1. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 1 of 9
Pakistan Matters
By Jyothi Raghuram/India Syndicate, 20/07/2011
‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies
Pakistani food, with its emphasis on meat, is aromatic and spicy. And it is in the back lanes of cities that one can relish it best.
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Afghani, Peshwari, and Hyderbadi cuisines dished out as exotic fare in Indian restaurants , are remarkable for their richness and aroma. They certainly
are food for royalty. While the culinary art of Sindh, Punjab and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) are similar to North Indian and Kashmiri cuisine, it is
the regions of Baluchistan, tribal areas and the food of the Pakthuns , influenced by the cuisines of Afghanistan and Iran, that have a distinctly
different taste and appeal to the palate.
The cooking traditions of a country are culture-specific, and the antiquity of food traditions in the Indian subcontinent goes back to the Vedic period of
over 5000 years. Centuries of interactions with alien cultures and invasions introduced a mind-boggling variety into the cuisine, unparalleled in any
other region, culture or history.
South Asian cuisine is an amalgamation of Persian, Turkish and West Asian cooking traditions. Invasions from Persia, Central Asia, Arabia and the
Mughal empire itself deeply influenced eating patterns and Indian cooking methods. It is this Indo-Aryan and Muslim culinary traditions that Pakistan
has inherited.
Like vegetarianism in India, Islam has determined the eating habits of Pakistanis too. The religion prohibits consumption of pork and alcohol. What is
known as Mughlai food has its origins in Mughal rule. The tandoori or grilled food, particularly of meat, is one such popular version. Pulaos and rich
gravies are part of the lavish Mughal legacy, while biryani was a patent of the Nizams of Hyderabad.
The cooking traditions of tandoor, handi, tava and karahi are derived from this past. The best of Pakistani food, however, can be tasted in the back
streets of cities, especially during Ramzan. Gawalmandi in Lahore is the famous food street which literally offers the tastes of Pakistan on a platter. It
is a gourmet's delight.
Against the backdrop of a Kashmiri-Persian architecture, you can savour the tantalizing tastes of Pakistani food in a warm and literally delicious
ambience. A food lovers' paradise, it offers the best of traditional Pakistani food.
Wheat, rice, lentils, beef, mutton, fish and chicken with generously used strong spices in an oil base, is the staple of Pakistani food. The Muhajirs --
migrants from India -- brought with them a medley of Indian cuisines such as Hyderabadi, Bengali, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Bihari, and Maharashtrian,
adding to the diversity of food in Pakistan.
The four provinces have their distinct regional cuisines too. While the food of the Pashtuns is akin to Afghani and Persian cuisine, Baluchi food is
synonymous with the dampukht way of cooking meat in its own fat. Meat cooked on skewers, called sajji, is so popular that it has found local
adaptations. The tandoori way cooking is particular to Punjab.
Next: Taste the top 10 dishes of Pakistan
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2. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 2 of 9
Mughali Meat Darbari is a rich Central Asian dish adapted to regional tastes. The spices do not overpower. The aromas just waft across.
Mughlai Meat Darbari
1 big onion
1 " ginger
2 tbs chopped coriander leaves
2 green chillies slit
3 tbs clarified butter
3 - 4 cloves garlic peeled and coarsely chopped
3 tbs wine vinegar
175 ml warm water
1 tbs tomato puree
For paste
1 tbs sesame seeds
1 kg leg of lamb
1 tbs mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
2 tbs poppy seeds
2 " piece cinnamon
2 - 4 dried red chillies
4 cloves
10 black pepper
2 brown cardamom
Preparation
Trim off excess fat from the meat and cut into 2 " cubes. Rub the spice paste into the meat and marinate for 4 -6 hours or overnight in the
refrigerator. Add salt to garlic and crush to a smooth pulp.
Melt the ghee over a low flame. Add onions and ginger and fry on medium flame till onions are soft. Add the garlic paste and fry for a further 2 -3
minutes stirring frequently. Add the meat and cook in the onion mixture until all sides of the meat are brown. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and
simmer until meat is tender. Add the puree, green chillies and coriander leaves.
