$55.00
Give the gift of flavor, culture, and culinary inspiration with the White Jasmine Cookbook & Spice Gift Basket. This unique gourmet gift combines Jasmine in Her Hair, a beautiful cookbook filled with recipes, family stories, and Pakistani culture, with a collection of aromatic White Jasmine spices.
Whether you’re shopping for a home cook, cookbook lover, spice enthusiast, or foodie, this gift basket is a wonderful way to introduce someone to the rich flavors and traditions of Pakistani-inspired cooking.
Jasmine in Her Hair Cookbook
Discover traditional recipes alongside stories of family, culture, and life in Pakistan. More than a cookbook, Jasmine in Her Hair offers a personal connection to the food traditions and memories behind the recipes.
White Jasmine Signature Spice Blends
Whole Spices
Whole spices are commonly used to flavor oil at the beginning of many curry and basmati rice recipes, creating an aromatic foundation for the dish.
This cookbook and spice gift basket makes a memorable gift for birthdays, holidays, housewarmings, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, hostess gifts, or anyone who enjoys discovering new flavors.
The combination of a beautifully written cookbook and versatile spices makes it easy to explore Pakistani recipes, Indian-inspired dishes, curries, basmati rice, grilled meats, and flavorful everyday meals.
White Jasmine spices are all natural, gluten free, and locally produced, making this a thoughtful gourmet gift with a distinctive Wisconsin connection.
Bring the flavors of Pakistan into your kitchen—or give someone special the inspiration to begin their own culinary adventure—with the White Jasmine Cookbook & Spice Gift Basket.
Note: Please call 608-225-0313 if you would like to order more than one gift basket.
PATRICIA G. –
The spices are a valuable addition to my kitchen, at a time when I need very much to add variety to my cooking. I especially enjoyed the book. Knowing the stories behind the recipes adds so much.
Michelle D. –
this will be my second time ordering. First time for myself and now I am sharing this with family as a gift. can’t wait the spices are great and so is the cook book!
Francy Paquette –
Tonight was the most wonderful evening with a gifted cook and educator. Huma was teaching a class at Bekah Kates in Baraboo. The beauty of her cooking class allowed us to participate in actually making Aloo Paratha, a pan fried bread stuffed with spicy potatoes. I never would have learned how to make these delicate flat breads without hands on. I also learned so much about spices that i have not used in the past. Huma’s book, “Jasmine In Her Hair” is taking me into a whole new world of cooking. I will be taking many more of her classes.
Carol Phelps –
I originally got a copy of this book for a relative who loves cookbooks. After reading some of the book myself, and attending one of Huma’s cooking classes, I’m getting another copy of it for our family! The personal stories about life and culture in affluent Pakistani families are fascinating, and Huma’s stories about beginning a new life in the U.S. are warm and inspiring. The photos are gorgeous, and the recipes sound delicious. I can’t wait to try them.
Nancy Ryan –
Contemporary cookbooks–at their very best–are more than just collections of recipes. They are windows into the kitchens and the worlds of others. When these kitchens are at home in distant lands; then a cookbook becomes a unique show-and-tell communication. We can read about the food in its cultural context, and we can reproduce it in our own homes. Huma Siddiqui’s Jasmine in her Hair is a culinary bridge between American and Pakistani cultures.
Each of the six main sections contains foolproof recipes preceded by a graceful little narrative about life in Pakistan: For example in Section Two, day-to-day life in the Pakistan of Siddiqui’s girlhood gracefully unwinds. We learn about the importance of spices and their correct application (to enhance rather than conceal foods’ true flavors); the bonding tradition where close female friends exchange their scarves; the number of servants if the family was rich (hers was, very); and the street sellers whose wares ranged from glass bangles, to bananas (sold by the dozen, not the pound), to roasted corn, and fresh eggs (the test: if the egg floats–not fresh). This section’s recipes for meat follow: including uncommon versions of Chicken Tikka, Lamb Korma and deep-fried Shami Kebab, or aromatic ground beef patties. I serve these between buns for one helluva hamburger.
Jill Cordes –
I am a huge fan of Huma’s cookbook. Before I bought ‘Jasmine in Her Hair’, I was sure I could never create those wonderful dishes and would just be relegated to tasting that type of food in restaurants. I am amazed at how easy the dishes are, and how flavorful, not to mention, quick! It doesn’t take hours toiling over a hot stove to transport your taste buds to another world. Thanks Huma!
Vanessa K. Valdés –
In this book, Huma Siddiqui shares not only easy-to-follow recipes of traditional meals from Pakistan, but also provides for the reader a glimpse of Pakistani culture. Perhaps equally as important for a Western audience that may be under the impression that women from this part of the world are subject to misogyny and oppression, Siddiqui continually exalts the role women play in this culture. She therefore implicitly and effectively makes her point that women are a vital part of this way of life, especially as keepers of traditions and customs.
It is clear that this text is an expression of love on the part of the author, not only for her culture but also for her family. There is little separation between the two, in fact; at the core of the traditions of this country lies the celebration of family. A clear illustration of this is the fact that Siddiqui’s children write the foreword and the afterword, as well as serve as editors for the book. This is a beautiful book, one filled with vivid photographs illustrating not only the food but also some of the customs about which the author writes. One learns therefore not only about making lamb korma, chicken curry and mango lassis, but also about the role spices play in this life. The book, as well as the author’s website (www.whitejasmine.com) gives the readers an indication of the richness of Pakistani culture, as well as allows the North American audience the opportunity to take part in it.
Claudia Kousoulas and Sandy Tallant –
Lots of cookbooks recount the role of food in bonding families and friends through traditions, but like all good writing, Huma Siddiqui’s book doesn’t tell, it shows. Her strength and grace leap off the page with every recipe and recollection.
The title comes from Siddiqui’s childhood memory of weaving jasmine garlands for her mother’s hair, and the book begins with a foreword written by her son and finishes with an afterword by her daughter. Both credit their mother with the comforting culture of family meals that sustained them and sparked their interest in family history and culture, which might have been lost through emigration.
Siddiqui has written these recollections of family and descriptions of Pakistani life and culture for her children, but also for anyone who knows the power of food and family and is interested in the ways that power plays out around the world.
Each chapter of recipes begin with Siddiqui’s essays on her family, day-to-day life, and celebrations. They trace the new beginnings in her own life, her family history, and Pakistani culture. As you read you will be touched by her sincerity, and perhaps not surprised by the echoes of your own family and life experiences. You’ll gain insight into an ancient culture and pick up fascinating details.