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| Pakistani cuisine پاکستانی پکوان |
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Ingredients
Main dishes • Desserts • Bread • Drinks • Snacks • Spices • Condiments • Sweets & desserts |
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Pakistani cuisine (Urdu: پاکستانی پکوان) can be described as a refined blend of various regional cooking traditions of the South Asian subcontinent. Pakistani cuisine is known for its richness and flavour.[1]
Within Pakistan, cuisine varies greatly from region to region, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. Food from the eastern provinces of Punjab and Sindh is quite similar to the cuisine of Northern India and can be highly seasoned and spicy, which is characteristic of the flavours of the South Asian region. Food in other parts of Pakistan, particularly Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, involves the use of mild aromatic spices and less oil, characterizing affinities to the cuisines of neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia.
International cuisine and fast food are popular in cities. Blending local and foreign recipes (fusion food) such as Pakistani Chinese cuisine, is common in large urban centres. Furthermore, as a result of lifestyle changes, ready made masalas (mixed and ready to use spices) are becoming increasingly popular. However, given the diversity of the people of Pakistan, cuisines generally differ from home to home and may be totally different than the mainstream Pakistani cuisine.
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Pakistani national cuisine is the successor of Indo-Aryan culture and Muslim culinary traditions. The earliest formal civilizations were the Mohenjo-daro and Harappan civilizations in present-day Pakistan. At around 3000 BCE, sesame, eggplant, and humped cattle had been domesticated in the Indus Valley,[2] and spices like turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and mustard were harvested in the region concurrently.[3] For a thousand years, wheat and rice formed the basic foodstuff in the Indus valley.[4]
The arrival of Islam within South Asia, via modern-day Pakistan, influenced the local cuisine to a great degree. Since Muslims are forbidden to eat pork or consume alcohol and the halal dietary guidelines are strictly observed. Pakistanis focus on other areas of food such as beef, lamb, chicken, fish and vegetables as well as traditional fruit and dairy. The influence of Central Asian, South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine in Pakistani food is ubiquitous
Pakistani dishes are known for having aromatic and sometimes spicy flavors, and some dishes often contain liberal amounts of oil which contributes to a richer, fuller mouthfeel and flavour. Brown cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, and black pepper are the most commonly used spices in the making of a wide variety of dishes throughout Pakistan. Cumin seeds, chilli powder, turmeric and bay leaves are also very popular. In the Punjab province it is further diluted with coriander powder. Garam masala (Aromatic spices) is a very popular blend of spices used in many Pakistani dishes.
Pashtun cuisine is very similar to Persian and Afghan cuisine. It consists of rice dishes, kababs...
Muhajir cuisine refers to the food of the Muhajir people who migrated to Pakistan from other areas of the Indian subcontinent. Muhajir cuisine is an amalgamation of several regional Indian cuisines, such as Hyderabadi cuisine, Bihari cuisine, Bengali cuisine, Gujarati cuisine, Maharashtrian cuisine, Rajasthani cuisine and the cuisine of Uttar Pradesh - reflecting the diversity of different Muhajir immigrants and the tastes they brought.
Pakistanis generally eat three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During the evening, many families have green tea without sugar which goes along with baked/fried snacks from local bakery (or prepared at home). During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the eating patterns change to: sehri and iftar. It is considered proper to eat only with the right hand as per Islamic tradition (also a tradition in many other Asian cultures). Many Pakistani families, particularly in rural areas, eat their meals served on a cloth known as dastarkhan which is spread out on the floor. In NWFP, many street eateries serve food on a takht, in a style similar to Iran & Afghanistan. A takht is raised platform on which people eat their food sitting cross-legged, after taking their shoes off.