Adjust the flame to medium and cook for 3 - 4 minutes stirring continuously
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3. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 3 of 9
Kabab generally refers to meat dishes that originated in Persia. The meat is cooked on a skewer and served with salad and bread. The meat is either
cut into small pieces or ground. Kababs are usually made from mutton. Vegetarian variants have also surfaced now.
Tikka Boti
Ingredients
½ kg beef cubed
2 tbs raw papaya (ground)
½ tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
½ tsp salt
2 tbs yoghurt
1 tsp chili powder or
1 tbs chopped green chilies
Mix together all the spices, yoghurt and papaya and coat the beef cubes with it.
Leave to marinate for 5-6 hours preferably overnight. Grill/barbeque over charcoal.
Serve with Mint chutney, yoghurt and onion rings.
Keema refers to minced meat, usually beef at that. It can be stewed or fried. It can be moulded into kababs or even used as a filling for nan and
samosa. Keema is a way of preparing meat in India and Pakistan.
Keemay ke Pakoray
Ingredients
250 gm finely minced mutton or beef
salt according to taste
½ tsp crushed whole dried red chilies
4-5 black pepper
1-2 green chilies chopped
1 tsp crushed coriander
¼ tsp cumin seeds
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4. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 4 of 9
1 small onion finely chopped
1 bread slice or 1 egg
Oil for deep-frying
Preparation
Add all the spices to the minced meat and mix well. Add the bread slice/ egg.
Mix well. Heat oil for deep-frying. Make small balls of this mincemeat mixture and deep fry
till golden brown. Serve with ketchup or mint chutney
Fish and other seafood is more popular in coastal Sind. The fish is usually marinated and a variety of spices are added to the preparation.
Fish in Masala
Ingredients
½ kg fish (washed with salt, vinegar or lemon)
3-4 green chilies
1 cup fresh coriander
1 tsp garlic paste
salt
¼ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbs tamarind water
2 tbs yoghurt
1 large tomato
1 medium size onion
1 tsp fenugreek leaves
Preparation
Grind all the spices except onion and fenugreek leaves . Fry the onion in oil.
Add the ground spices and fenugreek leaves.
Add the pieces of fish. Cover and cook on low heat till soft. Add a little water if necessary.
Do not cook the fish for long as it will become hard.
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5. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 5 of 9
Seekh Kabab can be made from any kind of meat. Flat-cut pieces of vegetables such as tomatoes, capsicum, onion, and eggplant are used for the
vegetable kababs.
Beef Seekh Kabab
Ingredients
1 kg minced beef
1 medium onion
1 more medium onion (chopped)
4 green chillies
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp green ppaya crushed to a paste with the skin
1 bunch fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
8 cardamom pods
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp g garam masala
4 tbsp chick pea flour
1 egg
2 tbsp milk powder
8 all spices (Kabab Cheeni) (ground)
salt to taste
2 tbsp cooking Oil
Preparation
Combine minced meat with all ingredients except the oil and mix well. Knead for about 5 to 10 minutes. (It is very important to knead it because the
papaya must be mixed well in order to make the kebabs soft.) Set aside for 2 hours.
Knead once again. Take a small portion of the mixture on palms and put on a barbecue skewer. These kababs can also be roasted directly on flame
for a minute and later fried with a little oil in a frying pan.
Chicken Tikka Masala is a curry of roast chicken, where chunks of chicken are served in a creamy sauce with tomatoes, with its own dose of spices
Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
400 g canned chopped tomatoes
1 1/4 cups low fat yoghurt
8 pieces cooked tandoori chicken
fresh cilantro sprigs
For tikka masala
2 tbs ghee or oil
1 large garlic clove finely chopped
1 fresh red chili seeded and chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
Preparation
To make the tikka masala: Heat oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat.
Add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for one minute. Stir in the cumin, paprika, salt. Add pepper and fry for about 30 seconds.
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6. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 6 of 9
Stir the tomatoes with the juice and the yoghurt into the pan. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently
until it thickens. Remove bones and skin from the chicken and cut into bite-size pieces. Adjust the seasoning of the sauce, if necessary.
