Curious about Pakistani Cuisine? Due to Mughal legacy, Pakistan also mutually inherited many recipes and dishes from that era alongside India. Pakistani cuisine is part of the greater South Asian and Central Asian Cuisines due to its geographic location.
Pakistanis generally eat three meals a day, which are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During the evening, many families have tea with Sugar/Gur (Brown Sugar), which goes along with baked/fried snacks from a local bakery.
The main elements of Pakistani dishes are spices and different types of oils which give a perfect aroma . Cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, black and red pepper, cumin seeds, bay leaves and turmeric are the main spices used in these foods. Here are few Pakistani foods which worth a dine, take a look:
Halwa Poori
Halwa poori is one of the favorite dishes in Pakistan. It is a dish which is mostly eaten as breakfast. Halwa is basically a dessert which is rich in oil and eggs with Sooji (a form of wheat flour) or Basin (gram flour) as a basic ingredient. Poori is a chapatti of fine flour or maida which is deep fried in hot oil till golden brown. This is served hot and loved in all areas of Pakistan, but to get the best of the taste it would be best to scout for a restaurant in Lahore or Karachi.
Nihari
This is a dish mostly eaten in Punjab. In this dish, meat is cooked overnight to make extremely tender. Thick soup is made and served with a topping of fried onions, chilies, coriander, lemon juice and garlic. Most of the people like to add maghaz (Brain) and nalli (bone marrow) of cow or sheep in the soup. Nihari is basically derived from a Persian word “Nihar” which means “day” or “day break”. It is traditionally made with lamb but a meat substitute of chicken or cow can also be used.
Peshawari Chappli Kabab
Peshawari chappli kabab is a famous dish of Peshawar. Meat mince is the major ingredient with lots of onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, coriander, chilies, and salt. It is shaped in flat circles and fried. Chappli kababs are served hot with naan or Tandori roti along with green chili sauce and yogurt. It is eaten as a side dish or a snack with tea as well. Peshawari Chappli Kebab is a must have dish in almost all of local restaurants in Peshawar.
Dahi bhallay
Dahi bhally is a local dish of Punjab, Pakistan. It consists of a bhalla, phulkiyan, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and chilies dipped in yogurt or dahi. This dish is included in snacks and is liked to eat in the evening. Masala which is made of spices powder is used to sprinkle over the plate or serving to make it tasty according to the taste of the consumer. You can find this throughout in Pakistan major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad etc.
Haleem
This dish looks like brown soup, but actually is a blend of lentils and meat. All of the lentils are soaked a day long and then cooked overnight on low heat. Haleem is basically derived from the word “Daleem” which means “mixture of daalain (lentils)”. Meat is also blended in the soup by intensive cooking and a pudding like material is formed. This dish is served with cut chilies, fried onions, coriander, garam masala, ginger and lemon juice. Traditionally, it is made in a large quantity and sent to neighbors and relatives and friends as gift.
Gajjar Ka Halwa
Traditional Punjabi dessert, Gajar ka halwa is made up from carrots that adds the sweet taste to the Halwa with Khoya. Mostly eaten during Winter seasons.
Biryani
Now this is something that cant be missed in Pakistan. Unlike Pulao biryani has rich spice flavors added to it presented with Chicken , Beef or sometimes with potatoes as well. Karachi is the best place to try this with different varities such as Sindhi Biryani, Hyderabadi Biryani and Memoni Bariyani.
Note: I have covered only few dishes. There are many more mouth watering to discover in Pakistan. Find out and do let me know in comment section.