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Khausa: A Story of Migration from Burma to Karachi
We take our food with us everywhere we go. Food is an inseparable element from the definition and development of culture. Recipes cannot exist over time without the imprint of the different peoples and practices that have passed through the region, inevitably contributing to the food culture. Ohn no khao swè is literally coconut milk noodles. A dish originating in Burma (pre-independence Myanmar), it has made its way to become “Khausa”, a dish in Karachi that is popularly representative of the widespread Memon community, a Muslim ethnic group rooted in 15th century Gujarat and Sindh, now with prominent worldwide diasporas. The original dish presents a similarity to other coconut milk-based noodle dishes in Southeast Asia including the Malaysian “Laksa”, the Northern Thai “Khao soi Islam”, and the Northern Laotian “Khao soi”. Each of these dishes closely resembles ohn no khao swè and are likely to be influenced by the dish through geographical proximity. Khausa is a significant representation of migration patterns and the adaptation of food under the British Raj.
The first time I had khausa was in a Memon household of my mother’s childhood friend in Karachi. The original Burmese dish consists of rice or egg noodles in a curried coconut milk broth, sometimes thickened with gram flour. The noodles and curry cannot stand alone without their necessary garnish of crisp friend bean fritters, chillies, crushed peanuts, hard boiled eggs, and a heavy hand on the lemon. However, migration does not ensure food purity. Dishes are interposed upon and altered by the environment and tastes of new places and populations. They are influenced in unimaginable and exciting ways. In Karachi today, khausa retains its original elements of recklessly layered noodles in a complex gram flour, coconut milk, and yoghurt broth. However, the city does a brilliant job of refashioning the dish to a popular desi taste. An easily adaptable dish, the toppings differ across households. In mine, spaghetti, instead of the original egg noodles, and a broth akin to kadhi (gram flour broth) are often topped with chicken lathered in tikka masala and “slimz”, crispy and spicy potato sticks found in bakeries across Karachi. A dish already overwhelmed by these spicy finger chips, is not yet complete without a ruthless amalgamation of fried garlic, chopped coriander, ginger, green chillies and chaat masala. It gladly receives all the fanfare it deserves.