Pakistani Cook Fills US Library with Exotic Aromas

Even before Kanwal Sakhi began her Pakistani cooking class March 23, the meeting room at the C.H. Booth Library is filled with exotic scents. Tiny silver bowls filled with red peppers, cumin seed, coriander seeds, and ground spices spill their aromas into the air, and tidy stacks of plastic containers full of diced chilies, garlic, onions, tomatoes, ground chicken, and potatoes hint at the banquet that awaits the ten students gathered there. The melon-colored embroidered shirt and elaborately beaded orange flats that Ms Sakhi wears reflect the exuberant yet professional air this caterer of ethnic cuisine brings to the class. “Ooohs” and “ahhhs” compete with the exotic scents in the air, as the students sample the food.