A typical Pakistani breakfast, locally called nāshtā (ناشتہ), consists of eggs (boiled/scrambled/fried/omelette), a slice of loaf bread or roti, parathas, sheermal with tea or lassi, qeema (minced meat), fresh seasonal fruits (mangoes, apples, melons, bananas etc.), milk, honey, butter, jam, shami kebab, and nuts. Sometimes breakfast includes baked goods like bakarkhani and rusks. During holidays and weekends, halwa poori and chick peas are sometimes eaten. In Punjab, sarson ka saag (mustard leaves) and maaki ki roti (cornbread) is a local favourite. Punjabi people also enjoy khatchapuri, a savory pastry filled with cheese. In Karachi, breakfast might even include nihari, paya and Naan.
A typical Pakistani lunch consists of meat curries or lentils along with rice. Breads such as roti or naan are usually served for dinner but have become common during the day so that rice maybe served for dinner. Popular lunch dishes may include aloo gosht (meat and potato curry) or any vegetable with mutton. Chicken dishes like chicken karahi and chicken korma are also popular. Alternatively, roadside food stalls often sell just lentils and tandoori roti, or masala stews with chapatis. People who live near the main rivers also eat fish for lunch, which is sometimes cooked in the tandoori style.
Dinner is considered the main meal of the day as the whole family gathers for the occasion. Food which requires more preparation and which is more savoury (such as pulao, kofte, kebabs, qeema, korma) are prepared. Lentils are also a dinnertime staple. These are served with roti or naan along with yoghurt, pickle and salad. The dinner may sometimes be followed by fresh fruit, or traditional desserts like kheer, gulab jamun, shahi tukray, gajraila, qulfi or ras malai.
Pakistani snacks comprise food items in Pakistan that are quick to prepare, spicy, usually fried, and eaten in the evening or morning with tea or with any one of the meals as a side-dish. A given snack may be part of a local culture, and its preparation and/or popularity can vary from place to place. These snacks are often prepared and sold by hawkers on footpaths, railway station and other such places, although they may also be served at restaurants. Some typical snacks are bhala, chaat, chana masala, pakora, and papadum. Others include khatchapuri, pakoras-either neem pakoras, basin pakoras, or chicken pakoras, samosas—vegetable or beef, and eggrolls.
In Pakistan, main courses are usually served with wheat bread (either roti or naan), or rice. Salad is generally taken as a side dish with the main course, rather than as an appetizer beforehand. Assorted fresh fruit or sometimes desserts are consumed at the end of a meal.[5] Meat plays a much more dominant role in Pakistani food, compared to other South Asian cuisines. According to a 2003 report, an average Pakistani consumed three times more meat than an average Indian.[6] Of all the meats, the most popular are goat or mutton, and chicken. Beef is also eaten, and is particularly sought after as the meat of choice for kebab dishes or the classic beef shank dish nihari. Seafood is generally not consumed in large amounts, though it is[7] very popular in the coastal areas of Sindh and the Makran coast of Balochistan.
Curries, with or without meat, combined with local vegetables such as bitter gourd, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, cabbage, potatoes, rutabaga, saag, and peppers are most common and cooked for everyday consumption. A typical example is aloo gosht or literally "potatoes and meat", a homestyle recipe consisting of a spiced meat and potato stew, and is ubiquitously prepared in many households. Korma is a classic dish of Mughlai origin made of either chicken or mutton, typically eaten with nan or bread and is very popular in Pakistan.
Various kinds of pulses, or legumes, make up an important part of the Pakistani dishes. While lentils (called daal), and chick peas (called channa) are popular ingredients in homestyle cooking, they are traditionally considered to be an inexpensive food sources. Because of this reason, they are typically not served to guests who are invited for dinner or during special occasions. Combining meat with lentils and pulses, whether in simple preparations or in elaborate dishes such as haleem, is also a distinctively Pakistani touch not commonly seen in neighbouring India where a substantial number of its population are vegetarians.
Beans such as black-eyed beans (lobia) and kidney beans (rajma) are sometimes served in a tomato based masala sauce, especially in Punjab.
Meat and grilled meat has played an important part in Pakistan region for centuries. Sajji is a Baluchi dish from Western Pakistan, made of lamb stuffed with rice, that has also become popular all over the country. Another Balochi meat dish involves building a large outdoor fire and slowly cooking chickens. The chickens are placed on skewers which are staked into the ground in close proximity to the fire, so that the radiant heat slowly cooks the prepared chickens.
