day 27

 

       wussp everybody and welcome to a world where every bite is a 

celebration, and each dish tells a story.

New day New food New country (Pakistan)

1. Nihari

To start this list off right, I just have to talk about Nihari.

This dish is truly a game-changer for me when it comes to Pakistani cuisine. I would easily consider this among the best breakfasts I have ever had anywhere in the world.

Nihari begins as a heap of dry spices frying in vegetable oil and animal fat. The meat ingredients follow (most commonly beef shank), and a very healthy portion of Desi Ghee (home-made local clarified butter). The slow-cooking stew is then stirred altogether in a glorious cauldron of a pot.

The consistency is oozing and thick, so full of ultra-tender meat chunks literally floating in desi ghee. It has a deep red color from the spice and infused ghee.

Eaten from communal plate-trays, you garnish the Nihari from a side-plate of fragrant sliced ginger, spicy green chilies, and a squeeze from a fresh lime or two.

In Lahore you can try nihari at Waris Nihari, and in Karachi, I would highly recommend Javed Nihari.

2. Kabuli Pulao

Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, lies just a few hours from the KP Province (North-Western border) of Pakistan. Imagine Silk Road traders bringing over the very first dishes of Kabuli Pulao to eat right here in Western Pakistan.

Pulao can be made with any size grain of rice, which the chef always fries in oil while stirring in large amounts of dry spices. Usually, there will be a chunk of mutton or beef meat, sometimes an entire leg, at the heart of each massive batch.

Saffron gives the rice taste and color, but typically the spices are milder than biryani. Whole cloves of cardamom and golden sultana raisins give off a beautifully sweet aroma, and at larger restaurants it may include peanuts and even pistachios as a garnish.

You can recognize pulao on the street in its absolutely huge stainless steel cooking vessel, a unique, bell-like shape, often resting at a curious 45-degree angle.

Kabuli Pulao smells gorgeous, looks beautiful, and of course tastes incredible as well. A perfect dish for lunch, walking around the lively street atmosphere of any of Pakistan’s large, bustling cities, especially common in and around Peshawar.

3. Karahi

Karahi is one of the best of all Pakistani food, and is dear to the hearts of all Pakistanis. You can find Karahis cooking in the smallest roadside shop, or in the Palatial kitchen of a local Rajah.

The dish takes its name from the black, iron, scoop-shape pan. Usually a karahi curry is made with goat, but also commonly with chicken or even shrimp. The metal dish can then be its own serving bowl, sizzling hot coming straight to the center of your table.

Most Pakistani karahi recipes start with tomatoes, onions, and some type of animal fat. It’s that tomato broth that gives each Karahi its ultra-umami magic, so full of smokiness, tender chunks of meat, and a whole lot of fat – from the meat, the ghee, and the occasional dollop of cream.

The tools of choice for cooking this dish are a massive pair of pliers to grip the pan, and a metal spatula to move meat around. Every pan is cooked over flaming high heat, and the chef’s motion follows a steady working rhythm – add oil, meat, count to three, stir. More oil, grip the pan to rapidly add spices, move the entire dish to a serving tray, then breathe (chef wipes a dripping brow).

This is an iconic dish of Pakistan, and can be found throughout the country.

In Lahore, Butt Karahi is mandatory, and we had an insanely good Shrimp Karahi at the Dua Restaurant in Karachi, lounging outdoors in a seating area the size of a playing field.

4. Haleem

Haleem is an incredibly hearty dish made with a combination of barley, local wheat varieties, and chana (chickpeas). This dish shows the influence on Pakistan that comes from the Middle East, and people have been enjoying Haleem here for centuries.

Slow-cooking, for up to an entire day, on very low heat is a technique used to give haleem its warm, home-cooked flavor.

Onions (fried separately), mint leaves, both green and dry chilies, and then some masala spices go into the mother-pot, and a final garnish comes from generous squeezes of lemon juice at the end.

This is a great food to have in the morning, or for an early lunch. Its very rich, full of calories to keep one’s  energy up throughout the day. The flavor in a good bowl of haleem can be so rich that simply eating it with roti, and then sipping on a few cups of milk or green tea, can leave you perfect and content.

Enjoy a wonderful meal of Haleem in the Old City area of Lahore, you can watch the video here. I was blown away and surprised how good it was!

5. Halwa Puri

If there’s one special Pakistani food breakfast that loved by all, it would have to be halwa puri.

Known for causing feelings of extreme satisfaction, even to the point of laziness, for the remainder of the day. Halwa Puri is one of the most common breakfasts you’ll have in Pakistan.

The puris are thinly rolled dough, forming endlessly ultra-crispy layers, the folding style of which causes it to puff up immediately when submerging in boiling oil or desi ghee.

Halwa is then a sweet pudding like dish made from semolina which is served along with the puris. However, along with halwa and puri, you also typically get some chickpea curry.

Grab a crunchy handful of hot puri, and scoop up as much of whichever side dish is in reach. Lick your fingers, smile, and repeat. You can alternate bites of sweet halwa and spicy chickpeas.

Like most meals in Pakistan, this combo is perfected by finishing with at least one cup of dud pathi (milk-only tea, no water).


Thank you for joining me on this delicious journey. Until our next culinary

adventure.

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