International Cooking: Food from Pakistan

I began the ‘P’ countries last week with Pakistan! This was also the first time during this challenge that I cooked in my new apartment’s kitchen. I’m still getting used to things but I love having more prep space. I was expecting great things from the food from Pakistan due to its location and I was not disappointed!

Pakistan is a South Asian country, west of India, east of Afghanistan and Iran, and southwest of China. It is the fifth-most populous country and has the second-largest Muslim population in the world.

This region has a long history, with several ancient cultures inhabiting the land at some point. One of the most prominent was the Indus Valley Civilization, which spread over modern-day Pakistan, northwestern India, and northeast Afghanistan. The cities of the Indus civilization were well-planned for ancient times, with baked brick houses and elaborate drainage and water supply systems.

Pakistan was later the site of numerous empires and dynasties, eventually coming under British rule. The country gained independence in 1947 and later became an Islamic republic. In 1971, East Pakistan seceded to become Bangladesh following a civil war.

Pakistan has been ruled by a broad range of governments over the last few decades. It has the world’s sixth-largest standing armed forces and is a declared nuclear weapons state. Recently, Pakistan has shown periods of significant economic and military growth, but has also suffered political and economic instability.

What Do People Eat in Pakistan?

Pakistani cuisine is often quite spicy! This is one of my main takeaways after cooking the food this week. It’s not just heat though—a range of flavorful and aromatic spices are also used, as well as fresh ingredients such as garlic, ginger, tomato, onion, and herbs. The food generally shows similarities to some aspects of Indian and Arab cuisine.

Since Pakistan is a Muslim nation, pork is not consumed. Instead, common meat options include beef, lamb, chicken, and goat. Vegetarian proteins such as beans and lentils are also very popular. Despite Pakistan having a decently long coastline, I didn’t come across many seafood dishes when researching food for this week.

Pakistani dishes are often accompanied by rice or bread, of which there are many varieties. In this part of the world, it is also common to find rice as a major part of the main dish, combined with meat, vegetables, and aromatic spices.

What I Made

• Anday Wala Burger (Sandwich with Lentil Patties, Egg, Salad, Ketchup, and Mayo)
• Peshwari Naan (Flatbread Stuffed with Sweet Coconut, Nuts, and Dried Fruit)
• Nihari (Spicy Beef Stew)
• Roghni Naan (Flatbread)
• Chapli Kebab (Spicy Beef Patties)

Scroll down to read about other popular Pakistani dishes I didn’t make!

Anday Wala Burger (Sandwich with Lentil Patties, Egg, Salad, Ketchup, and Mayo)

This is a street food favorite in Pakistan, made by filling a sausage bun with lentil patties, egg, fresh vegetables, ketchup, mayonnaise, and a spicy yogurt sauce. Some sauces included patties made from a mixture of lentils and meat such as chicken, but I followed a vegetarian recipe.

First, I cooked the lentils; I used chana dal here which are actually split chickpeas (and referred to as ‘bengal gram’ in the recipe). I combined the dry chana dal with onion, garlic, ginger, serrano chili, dried red chilies, cumin seeds, ground turmeric, ground coriander, black pepper, garam masala, red chili flakes, cayenne pepper, and a little cinnamon. Then I poured over water and let the mixture cook, covered, until the chana dal was tender.

While I waited for the chana dal to cook, I made the yogurt sauce by combining Greek yogurt with fresh cilantro and mint, as well as a little serrano chili and salt to taste. I set it aside for the flavor to develop.

Next, I made my omelette—literally just eggs beaten with a little salt and pepper and cooked on the stove.

I let the cooked chana dal mixture cool a bit, then ground it up in my food processor with some fresh cilantro. I formed the resulting paste into patties, dipped them in beaten egg, and pan-fried them until golden on both sides.

I added some butter and cilantro to the skillet and turned the heat way down. I added a split sausage roll to the pan and topped it with yogurt sauce, chana dal patties, tomato, cucumber, omelette, mayonnaise, ketchup, cabbage, onion, and cilantro (a lot of cilantro in this particular recipe but I love it!).

I really enjoyed this. It was very spicy, but not overwhelmingly so; I think the yogurt and the cucumber helped. This is something I would definitely love to make again.

The recipe I used is from Recipes of the World on YouTube.

Peshwari Naan (Flatbread Stuffed with Sweet Coconut, Nuts, and Dried Fruit)

I thought this was an interesting version of naan so I had to try it. Peshwari naan is a sweet version filled with a mixture of shredded coconut, finely chopped nuts, dried fruit, sugar, ghee or butter, and various spices.

I started by making the dough from flour, milk, yeast, sugar, salt, yogurt, oil, and an egg. I kneaded the dough and then let it rest, covered, until it doubled in size.

Meanwhile, I combined the ingredients for the filling: shredded coconut (unsweetened), sugar, chopped pistachios, chopped dried cherries (since that’s what I had), butter, cinnamon, and cardamom.

I divided the dough into balls and rolled them out. I topped each with some of the filling and folded the dough over it before rolling it out again.

Next, I cooked the peshwari naan on the stove; I used medium heat as the stove at my new apartment is pretty strong and medium-high as the recipe directed was too hot. After cooking, I brushed each naan with ghee and then they were ready to eat.

I thought these were very good, and they kept well at room temperature for a few days which is a bonus. I might make these again and experiment with different nut/fruit combinations.

The recipe I used is from Fatima Cooks.

Nihari (Spicy Beef Stew)

This spicy stew can be made from lamb or beef. It features a long list of spices so I was sure it was going to be good! It’s Pakistan’s national dish and is often served for breakfast, but I ate it for dinner.