Kebabs are a staple item in Pakistani cuisine today, and one can find countless varieties of kebabs all over the country. Each region has its own varieties of kebabs but some like the Seekh kebab, Chicken Tikka, and Shami kebab are especially popular varieties throughout the country. Generally, kebabs from Balochistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tend to be identical to the Afghan style of barbecue, with salt and coriander being the only seasoning used. Regional kebab recipes from Karachi and the wider Sindh region is famous for its spicy kebabs, often marinated in a mixture of spices, lemon juice and yoghurt. Barbecued food is also extremely popular in some cities of Punjab such as Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot. Al-Hamra Restaurant and Bundu Khan kebab House are famous throughout Pakistan for their taste and variety of kebabs. Kebab houses are said to be the most profitable food businesses in Pakistan.
Types of kebabs (mainly made of Beef or Lamb) are:
Pakistan is a major exporter and consumer of rice. Basmati is the most popular type of rice consumed in Pakistan. Dishes made with rice include many varieties of pulao:
Biryani is a very popular dish in Pakistan and has many varieties such as Lahori and Sindhi biryani. Tahiri, which is also a form of vegetarian biryani, is also popular. All of the main dishes (except those made with rice) are eaten alongside bread. 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.
In the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa feasts using mountains of spiced rice combined with pieces of slowly roasted lamb are often served for guests of honour. These kind of pulaos often contain dried fruit, nuts, and whole spices such as cloves, saffron and cardamon. Such rice dishes have their origins in Central Asia and the Middle East.
Pakistanis eat breads made of wheat flour as a staple part of their daily diet. Pakistan has a variety of breads, often prepared in a traditional clay oven called a tandoor. The tandoori style of cooking is common throughout rural and urban Pakistan and has strong roots in neighboring Iran and Afghanistan as well. Some of these are:
However, Halwa Puri has now become a favored weekend or holiday breakfast in urban Pakistan where it is sometimes sold in shift carts or in specialty breakfast shops.
Popular desserts include Peshawari ice cream, sheer khurma, kulfi, falooda, kheer, rasmalai, phirni, zarda, shahi tokray and rabri. Sweetmeats are consumed on various festive occasions in Pakistan. Some of the most popular are gulab jamun, barfi, baklawa, kalakand, jalebi, and panjiri. Pakistani desserts also include a long list of halvah such as multani sohen halvah and hubshee halvah. Kheer made of roasted seviyaan (vermicelli) instead of rice is popular during Eid ul fitr. Gajraila is a sweet made from grated carrots, boiled in milk, sugar, green cardamom, and topped with nuts and dried fruit and is popular in Pakistan as well as in other parts of South Asia including Afghanistan.
Pakistanis drink a great deal of tea, which is locally called "chai." Both black and green teas are popular and are known locally as "sabz chai" and "kahwah," respectively. Kahwah is often served after every meal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Pashtun belt of Balochistan. Kashmiri chai or "noon chai," a pink, milky tea with pistachios and cardamom, is consumed primarily at special occasions, weddings, and during the winter when it is sold in many kiosks. In northern Pakistan (Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan), salty buttered Tibetan style 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 as the consumption of alcohol is prohibited by Islam. During the 20th century, drinks such as coffee and soft drinks have also become popular in Pakistan. It is very common to have soft drinks now days with Pakistani meals.
Pakistani dishes are also taking a lead in the western direction, as many Pakistanis are trying out new and modern foods. Many westernized restaurants and fast food outlets are dotted in all parts of Pakistan. The Punjab and Sindh provinces, where the majority of urban, western culture has been greatly advanced and has chains of many American, European and British chains in many metropolitan cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi and many others. Marketing and advertisements have made these a heaven for social and modern spots for all Pakistanis to try out.
Outside Pakistan, Pakistani cuisine is prevalent in countries which have large Pakistani communities. The Balti curry is a British dish that is claimed to have origins in the Kashmir region of Pakistan.
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