Pakistani cuisine

Pakistani cuisine (Urdu: پاکستانی پکوان, romanized: pākistānī pakwān) is a blend of regional cooking styles and flavours from across South, Central and West Asia.

Pakistani cuisine, like the culinary traditions of most Muslim-majority nations, adheres to halal principles in accordance with Islamic dietary laws, which prohibit the consumption of pork and alcohol, among other restrictions.

Similar to other Central Asian cultures, families in Pakistan traditionally dine seated on a dastarkhān—a special rug spread out on the floor.

After the meal, tea is customarily served, and family members engage in conversations, relaxing against the large cushions or pillows commonly arranged around the dastarkhān for added comfort.

Pakistan's national cuisine directly inherits from Indo-Aryan, Turko-Persian, Iranic, and Arab, and it is heavily influenced by Muslim culinary practices.

Evidence of controlled preparatory cuisine in the region can be traced back to as early as the Bronze Age with the Indus Valley Civilization.

Around 3000 BCE, sesame, eggplant, and humped cattle were domesticated in the Indus Valley;[9] spices like turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and mustard were harvested in the region concurrently.

[11] The arrival of Islam through trade and conquests by various Arab, Turkic, Persian, and Afghan dynasties influenced the local cuisine of the region to a great degree.

Most prominently, forbiddance on the consumption of pork and alcohol by Islamic regulation has shifted the focus of Pakistani cuisine to other types of meat, such as beef, lamb, chicken, and fish, alongside a variety of fruits, vegetables, and dairy.

Northern Punjab, situated in the Potohar Plateau, is known for dishes such as kunna gosht (mutton slow-cooked in a clay pot), hareesa (a smooth blend of wheat, lentils, and meat), and kofta curry (spiced meatballs in a savory gravy), often enjoyed with soft, sesame-topped roghni naan.

Key dishes include: Sohbat, Corn on the cob (Makai da Sitta), Murgh Cholay, Kunna Gosht, Saraiki Sajji, Cholistani Pulao, and Moringa flowers' buds curry (locally known as Sohanjrra'n).

In contrast, the cuisine of Karachi, the capital of Sindh, reflects the influence of its largely Muhajir (Indian immigrant) population, which constitutes about 90% of the city’s residents.

Staple foods like barley, wheat, and millet form the foundation of dishes such as chapshuro and thukpa, hearty soups that provide warmth in the cold climate.

As Gilgit itself is a blend of cultures from neighboring districts like Hunza, Ghizer and Chilas, the cuisines of these regions is also widely found here.

Furthermore, it is generally considered impolite or inappropriate to have lengthy discussions during a meal, as the focus is meant to remain on eating respectfully and mindfully.

A typical Pakistani breakfast, locally called nāshtā (ناشتہ), consists of eggs (boiled/scrambled/fried/omelette), a slice of loaf bread or roti, parathas, sheermal, tea or lassi, naan or kulcha with chole or qeema (minced meat), fresh seasonal fruits (mangoes, apples, melons, bananas, etc.

In Punjab, sarson ka saag (mustard leaves) and maakai ki roti (cornbread) are local favourites.

A traditional Sunday breakfast might be Siri-Payay (the head and feet of lamb or cow) or Nihari (نہاری) (a dish which is cooked overnight to get the meat extremely tender.

The dinner may sometimes be followed by fresh fruit, or on festive occasions, traditional desserts like kheer, gulab jamun, shahi tukray, gajraila, qulfi or ras malai.

Seafood is generally not consumed in large amounts, though it is[17] very popular in the coastal areas of Sindh and the Makran coast of Balochistan and was a dominant element of the cuisine of the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Dishes, with or without meat, combined with local vegetables, such as bitter gourd, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, cabbage, potatoes, rutabaga, saag, and chili peppers are most common and cooked for everyday consumption.

Korma is a classic dish of Mughlai origin made of either chicken or mutton, typically eaten with naan or other bread, and is very popular in Pakistan.

These are often cooked using traditional spices and flavoring agents such as chilis, turmeric, garlic, ginger, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, and fennel seeds.

The camel, rabbit, many birds like Aari (Fulica atra), Kunj (Demoiselle crane), Titar (Grey francolin), Jhirkri (Sparrow), Duck meat is also consumed.

In the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, feasts using mountains of spiced rice combined with pieces of slowly roasted lamb are often served for guests of honour.

The tandoori style of cooking is common throughout rural and urban Pakistan, and also has strong roots in neighboring India, Iran and Afghanistan.

Some of these are: Popular desserts include Peshawari ice cream, sheer khurma, qulfi, falooda, kheer, Firni, zarda, shahi tukray and rabri.

Gajraila is a sweet made from grated carrots, boiled in milk, sugar, cream and green cardamom, topped with nuts and dried fruit.

In the Punjab and Sindh provinces, the majority of urban chains of many American, European and British restaurants have opened in many metropolitan cities, such as Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Multan, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Sukkur, Larkana and many others.

Ghee is used, but the main component of the meal or a dish is meat (beef, lamb, chicken, goat, or fish), and vegetables are sparingly used.