Add the chicken to the sauce, cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.
Sindhi Biryani is a rice-based dish having meat, vegetables and spices in it. It is a hugely popular dish in the subcontinent with many variations.
Sindhi Biryani
Ingredients
1 kg mutton
1 kg rice
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 tbs red chilli powder
2 tbs coriander powder
½ tbs garlic paste
½ tbs ginger paste
1 tbs mixed spices
Salt
¼ kg dried apricots soaked in hot water
A bunch of fresh mint leaves chopped
6 green chillies
Juice of 4 lemons
1 bay leaf
4 medium onions chopped
½ kg potatoes
4 tomatoes
¼ tsp yellow food colour soaked in ½ cup milk
1 ½ cup cooking oil
Preparation
Heat oil in a pan, fry onions until golden brown. Remove half of the onions and place on absorbent paper. Add meat, yoghurt and all the spices to the
rest of the onion. Cook until water evaporates and meat is tender.
Add potatoes, tomatoes, pulp of dried apricots, and green chillies. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. When done, set aside.
In a large pot, pour 12 cups water . Add salt, 3 green chillies, whole spices, and mint leaves. When water boils, add rice, parboil and strain.
Put layers of rice and meat one by one with a last layer of rice on top. Add food color. Place pot on a griddle or tava and cook on high heat. When
steam appears, lower heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
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7. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 7 of 9
Balushahi is a rich dessert in North Indian and Nepali cuisine too. Its South Indian version is Badushah.
Balushahi
Ingredients
750 gm Sugar
1 cup water to make syrup
500 gm flour (if self -raising flour is used soda is not required)
½ tsp soda
200 gm ghee for frying
1 tbs yoghurt
1 tsp baking powder
Orange food color
Preparation
Mix sugar and water and cook to make syrup.
Mix other ingredients (except ghee) and water to make a dough to roll. Make small patties and fry on low heat. Soak in syrup briefly and let the syrup
covering on the balushahi dry.
Karahi refers to a cooking pot which is thick and circular, and especially meant for deep cooking. It is usually made of cast iron, and a dish made in a
karahi allows the spices to uniformly get absorbed into the meat.
Beef Karahi
Ingredients
1 kg mutton
5-6 medium size tomatoes
3-4 whole green chillies
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt
1 tsp black pepper (crushed)
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8. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 8 of 9
2 tbs oil
Preparation
Put the meat in a pot or karahi (preferrably a karahi). Add garlic and ginger paste. Fry on medium heat till the water evaporates. Add 3 glasses of
water to the meat. Cover and cook on medium heat till meat becomes tender.
Add oil, salt, black pepper, and chilli powder. Allow the mix to thicken if there is any water. Add green chillies and tomato. Cook on low heat for 5-10
minutes.
Keema Nan is made of leavened bread and is baked in an oven. Nan is a flat bread, and Keema Nan with its minced meat is
considered a delicacy.
Keema Nan
Ingredients
4 tsp dried yeast
4 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 lb plain flour
1 egg (beaten)
8 tbs plain yoghurt
2 tbs vegetable oil
250 gm minced beef or minced lamb
3 cloves garlic
2 tbs tandoori marinade
Preparation
Fry the mince and garlic with the tandoori marinade in a little vegetable oil until cooked. Allow it to cool. Warm the milk. Stir in the sugar and yeast
and leave for about 20 minutes. Sift the flour. Add add salt and baking powder to it. Slowly stir in the yeast mixture and the rest of the ingredients
and make a dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes and place it in a covered bowl for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place. (Dough should double in
size.)
Pre-heat the oven to the highest heat with a heavy baking tray. Knead the dough gently and divide into four portions and roll it into a tear shape.
Grease the baking tray, lay out the bread and with the cooked mince leaving about 1 inch of the nan uncovered all around. Place in the oven and cook
for 10 minutes and then place the nans under a hot grill for another minute or so until brown. Lightly dust the breads with extra vegetable oil before
serving.
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9. ‘Destination Pakistan’ for foodies - Page 9 of 9
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