- One of the things we love most about the cookbook are all the heirloom recipes that have been passed down through the author’s family for generations. Primarily featuring authentic Pakistani cuisine, the first few pages also highlight the author’s reason for writing the book which adds a personal touch to the entire layout. The cookbook has all the classic eastern dishes we love and often crave. You can find all kinds of Pakistani cuisine, from lentils to Aaloo ki bhujia, to Chicken Karahi, you name it.
- All the recipes in the cookbook are easy to follow. Timelines, step-by-step guides, and serving sizes are all included in the pages. The ingredients, quantity, and method are easy to follow for not only experts but also beginners who might be unfamiliar with ingredients even.
- You ever wonder the difference between Moongh Daal and Masoor Daal? Us too! This book gives a visual guide through all different types of lentils, masalas, chutneys so you can cook the most delicious meals any time you want!
- If the names of the recipes don’t make your mouth water, we bet the photography will! Rizvi’s Virsa is nothing short of a collector’s item. The photography will take you down memory lane reminding you of the stories behind each of the recipes featured. The visual guide also sprinkles a little personal touch to the overall look and feel.
- The book includes guides in both languages, English and Urdu, making it all the more useful for anyone and everyone to recreate the dishes.
Notes from the Author:
The book you are holding is not just another recipe book, but it is my way of keeping both my parent's legacies alive - forever. Let me explain.
Virsa is a collection of recipes that are my family heritage and hence the name. "Virsa – a culinary journey from Agra to Karachi" has over 100 simple Pakistani family heirloom recipes that have been passed down over generations in my family. Virsa has some delicious recipes and memories from my foodie family that moved from Agra to Karachi post the India-Pakistan partition of 1947. This book is a collection of my mother's and grandmother's NO-FAIL simple recipes that have helped a complete beginner like me.
Compiling, recreating, and photographing these recipes, has been a labour of love - a dedication to my Ammi, Cheena – a fantastic cook. Why I wanted to pay tribute to her in her life (and not after) was triggered by a thought back in 2014, when I lost my Abbo, Dr Hasan Rizvi, to Lung Cancer. He was an Ophthalmologist and a philanthropist at heart and worked for years in rural areas of Sindh setting free eye camps with Henderson Red Cross Eye Hospital.
Losing him was a life-changing event for me. His passing left us all completely devastated. My siblings and I paid tribute to him with an endowment with LRBT Eye Hospital, and I always wished Abbo could see what his children have done to carry on his legacy after his demise. He would have been so happy. That made me think - Why do we pay tribute to people after they are gone? Why not celebrate and appreciate them in their lives? That was the initial motivation behind doing something for Ammi. I wanted her to be happy now, so I wrote and photographed this book, and Markings brought it to life. My friends and family around the globe came together to help me distribute this worldwide by ourselves.
I wanted my Abbo to be a part of this book's story, and therefore, I decided to donate 100% of the book's proceeds to LRBT in his name.
Allah truly blessed this project. Within one year, we have sold out three thousand copies of Virsa and set up an endowment fund of Rs 8 Million with LRBT Free Eye Hospital. The annual profit from this endowment fund will sponsor 180+Cataract surgeries every year - forever. So it will be like Abbo will live forever doing these surgeries every year, and my Ammi's recipes will help many new cooking enthusiasts like me.
