1. Pakistani – Not Indian
Pakistani food is not the same as Indian food. They might feel similar, as similar as Japanese, Chinese or Singaporean cuisine might be. Are they?
2. Traditional Breakfast
Our breakfast consists of eggs, half fried or mashed up in an omelette. We have bread either shallow fried in little oil, or toasted up. We also serve parathas – flat bread which is kneaded, made into soft dough and then fried. These also come as ready-made varieties – thank God for that. For a heavier, more festive brekky, we have puris – very thin pancake style only deep-fried in buckets of oil. We have that with potato curry, chickpeas curry and sweet halwa.
Puri for Pakistani breakfast
3. Take a Piece of Bread, Dip in the Curry. Eat
We also eat with our hands - akin to Chinese eating with chopsticks. Children learn this with practice. They complain more often as they grow up rather than accepting this gracefully, which the adults do. I am telling the truth.
Shallow fried bread known as Paratha
4. What is a Starter?
At homes, we only serve one main course meals, unless you live in a fancy hotel or like to think of your local restaurant as your own kitchen. Desserts are usually served after Dinner. Not at my house they are not, hubby eats them every chance he gets.
5. Ramadan Feast
Most people gain weight in Ramadan – the month where Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset. A whole book can be written on the specialities of food offered at Iftari- when everybody breaks their fast- Samosay, Pakoray, Chaat, Patties, Rolls, Fruit Salad. And this is just for the entree. Main meal is yet to come.
Pakoray - savoury potato veg fritters
6. Watch Out for Oil Stains on Your Evening Dress
There is another kind of food variety – the food that is especially reserved for serving at Shadis or in other words, weddings. Heavily spiced curries with tons of oil loaded on top, grilled kebabs, chewy breads, mouth-watering Biryani (rice dish with meats and few vegetables – a complete meal in itself) and a wide selection of dips and salads. Don’t ignore the desserts or you will be sorry.
Biryani - extremely popular Pakistani rice dish
7. Introducing Pakistani French
Pakistanis are champions at embracing food from different cultures. Desi referring to local, we have desi Chinese, desi Italian, desi Continental, desi Thai … All these flavours are redone - to perfection - to suit local palette.
Pakistani style bbq -ed meat Tandoori Pizza
8. Food Street
The street food is something to swear by. If you have a heart of a lion and the will to try, check out street vendors selling Gol Gappe, Chaat, Shawarma, paan and much more. All these terms will be explained in subsequent posts. One day.
- Gol Gappe
You’ve made my mouth water! One question… Are you saying you have a dessert after every meal, or you don’t have a dessert because your hubby eats them all? If it’s the latter, perhaps you should find a good hiding place, so you could sneakily hide away the odd dessert or two… ;)
Hi. In my house, we pretty much have dessert anytime we feel like it. Hubby has a major sweet tooth and the little one has inherited that from him. Older one and I though are not too keen, still we like our sweet fix. Alas, there should be some in the fridge at all times. :)
These look delicious. I’ve only had Pakistani food once and it was delicious. I remember our hosts being very clear that there was a difference between Indian and Pakistani cuisine, notably the spices – Pakistani cuisine uses more subtle spices (or maybe less of them?)
Yes definitely, there is a huge difference in terms of spices used, cooking techniques, and also the main ingredients. Indian is mostly vegetarian, we Pakistanis love our meat. Our food can also be pretty hot (spicy), I think that comes to individual style. :)
I beg to differ. I am originally from India, and no, Indian food is NOT mostly vegetarian. Maybe in Gujarat, and other select parts of India. I am a Bengali from Calcutta, and we are hardcore non-vegetarians. It would be wrong to categorize Indian food into one big lump, as the cuisine differs from state to state. The last time I checked, there were 28 states, and 7 union territories.
I didn’t mean to say all Indian food is the same of course. Sorry if it came across that way. I was trying to say that Pakistani food is similar to Indian, but not the same. Everybody knows Indian, few know Pakistani. That’s my motivation behind it. Thanks for your comment.
I feel hungry now :(
I would like to eat “Puri” the bread looks so good
Yeah, nobody can resist puris. However must be eaten with caution, they look so light and fluffy whereas they are actually not. They are also deep fried in oil so pretty heavy to eat. Thanks for your comment. :
Ok this officially the most delicious looking blog i have ever been to :P “PUN TOTALLY INTENDED” lol
Thanks, I think. :)
I am quite Indian and would love to try your food. Nice. :)
Now that’s what I’m talking about. The picture of pakore (I think) is too much. I shed an actual tear.
Greetings from one gastronomic lover to another!
Hi Marya
Totally agree with you on all points. I feel Asian cooking has a huge and uncountable variety. And then if we were to put together dishes from India and Pakistan, then that would outnumber the variety of cactii!
