Pakistani cuisine Food

Pakistani cuisine is a refined blend of various regional cooking traditions of South Asia. Pakistani cuisine is very similar to North Indian cuisine but incorporates noticeable Central Asian and Middle Eastern influences and is more meat-oriented. Pakistanis focus on other types of meat such as beef chicken and fish with vegetables as well as traditional fruit and dairy. Pakistanis eat breads made of wheat flour as a staple part of their daily diet. Pakistan has a wide variety of breads often prepared in a traditional clay oven called a tandoor. The tandoori style of cooking is common throughout rural and urban Pakistan. Chapati most common bread made in urban homes where a tandoor is not available. Chapatis are cooked over a flat or slightly convex dark colored pan known as tava. Chapatis are made of whole wheat flour and are thin and unleavened. A variant known as lit Handkerchief bread is very thin and very large in size. Naan means bread. Unlike chapatis naans are slightly thicker typically leavened with yeast and mainly made with white flour. naan may also be sprinkled with sesame seeds. For instance, plain naan is often served with cow's head and slow cooked beef stew for breakfast in many parts of the country.

Flat layered bread made with ghee and generally cooked on a tava. Parathas are very similar to pastry dough. Parathas most likely originated in the Punjab where a heavy breakfast of parathas with freshly churned butter and buttermilk was commonly consumed by the farmers to prepare them selves for the hard day of work ahead. Parathas are now a common breakfast element across the country. Along with the plain layered version, many stuffed versions, such as Potato stuffed paratha Radish stuffed paratha and Ground meat stuffed paratha are popular. Puri This is breakfast bread made of white flour and fried. Typically eaten with sweet semolina halwa or gravy made out of chickpeas and potatoes. Puri is a fairly urban concept in Pakistan and puris are not part of rural cuisine anywhere in Pakistan. Halwa Puri has now become a favored weekend or holiday breakfast in urban Pakistan, where it is sometimes sold in shift carts or in specialty breakfast shops. lit Buttered Naan. It is a preferred variety of Naan sprinkled with white sesame seeds and cooked with a small amount of oil. Dinner is considered the main meal of the day as the whole family gathers for the occasion. Food which requires more preparation and which is more savoury such as biryani, nihari, pulao, kofte, kebabs, qeema, korma are prepared. Lentils are also a dinnertime staple. These are served with roti or naan along with yogurt, pickle and salad. The dinner may sometimes be followed by fresh fruit, or on festive occasions, traditional desserts like kheer, gulab jamun, shahi tukray, gajraila and qulfi or ras malai. Pakistani snacks comprise food items in Pakistan that are quick to prepare, spicy, usually fried, and eaten in the evening or morning with tea or with any one of the meals as a side dish. A given snack may be part of a local culture, and its preparation and popularity can vary from place to place. These snacks are often prepared and sold by hawkers on footpaths, railway stations and other such places, although they may also be served at restaurants. Some typical snacks are Dahi Bhala, Potato tikki, chaat and Samosa Chaat, Bun kebab, Chana Masala, Chapli kebab, Shami kebab, Seekh Kebab, Meat and Yogurt) Reshami Kebab, Pakora, and Papar. Others include Katchauri, pakoras either neem pakoras or chickpea Pakoras, Gol Gappay, Samosas vegetable or beef, Bhail Puri, Daal Seu, Panipuri, and egg rolls. Nuts, such as pistachios and pine nuts, are also often eaten at home. Meat and grilled meat have played an important role in Pakistan for centuries. Kebabs are a staple item in Pakistani cuisine today, and one can find countless varieties of kebabs all over the country. Each region has Tikka its own varieties of kebabs, but some like the Seekh kebab, Chicken, and Shami kebab are especially popular throughout the country and in some other parts of South Asia. Various kinds of pulses or legumes make up an important part of Pakistani cuisine. While lentils called daal and chickpeas called channa are popular ingredients in homestyle cooking, they are traditionally considered to be inexpensive food sources. Because of this reason, they are typically not served to guests who are invited for dinner or during special occasions. Dishes made with rice include many varieties of pulao. Matar pulao - Pulao made with peas. Murgh pulao Chicken and stock added. Creates a brown rice. Yakhni pulao Meat and stock added. Creates a brown rice. Biryani is a very popular dish in Pakistan and has many varieties such as Lahori and Sindhi biryani. Popular desserts include Peshawari ice cream, sheer khurma, qulfi, falooda, kheer, feerni, zarda, shahi tukray and rabri Sweetmeats are consumed on various festive occasions in Pakistan. Some of the most popular are gulab jamun, barfi, ras malai, kalakand, jalebi and panjiri. Pakistani desserts also include a long list of sohan halvah. Kheer made of roasted seviyaan vermicelli instead of rice is popular during Eid ul-Fitr. Gajraila is a sweet made from grated carrots, boiled in milk, sugar and green cardamom, topped with nuts and dried fruit. It is popular in Pakistan. Pakistanis drink a great deal of tea which is locally called chai Both black (with milk) and green teas are popular and there are different varieties common in different parts of Pakistan. Doodh Pati Chai is made by cooking tea leaves with milk and sugar, sometimes served with cardamom for fragrance. Extremely sweet, this is a local variation of a builder's tea. Kashmiri chai or noon chai, a pink, milky tea with pistachios and cardamom is consumed primarily at special occasions, weddings and during the winter when it is sold in many kiosks. Sabz chai or kahwah a green tea often served after every meal in Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Pashtun belt of Balochistan, served with saffron and nuts. Sulaimani chai is black tea served with lemon. There are other drinks that may be included as part of the Pakistani cuisine. Almond sherbet Sherbet made with almonds .Gola ganda - Different types of flavors over crushed ice .Kashmiri chai Gulabi chai - A milky tea known for its pink color, with an either sweet or salty taste .Lassi Milk with yogurt, with an either sweet or salty taste .Lemonade Limu pani. Qehwa - Green tea with cardamom. Sardai Mixture of different nuts and kishmish. Sathu - Famous drink from Punjab. Sherbet syrup mixed in water. Sherbet-e-Sandal Drink made with the essence of sandal wood. Sikanjabeen Lemonade mint is also added. Sugarcane juice.