmosphere.