I am based in Dubai and the gastronromical scape here is marvellous. I have become a huge fan of haleem and some typical, oily breakfast in Sharjah make for a perfect holiday.
I was particularly laughing on point 7 as back home in India they have introduced something called Chholay Pizza and Palak Paneer Pizza. That definitely is stretching it too far!
I think I will come back here, for food, for the belly and brain!
Cheers
Dev
Hi Marya,
As someone mentioned in an earlier comment – definitely a very “delicious” post.. :). However, I would like to bring to your attention that everything you have displayed above, maybe except the tandoori pizza, is very much a part of Indian cusine as well. I’m from down south, Kerala (which is also a a part of India), and our breakfast is pretty similar – puris or parathas, and we LoooVEE our meat too.. :). And the dishes made during Ramadan are jus outta this world. Even the street food(shawarma included) is pretty much available. Yes we have vegetarian food too, but that just adds more variety. I have never had the oppurtunity to actually taste authentic Pakistani food, so i cant comment on the difference in flavours and spices used.
I’m so hungery now your post just brought back great childhood memories thinking of Eid mornings as a child, biryani at weddings and one of my favorites Khagina in the mornings. Yum
God! It looks and sounds mouth watering. Have been lucky enough to try all these yummy dishes (courtesy my Pakistani friends), but feel like heading right now to Ravi (a fab Pakistani no frills restaurant in the neighbourhood) and order everything on their menu.
Good writing Marya – enjoyed it. :)
Awesome photographs and food descriptions — it was entertaining and intriguing; definitely makes me want to test and try and discover Pakistani food more! One question, though — my family is not fond of curry at all. Is there any particular traditional Pakistani dish that is curry-free? If you have the time to answer, thanks! ^_^
Mouth watering post, but as shafzy says, it appears that North Indian and Pakistani cuisine are very closely related. After all both the cuisines have the same origins. On the other hand South Indian food is completely different. Good Post Enjoyed it :D
Thank you. I think they are quite similar, however there are still major differences in terms of spices used. I go to a lot of local Indian restaurants and although I really like the food, its quite different to Pakistani cuisine. Thanks for your comment.
DELICIOUS!!! I am definitely going to try and make a few Pakistani dishes. I LOVE Middle Eastern food, the flavors are the absolute best!! :) Thanks for sharing!!
My pleasure. I will be posting more posts about Pakistani food … some of the best, easiest, fool proof recipes for people who are pressed for time. You might enjoy those. Thanks.
Your blog is quite nice and entertaining.. did you take the pics urself? loving desi fooooddd..
i should admit that you the skill to get people read your blog.
i liked your blogs a few that i went through.
About the Pakistani food that you mentioned, however i wanted to suggest that being a resident of India in can say that the food is much of the same so far as north Indian cuisine is concerned.
BTW i am not a blogger. but just have lingering thoughts about it. :)
Great post…. you missed off one thing… Pakistani Mangoes, absolutely fabulously flavoured and textured mangoes which we used to be able to get (often by the boxful) when we lived in London, but since moving to rural Wales, impossible to find. Excuse me while I howl with frustration!
;)
Ahhh the mangoes… they deserve a separate post on its own, don’t they? My Parents are visiting from Pakistan at the moment. As its summer here in Melbourne, we have locally grown mangoes in season. They maintain these ones are pretty good too, still there is no comparison. I am visiting Pakistan soo, too bad its going to be winters there so no mangoes for me. Thanks for your comments. :)
Loved this particular post, thnx Marya.
Memons, in other words muslims who originated in Gujarat, India, often have kebabs as starters especially for a more formal dinner, and they also serve ‘meetha’ (dessert) earlier in the meal, I think after the starter. In my experience the dessert is often custard or pudding.
I personally have found many Pakistanis very narrow-minded when it comes to food, I’ve met so many who not only think that Pakistani food is the best, but they openly criticise food from other countries. As an Aussie I find this attitude very uncultured and offensive. Glad u don’t have this attitude, makes for a very refreshing change!
I also find that there are differences in Pakistani food depending on where in Pakistan you’re from – I’m from a Punjabi background, my husband is Memon, and most of my Pakistani friends are from Karachi, and there is a lot of variety, and some prejudice, regarding the cuisines of the different backgrounds and ethnicities.
LOVE your blog, keep up the good work!
Thanks very much Soofia. I absolutely love food from different cultures so no, that won’t be an issue for me at all. Lets meet up soon before I go to Pakistan. See you later. :)
I now have to go on a mission to search for authentically Pakistani food in Singapore :)
That’s a good idea. I have heard good things about Singaporean food. A few of my friends used to live there, and they always brag about the variety of yummy food they would get there. Let me know how you go.
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