SindhiGusto

SindhiGusto is a pop-up supperclub /restaurant for authentic Sindhifood in London. It’s a regional cuisine from the Indian sub-continent, not quite your standard ‘Curry’, though. Sindhi cuisine, like the region and its people, is one of the oldest in the world.

Sindh is the third largest province of Pakistan, and was once part of undivided India until the ignominious partition of 1947. The aftermath of which led to one of the largest human displacements of the 20th century. Communal discord was practically non-existent in Sindh thanks to the strong ‘Sufi’ thought ideology prevalent among all sections of society. However, it didn’t take long for the violence that had engulfed the rest of the country to reach Sindh’s doorstep, which led to a mass exodus of Sindhis to India.

Sindh has been inhabited for more than 7000 years and was the site of the ancient and oldest civilisation, the ‘Indus valley civilisation’. The lost city of Moenjodaro ( Mohenjo-daro) is regarded as the most modern urban settlement of its time, with piped water, sophisticated drainage and sanitation facilities for its people.

She gets her name from the mighty ‘Sindhu’ ( in Sanskrit) or Indus river, which originates in Tibet and traverses China, India and Pakistan to finally meet the Arabian Sea just off the coast of Karachi, the current capital. Her varied topography with a coast, desert, mountains and the alluvial floodplains of the ‘Indus’ has meant an abundance of fresh produce especially meat, fish and fresh vegetables.

Eating Sindhi food is a travel in time itself, some of these ingredients date back to the time when civilisation itself began, like Pallah (hilsa) the famous fish delicacy, Bhee ( lotus stem), grains such as Juwari or sorghum to name a few.