Chicken
Pakistani Chicken Karahi
Tomato-rich chicken cooked quickly in a wide karahi with ginger, green chilli and freshly crushed spices.
PAKISTANI FOOD, PROPERLY TOLD.
Recipes, stories & flavours from Pakistan.
From family kitchens and roadside dhabas to regional traditions worth preserving.
A careful biryani begins with well-soaked rice.START HERE
One recipe from each category
If you are not sure where to begin, these are the dishes we would point a first-time cook at.
Beef
Beef Nihari
A slow-simmered breakfast stew of bone-in shank and toasted spices, thickened with wheat flour and finished with ginger and lemon.
Mutton
Aloo Gosht
The household mutton curry: meat browned first, then simmered long and slow with potatoes added only once the meat has begun to soften.
Rice
Chicken Biryani
Layered chicken biryani: a yoghurt-marinated chicken masala under 70%-done basmati, finished together on sealed low heat so every grain stays separate.
Vegetarian
Daal Chawal
Lentils simmered to a thick, soft texture and finished with a tarka of whole spices, served with steamed rice as an everyday meal.
Bread
Paratha
A layered wholewheat flatbread, rolled and folded with ghee until flaky — an everyday breakfast that needs no tandoor.
BROWSE BY CATEGORY
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SIX REGIONAL KITCHENS
Explore Pakistan through food
Pakistan’s food is not one cuisine. Meet the ingredients, dishes and daily rituals that distinguish each region.
Regional kitchen
Punjab
Hearty breakfasts, tandoor breads and deeply cooked meat and vegetable dishes.
Sarson ka Saag · Lahori Chargha · Chana
Explore Punjab
Regional kitchen
Sindh
Rice traditions, seafood, tart flavours and foods shaped by the Indus.
Sindhi Biryani · Sai Bhaji · Palla Fish
Explore Sindh
Regional kitchen
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Direct seasoning, charcoal cooking and an emphasis on meat, bread and hospitality.
Chapli Kebab · Kabuli Pulao · Shinwari Karahi
Explore Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Regional kitchen
Balochistan
Slow roasting, open-fire techniques and pastoral food traditions.
Sajji · Kaak · Landhi
Explore Balochistan
Regional kitchen
Kashmir
Fragrant rice, slow-cooked meat and warming breads suited to mountain seasons.
Harissa · Gushtaba · Bakarkhani
Explore Kashmir
Regional kitchen
Gilgit-Baltistan
Buckwheat, apricot, handmade breads and practical high-altitude cooking.
Chapshuro · Mamtu · Giyaling
Explore Gilgit-BaltistanCOOK WITH CONTEXT
The Tarka Guide
The Tarka Guide
How to keep biryani rice separate
Rinse and soak the rice to remove surface starch, then stop boiling it at about 70% cooked so it finishes on dum instead of turning starchy.
Read the guide
The Tarka Guide
Why your karahi tastes watery
A watery karahi almost always means the tomato-onion masala was not reduced enough before the meat went in, or water was added later to stop it sticking.
Read the guide
The Tarka Guide
How to properly brown onions
Slow, medium-heat cooking over 20–30 minutes browns onions evenly; high heat only colours the surface while the inside stays raw.
Read the guideAT THE DASTARKHWAN
Food & culture
Food & Culture
Why chai means more than tea in Pakistan
Doodh patti, the visitor’s cup, roadside tea stalls and the pink, green and salted teas of the north: how one word covers so much of daily life.
Read the storyPLAN WITH CONFIDENCE