Restaurants
Zeerah
Zeerah, a family-owned Pakistani fast-food joint, might just be my new favourite place in Mississauga to grab Pakistani roadside burgers (bun kebabs).
The delectable bun kebab has made its way from Karachi to the corner of Artesian Drive and Winston Churchill Boulevard in the most unassuming suburban plaza. A gas station encroaches on the landscape with a gloomy parking lot by its side. But Zeerah is the light at the end of the sprawl.
The flavours in Pakistani cuisine are similar to those in some Indian dishes with generous doses of cardamom, garam masala, cumin and turmeric. The roadside burger includes these predominant flavours with a choice of aloo (potato), daal (lentil), beef or chicken. Any one of these ingredients is sandwiched in a simple white toasted bun topped with lightly spiced chutney, tomatoes and onion.
But apparently the roadside burger is merely a "snack" food. To get the real taste of Pakistan, I decided to order barbeque chicken - which was marinated in yogurt, herbs and spices - and beef, along with a classic garlic-speckled naan order paired with an oil-soaked serving of daal. Nothing felt too rich, and the heat left on the tongue from the black pepper and chili powder was even inviting. A tangy rice pudding with crumbled pistachio topped it all off.
While Zeerah is subdued in its décor, the take-out joint has a large following. The most amazing thing about the restaurant is their meal plan option.
The owners of Zeerah explain to me that because so many international students and families don't have time to cook in the area, the restaurant offers meal plans, a progressive move on their part. For one week or seven meals, you're supplied with two chicken biryanis, two more chicken items, one daal, and two vegetable items for $35. Add five naans or paranthas for $5. The same deal can be spread out over a month or 28 meals for $130, and can be vegetarianized as well.
When I found out about the meal plan, I wondered why more restaurants weren't doing something like this. Basically, Zeerah knows where it's at. They know how to make a mean Pakistani takeout dinner, and they understand the needs of their community. Does it get any better?
Writing and photos by Erin Pehlivan
Discussion
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No, seriously, keep going with the racism. It has everything to do with this article, and it's also really enjoyable to read for Pakistani-Canadians like myself. And yes, you're so right, our food is fucking disgusting, all covered in spices and shit, especially when compared to the incredible diversity of North American cuisine. I'll pick bland mayo-slathered chicken over 'ethnic' cuisine any day.
You also raise a GREAT point - Canada has a completely clean human rights record, don't ya know? No travesties have ever happened here, and you should pat yourself on the back for being responsible for that.
Sidra: kudos to you girl. Zeerah is amazing, Pakistani food is amazing, and unfortunately ignorance is as abundant as lentils in Pakistani food. Hold your head high and ignore all these trolls looking to bait you into an attack. They're the ones missing out and failing in life!
Food looks Great, a must try.
Ace Mcnugget needs to go back to his half-way house and enjoy his canned beans with canned vienna sausages.
the photos may not make the food look its loveliest (its difficult for take out food in styrofoam to "look" amazing), but man do i ever want to try some of those bun kebabs.
and the chicken. and the beef. and the rice pudding.
Don't worry about folks like this...totally not worth anyone's time.
I would definitely give this a try..something new and different!
disclaimer at this point: punjabi cuisine is one of my favourite go to foods.
But the pictures of the food from Zeerah look disgusting. Throw up in my mouth disgusting. It might be delicious but who knows- chances I'll ever try it are as small as the overly sensitive/aggressives are abundant on BlogTo - it appears to be located outside what any rational person could call Toronto.
Rick- nothing wrong with beans and vienna sausages. It's called diversity, you should try it sometime.
The food looks... well, like nothing special, IMHO. I'm sure it tastes fine.
Now, for some samosas and a kebab roll, I would volunteer to take professional photographs for them anytime!
The fact that you're pulling the race card over comments on how shitty these photos are is sad.
Furthermore, comparing Pakistan to Canada is insulting.
Deal.
Thanks to the blogger, Erin Pehlivan, for such a good tip and review otherwise we did not know about this place. The food was excellent. We love this place and definitely will be going there again and again.
for some people who didnt like the photographs, I found the website for Zeerah; www.zeerah.ca and after a little bit of searching on the net found about there twitter (zeerahtakeout) and instagram(zeerahcuisine) account where they have very good professionally taken photographs.
the food was really good. I ordered a bun kabab and the chicken shown in the picture.
The photographs actually dont do justice to the food and the quality they provide. An obviously, food photography is a difficult thing to pull off anyways. So I wouldnt judge the place by photographs taken in styrofoam dishes.
they're butter chicken and rolls are a must try.
Food is way expensive, it's takeout food for the price of dine in (or higher), orders are almost never ready on time. There are far better venues in the area for better food and service which aren't a rip. Also, my sister once found a hair in her bihari kabab.
Food is way expensive, it's takeout food for the price of dine in (or higher), orders are almost never ready on time. There are far better venues in the area for better food and service which aren't a rip. Also, my sister once found a hair in her bihari kabab.