country Essentials · 12 foods
Pakistan Essentials
A considered first route through Pakistan: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.
Explore all Pakistan foods →THE
ESSENTIALS
The complete shortlist
12 foods to know.
Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.
Delhi, India
Nihari
निहारी
Shank and marrow stewed overnight in long-pepper gravy, eaten at breakfast with naan and lime.
Peshawar, Pakistan
Chapli Kabab
چپلی کباب
Wide, lacy beef patty fried in tallow with whole coriander seed and pomegranate — Peshawar's own.
Sindh, Pakistan
Sindhi Biryani
سنڌي بریاني
Rice run through with dried plum, mint and green chilli until it is as sour as it is hot.
Pakistan
Chicken Karahi
مرغ کڑاہی
Chicken cooked down with tomato and ginger in an iron karahi until the oil rises clear.
Balochistan, Pakistan
Sajji
سجی
Whole lamb salted and roasted upright beside an open fire, traditionally with very little seasoning.
Pakistan
Halwa Puri
حلوہ پوری
Breakfast plate of puffed bread, semolina halwa and spiced chickpeas, meant to be eaten together.
Lahore, India
Paye
پائے
Trotters simmered until the gravy turns gelatinous, especially sought at Lahore breakfast shops.
Bannu, Pakistan
Bannu Beef Pulao
بنوں بیف پلاؤ
Rice cooked in deeply reduced beef stock with restrained spice, the defining Bannu preparation.
Karachi, Pakistan
Kata Kat
کٹا کٹ
Goat offal chopped on a griddle with two cleavers, named for the sound the blades make.
Multan, Pakistan
Sohan Halwa
سوہن حلوہ
Multan's firm ghee-and-nut confection, sold in tins and snapped or cut into dense pieces.
Jammu and Kashmir, India
Kashmiri Chai
کشمیری چائے
Green tea aerated until red, then milked to pink and finished with nuts and salt or sugar.
Karachi, Pakistan
Bun Kabab
Bun Kebab
Karachi's soft bun around a spiced lentil-and-meat or potato patty, chutney, onion and often egg.