Pakistani
پاکستانی کھانے
Meat-forward, wheat-based cooking from the Indus plains and the Afghan frontier: slow braises, charcoal kebabs and tandoor bread.
Pakistani cuisine took its modern shape after 1947, when Mughlai dishes from Delhi and Lucknow arrived in Karachi with migrants and met Punjabi farm cooking and Pashtun grilling. Persian and Central Asian pilafs had been in the region for centuries. The dhaba and the roadside karahi house became the national restaurant, and the British curry house was built largely by Pakistani cooks from Mirpur and Punjab. Gulf labour migration since the 1970s added Arab grills and shawarma to city menus without displacing the older dishes.
Richer and more meat-heavy than most Indian cooking, with beef common. Ghee, onion browned dark, ginger, garlic and garam masala are the base. Bread, not rice, is the staple in the north; Sindh prefers rice. Heat comes from green chilli and chilli powder but rarely dominates. Yoghurt and lemon cut through the fat.
Countries and regions
Punjab · Sindh · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa · Balochistan
Dishes 7
- 6 hr 25 min
Nihari
نہاری
Slow-cooked beef shank stew in a glossy, flour-thickened gravy, finished with ginger, chilli and lemon.
PakistanMediumMedium heat
- 11 hr 30 min
Haleem
حلیم
Wheat, lentils and meat cooked and beaten into a thick porridge, then crowned with fried onion, ginger and lemon.
PakistanMediumMedium heat
- 55 min
Chicken karahi
چکن کڑاہی
Bone-in chicken cooked fast in a wok with tomatoes, ginger, green chilli and black pepper. No onion, no cream.
PakistanEasyHot
- 1 hr 10 min
Chapli kebab
چپلی کباب
Flat, wide Peshawari beef patties with cornmeal, tomato, pomegranate seed and crushed coriander, fried until the edges crisp.
PakistanEasyMedium heat
- 1 hr 40 min
Seekh kebab
سیخ کباب
Spiced lamb mince pressed around skewers and grilled until charred outside and juicy inside.
PakistanEasyMedium heat
- 2 hr 15 min
Sindhi biryani
سندھی بریانی
Layered rice and meat from Sindh, hot and sour, with potatoes, dried plums, yoghurt and a lot of green chilli.
PakistanMediumHot
- 1 hr 25 min
Aloo paratha
آلو پراٹھا
Wholemeal flatbread stuffed with spiced mashed potato and griddled in ghee. Breakfast in most of Punjab.
PakistanMedium