Before I began this recipe, I had to make nihari masala, the spice mix that forms the base of this recipe. I ground up cardamom seeds, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, and nigella seeds, and mixed in paprika, ground mace, garam masala, ground ginger, onion powder, and a little sugar. The recipe also called for peepli or long pepper, which I omitted.

I started by sautéing some onion in ghee in my Dutch oven. After it had softened, I added star anise, bay leaves, and a cinnamon stick. A few minutes later, I added minced garlic and ginger, followed quickly by chunks of chuck steak and a generous sprinkle of salt.

Once the beef had browned, I added the ground spices: cloves, cardamom, fennel, paprika, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, nutmeg, and the nihari masala, as well as some chili flakes. Personally, at this point I was thinking there didn’t seem much point in making the nihari masala separately—in future I would just add those spices to this bunch and grind them all up together. I also want to note here that I did reduce the cayenne and chili flakes a bit because I thought that the stew would be too spicy for me otherwise, and I am glad I did!

After cooking for 30 seconds of so, I poured in water and brought it to a boil, then covered the pot and let everything cook for around 3 hours, until the beef was tender. Here is the point in the recipe where I really wish I’d listened to myself when I thought ‘this seems like way too much water.’ Because the amount called for was too much water. I think this amount of water could only have worked if the stew was to simmer uncovered, but the directions definitely say to cover it. When I realized how little the liquid was reducing I did take the lid off for the remainder of the cook time, but there was just too much. I didn’t have another 2 hours or so to keep reducing and besides, the meat would probably not have been so good by then.

I took some of the liquid out of the stew and mixed it with flour, then added the slurry back into the pot. This did nothing to thicken the stew as intended, but I think again it was just that there was so much liquid that I would have had to add a lot more flour to achieve any thickening. I cooked the stew a little longer before deciding it would have to do because I was starving.

I garnished the soup with fried onions, julienned ginger, and cilantro, and added a drizzle of lemon juice. I ate this with some of the roghni naan I made (next dish). The flavor was okay but it was mostly just spicy; I think the amount of liquid was diluting the spices too much. I’d like to try making this again because I think the flavors were good; I would just add a few cups less water.

This recipe is from Tea for Turmeric.

Roghni Naan (Flatbread)

I know I already made naan this week, but I wanted a savory version to go with my nihari and my chapli kebab (next dish), so I made this roghni naan, It’s soft and brushed with an egg wash, and has a nice quilted pattern on top, making it a bit different to other types of naan I’ve seen so far.

I made the dough in my stand mixer out of flour, sugar, salt, yeast, baking soda, ghee, milk, water, and yogurt. After a 2-hour rest, I divided it into balls and let them rest for around 20 minutes.

I rolled out one ball at a time and added it to a skillet. For this version of naan, the heat is meant to be lower, unlike when making the basic Indian naan I’m more used to, which favors high heat. I was meant to use a naan stamp to make the shape on the naan, but since I did not have one I used a lame (basically just a razorblade on a stick, used for scoring bread) instead. Then, I brushed the naan with egg wash and sprinkled over sesame seeds. After a few minutes, I flipped the naan and cooked on the other side. Right after cooking each one, I brushed them with ghee.

These were very good, and they kept well in the freezer too! I actually froze most of them to serve with the chapli kebab on a weeknight. They were very nearly as good reheated as they were when I just made them.

The recipe for these is from Bake with Zoha.

Chapli Kebab (Spicy Beef Patties)

Chapli kebab is a dish that’s popular in a few countries in the region, not just in Pakistan, but it sounded very good and I really wanted to try it. It consists of spicy ground meat patties, often served with rice, naan, and salad.

I began by toasting coriander and cumin seeds, which I then roughly ground in my spice grinder.

In the same skillet, I toasted some masa harina (the recipe said to use either corn flour or chickpea flour so I used what I had).

I combined ground beef with the spices and masa harina, as well as finely chopped red onion, green onion, serrano chili, cilantro, garlic, and tomato. I added the final seasonings: red chili flakes, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, and a little pomegranate molasses as well as an egg to bind everything together. Like with the nihari, I reduced the heat level here by using less chili, chili flakes, and cayenne than the recipe called for. Again, I was glad I did! The pomegranate molasses was a substitute for dried pomegranate seeds, which I did not have. I kneaded the ingredients together really well and then I was ready to shape and start cooking.

I formed the mixture into balls, then pressed them into thin patties and cooked them in a hot cast iron pan.

I served the patties with roghni naan, a simple cucumber and tomato salad, and a raita I made out of Greek yogurt, mint, cilantro, and a bit of lemon juice. This made for a delicious meal and I know I will make it again.

The recipe I used here is from Tea for Turmeric.

Other Popular Pakistani Dishes

• Sindhi biryani – a spicy Pakistani version of biryani, which is a popular rice and meat dish found throughout many countries in the area.
• Sajji – lamb marinated in only salt and maybe a few other spices, then skewered and cooked over an open fire until tender. Sometimes, whole chickens may be used instead.
• Namkeen gosht – a slow-cooked goat curry, typically seasoned simply with just salt, pepper, garlic, ginger, and the fat from the goat.
• Chapshuro – also known as ‘hunza pie’, this is a pie that can be filled with either minced meat or a mixture of cheese and vegetables. The filling is sealed between two whole wheat flatbreads.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed all the food from Pakistan but the intended heat level is obviously a bit too much for me! I liked the anday wala burger the most.

Next week, I will be cooking food from Palau.