Food & Drink

Pakistani cuisine is based on masala (spice) sauces with chicken, fish, lamb and vegetables. Typical dishes include biryanis, brain masala and saag gosht (spinach and lamb curry).

However, the cuisine varies greatly from region to region. For example, Moghul cuisine is found in Lahore, with specialities including tandoori dishes and various kebabs. The food in Sindh and some areas of Punjab are quite spicy, whereas spicy food is less common in the northern areas, where there is more focus on bread (wheat).

Popular Dishes

Curries (with or without meat), combined with vegetables such as bitter gourd, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, potatoes, swede and spinach are the most common and often cooked for everyday eating. Various kinds of pulses also make up an important part of the Pakistani dishes. However, lentils (dal) have traditionally been considered as an inexpensive food source and hotel and restaurants may only offer a limited variety of these dishes. The one main exception is haleem, which contains a variety of lentils along with meat. A batch of haleem will typically take over five hours to cook. This dish is known to have originated in Agra, where the Taj Mahal stands today.

A favourite Pakistani curry is karahi, either mutton or chicken cooked in a dry sauce. Lahori karahi incorporates garlic, onions, spices and vinegar. Peshawari karahi is a simple dish made with meat, salt, tomatoes and coriander. Among other well known dishes are:

• Chicken tikka (made by baking small pieces of boneless chicken that has been marinated in spices and yogurt)
• Kofta (balls of minced or ground meat mixed with spices and/or onions)
• Mutton or chicken korma (made with yoghurt sauce, cream and almonds or cashews or peanuts)
• Nihari (a stew made from beef or lamb and curry)
• Siri paya (a traditional breakfast dish that contains the main ingredients of he two ends of a cow, goat or lamb - siri means the head of the animal and paya means the feet of the animal)
• Chakna (a spicy stew made out of goat tripe and other animal parts)

Dishes made with rice include pullao and biryani. Sajji is a Baluchi dish from Western Pakistan, made of lamb stuffed with rice, which has also become popular all over the country.

All of the main dishes (except those made with rice) are eaten alongside bread (see below for varieties). To eat, a small fragment of bread is torn off with the right hand and used to scoop and hold small portions of the main dish. Pickles made out of mangoes, carrots, lemon etc. are also commonly used to further spice up the food.

Varieties of Bread

Most Pakistanis eat flat round bread (roti) as a staple part of their daily diet. Pakistan has a variety of breads, often prepared in a traditional clay oven called a tandoor.

• Chapatis - A thin, unleavened bread, made of whole wheat flour. They are about 12 cm in diameter.
• Naan - A yeast-leavened bread, made using white flour. They are thicker than chapattis, and made also be stuffed with other ingredients. For example, qeema naan is stuffed with a minced meat mixture (usually lamb or mutton); Peshwari naan are filled with a mixture of nuts and raisins and aloo naan is stuffed with potatoes. Possible seasonings in the dough include cumin and nigella seeds.
• Taftan - A leavened flour bread with saffron and small cardamom powder baked in a clay oven.
• Paratha - A chapati with added ghee (clarified butter), originating from Punjab. Parathas are commonly eaten for breakfast and can also be served with a variety of stuffings.

Kebabs

A Middle Eastern influence on Pakistani cuisine is the popularity of grilled meats such as kebabs. Kababs from Balochistan and the North-West Frontier Province tend to be identical to the Afghan style of barbecue, with salt and coriander being the only seasonings used. Lahore is famous for its kebabs and they are spicy and are often marinated in a mixture of spices, lemon juice and yoghurt.

Types of kebabs (mainly made of beef or lamb) are:

• Seekh Kebab - A long skewer of beef mixed with herbs and seasonings.
• Shami Kabab - A small patty of minced beef or chicken and ground chickpeas and spices.
• Chapli Kabab - A spicy round kebab made of ground beef and cooked in animal fat, which is a speciality of the North West Frontier Province.
• Lamb Kabab - An all lamb meat kebob is usually served as cubes.
• Bihari Kabab - A skewer of beef mixed with herbs and seasonings.
• Shishleek - Grilled baby lamb chops (usually from the leg), typically marinated.

Desserts

Popular desserts include:

• Barfi - Made from condensed milk, cooked with sugar until it solidifies.
• Gulab jamun - Made of a dough consisting mainly of milk solids - often including double cream and a little flour - in a sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron.
• Halwah - Made with semolina wheat, sugar or honey, and butter or vegetable oil.
• Kheer - A rice pudding flavoured with cardamom and pistachios.
• Kulfi - A frozen boiled milk dessert, flavoured with pistachio, malai, mango, cardamom (elaichi), saffron (kesar), orange, peanut or avocado).
• Ras Malai - A sweet dish consisting of sugary, cream to yellow-coloured balls (or flattened balls) of cottage or ricotta cheese soaked in sweetened, thickened, creamy milk that has been flavoured with pistachios, saffron, and rosewater.

Drinks

Pakistanis drink a great deal of tea (chai). Both black and green tea (sabz chai/ qehwa). Kashmiri chai, a pink milky tea with pistachios and cardamom, is drunk primarily at weddings and during the winter when it is sold in many kiosks. In northern Pakistan (Chitral and the Northern Areas), salty buttered tea is consumed.

Besides tea, there are other drinks that may be included as part of the Pakistani cuisine. All of them are non-alcoholic.

• Lassi - Milk with yogurt, with an either sweet or salty taste.
• Rooh afza - A traditional syrup mixed with water or milk, especially popular during Ramadan.
• Ganaay ka ras - Sugarcane juice.

Murree Brewery make alcoholic beverages in Pakistan, though their products may not be available openly, except in clubs and select restaurants.