Pakistan
Aloo Gosht
آلو گوشت
Mutton or beef stewed with potato in an onion, tomato and yoghurt gravy — the standard weekday curry of Punjabi households.
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Pakistan
Explore 109 foods connected to Pakistan, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
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Pakistan Essentials
12 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Pakistan.
109 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Rajasthan, India
Bajra Roti
बाजरे की रोटी
A flatbread made from pearl millet flour, popular in Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is gluten-free, hearty, and typically served in winter with garlic chutney.
Balochistan, Pakistan
Balochi Namkeen Gosht
نمکین گوشت
Balochi salt-mutton: lamb slow-roasted or simmered with little more than salt, served with rice or bread.
Balochistan, Pakistan
Balochi Pulao
بلوچی پلاؤ
A Balochi rice dish cooked with lamb, raisins and whole spices, often in a sealed pot.
Bannu, Pakistan
Bannu Beef Pulao
بنوں بیف پلاؤ
Rice cooked in a deeply reduced beef stock with almost no spice beyond coriander seed and black pepper, so the flavour is stock and fat alone.
India
Barfi
बर्फी
A dense Indian milk fudge, often flavoured with cardamom or pistachio and cut into squares.
Sindh, Pakistan
Beeh ki Tikki (Lotus-Root Patties)
Bhee ji Tikki
Lotus stem/root is sliced or grated with spices, bound, and shallow-fried into Sindhi patties.
Sindh, Pakistan
Bhuga Chawal
ڀُڳا چانور
A Sindhi fried rice with spices and whole chillies, earthy and warming.
Sindh, Pakistan
Bhugal Gosht
ڀڳل گوشت
Mutton fried slowly with onion until the meat browns and the gravy reduces to a dark coating clinging to the bone.
Pakistan
Bhuna Gosht
بھنا گوشت
Lamb is cooked with onion, ginger, garlic, and spices until the masala fries down and clings to the meat.
Karachi, India
Bihari Boti
بہاری بوٹی
Thin strips of beef tenderised with papaya and marinated in roasted gram flour, fried onion and heavy spice, then grilled over coals.
Karachi, Pakistan
Bun Kabab
Bun Kebab
A Karachi street burger: a spicy beef patty in a soft bun with chutney, onion and egg.
Chitral, Pakistan
Chamborogh
چمبوروغ
Chitrali drink of dried apricots soaked and pressed into a thick, tart juice, drunk cold through the summer.
Peshawar, Pakistan
Chapli Kabab
چپلی کباب
Flat minced-beef patty bound with cornmeal, pomegranate seed, tomato and coarse coriander seed, shallow-fried in beef tallow until the edges lace.
Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
Chapshuro
چپشورو
Hunza flatbread stuffed with minced yak or mutton, onion and chilli, sealed and cooked on a griddle until the outside crisps.
Pakistan
Chicken Karahi
مرغ کڑاہی
Chicken cooked hard in a wok-shaped karahi with tomato, ginger, green chilli and little else, finished with crushed coriander seed.
Lahore, Pakistan
Chicken Lahori
چکن لاہوری
Chicken cooked with yoghurt, tomato, black pepper and a great deal of ginger until the gravy clings, finished with fresh coriander.
India
Chicken Tikka
चिकन टिक्का
Boneless chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and spices, then cooked in a tandoor. It is served as an appetizer or added to curries.
Sindh, Pakistan
Daal Pakwan
دال پکوان
Crisp fried discs of dough served with a thick chana dal, tamarind chutney and raw onion — the Sindhi breakfast.
India
Dahi Vada
दही वड़ा
Soft lentil fritters soaked in yogurt and topped with tamarind and green chutneys. Popular across North and South India, it is sweet, tangy, and savory.
Punjab, India
Dal Makhani
दाल मखनी
A rich, creamy black lentil curry from Punjab, slow-cooked with butter and cream. It is one of North India's most famous lentil dishes.
Balochistan, Pakistan
Dampukht
دم پخت
Meat sealed in a heavy pot with its own fat and no added water, cooked over low coals until it steams itself tender.
Pakistan
Doodh Patti
دودھ پتی
Tea leaves boiled directly in milk with sugar and no water at all, until thick, tan and syrupy.
India
Falooda
फालूदा
A layered dessert drink with rose syrup, milk, basil seeds, vermicelli, and ice cream. It is rich and fragrant.
India
Gajar ka halwa
गाजर का हलवा
Carrot halwa: grated carrots slow-cooked with milk, sugar and ghee, garnished with nuts.
Jammu and Kashmir, India
Goshtaba
گوشتابہ
Minced mutton is shaped into tender meatballs and simmered in a Kashmiri fennel-and-ginger gravy.
India
Gulab Jamun
गुलाब जामुन
Milk-solid dough is fried into soft brown balls and soaked in cardamom-scented sugar syrup.
Jammu and Kashmir, India
Haakh
ہاک
Collard greens simmered with garlic and chilli, a Kashmiri everyday dish.
Karachi, Pakistan
Habshi Halwa
حبشی حلوہ
Sprouted-wheat milk cooked down for many hours with ghee and sugar until it turns almost black, then set with nuts.
Hyderabad, India
Haleem
हलीम
A slow-cooked wheat and meat porridge from Hyderabad, made during Ramadan. It is rich, nutritious, and garnished with fried onions and ghee.
Pakistan
Halwa Puri
حلوہ پوری
Weekend breakfast plate of puffed fried bread with semolina halwa, spiced chickpeas and a potato curry, all eaten together.
India
Jalebi
जलेबी
Crisp, coiled fritters soaked in saffron syrup until glistening.
Kabul, Afghanistan
Kabuli Pulao
قابلی پلو
Long-grain rice steamed over lamb and its stock, then buried under caramelised carrot slivers, raisins and slivered pistachio or almond.
Pakistan
Kachri
کچری
A wild melon used as a tenderiser and souring agent in Pakistani cooking.
Jammu and Kashmir, India
Kahwa
قہوہ
Green tea infused with cardamom, cinnamon and saffron and served with crushed almond, drunk through the northern winter.
India
Kalakand
कलाकंद
Fresh milk cheese is cooked with sugar until grainy and set into soft squares in North Indian sweet shops.