Tuesday, February 8, 2011

About Pakistani Food


Cookery in Pakistan has always had a regional character, with each of the four provinces offering special dishes. In the Punjab, for example, the Mughlai' cuisine using tandoor ovens with elaborate preparations is important. In Baluchistan, cooks use the Sajji method of barbecuing whole lambs and stick bread in a deep pit. In Sindh a lot of seafood is used. Bunda pala(fish) is a well known delicacy of Sind. The fish is cleaned and stuffed with a paste made from a variety of spices and herbs, including red pepper, garlic, ginger, and dried pomegranate seeds. It is then wrapped in cloth and is buried three feet deep in hot sand under the sun. There it stays baking for four to five hours from late morning to early afternoon. Cooking in the Northwest Frontier Province is involves the heavy use of lamb and B.B.Q method of cooking or cooking an open big skillet called Karhai. Pakistani cuisine is rich with sauces. A variety of spices such as chili powder, curry, ginger, garlic, coriander, paprika, and cinnamon, peppercorn, cloves are important spices used in Pakistani cuisine.
A wide range of chutneys (a relish usually made of fruits, spices, and herbs), pickles, and preserves that accompany meats and vegetables give Pakistani cuisine its distinct flavor.
We use lot of Healthy Spices, Vegetables and Whole Wheat and Rice in our Cuisine here the details:
Spices
Pakistani food is actually very easy to cook and extremely nutritious too, especially when spices and oils are kept to a minimum. The spices such as turmeric, cloves, cumin seeds and ginger are commonly used. These spices are known for their anti-inflammatory and general all-round health benefits.
Vegetables
Pakistani uses lot of vegetables in curries and as cook separately called “Sabzi” and used for lunch or dinner .Every day lady of the house buy from street vendor as they bring and sell fresh veggies. Onions, cauliflowers, eggplant, garlic, green peas and beans, spinach and tomatoes are just some of the vegetables that regularly used in meal preparation. All curry making is started by frying onion and then adding the meat or vegetables and garnish with green chilies and coriander
Bread
The healthiest aspect of Pakistani food is the “roti” – a kind of pancake made with whole wheat, by making dough with water and then rolled into a round shape with a rolling pin and cooked over direct heat. Roti is serves with different varieties of curries and achar (pickle) – Whole wheat is extremely good for the metabolism, keeps up energy levels.
Nan is another kind of bread cooked in oven.
Chapattis is flat bread made from wheat and is a staple at most meals.
Puri is fried bread, a little small and the beauty of this bread that it puff up while frying.
Grains
Lentils, Pakistani favorite products, are whole grains that are rich in fiber, contain iron for energy, and are extremely tasty. They are easy to prepare, absorb flavors from the various herbs and spices that are added to them and can serve as main dish, itself when eaten with a roti or plain rice. Dal is made from lentils. There are several varieties of lentils—red, brown, and green.
Dairy products
Another Pakistani cooking staple is yoghurt. The mostly curries are thickened with yoghurt and also make yoghurt sauce (raita). Using yoghurt in cooking adds a few dairy servings to a meal that is otherwise absent in it. This is a great way to include calcium in the diet.
Lasi is a drink, we make with Yoghurt Serve during meal or after the meal. It’s milk from which curds and butterfat have been removed. This popular drink can be enjoyed sweet or salty. Pakistanis usually drink Lasi sweet for breakfast or salty for lunch or dinner.
Ghee is clarified butter which is used in place of vegetable oil but now people are more health problem now use olive oil .but mostly soya bean oil are used in most house.
Milk is used in Chai (tea) it is a very popular drink. It is usually boiled with milk, sugar, tea leaves and sometime adds nutmeg
Milk shake added banana or mango to milk plus a bit of sugar.
Drinks
Drinks are important for Pakistani because of the hot and humidity. In the summer Juice from sugarcane are popular and that is freshly crushed in front of you by street vendor using a specially made hand machine. Another refreshing summer drink is nimbu paani, or "fresh lime." It is made of crushed ice, salt, sugar, soda water, and lime juice.

Fruits
Pakistan offers many fresh fruits that are most plentiful in the summer and autumn months. Mangoes, papayas, bananas, watermelon, apricots, and apples are some examples. Chiku have the taste of a date and the texture of a kiwi fruit. Many Pakistanis eat their fruit (especially watermelon) with a light dusting of salt to offset the sweetness or tartness. Since there are lot of seasonal fruits like apples, peaches, Mango, oranges, watermelon, and yellow melon, grapes and many more, they are eaten after meals or preparing different type of desserts or mixing fruits together then adding some spices called chat masala, sprinkle with lime or orange juice and eaten raw as snack.
Fruit drinks, squeezed from pomegranates, apples, melons, and mangoes, and called Sharbat, are an important part of the Pakistani cuisine.
Eggs
Eggs are usually used in the breakfast by making omelet added by onion, green chilies cilantro and tomatoes or making different puddings, cakes or added in kebab used as binding agent.
Meat
Beef, Goat, Lamb and chicken and seafood are used .every household buy fresh available meat daily.
Nuts
Nuts are used by sprinkle on top of few curries and desserts.
Rice
Rice is cooked into different style like zeera rice, pea’s pilou and biryani.

So in short Pakistani food is low fat with taste and plenty of beneficial herbs and spices make a good flavored meal also the use of whole grains, lentils rich in fiber and iron, lean skinned meat, and a healthy dose of vegetables and fruit.
Snacks
Samosas are deep-fried pastries filled with potatoes, chickpeas, or other vegetables and are a popular snack. Other snacks are bun kebab (meat pastries sandwich between a bun and roasted on an open skillet. and Pakoras (deep-fried vegetables in gram flour mixture).Chickpeas mixed with spices and chutney
Mealtime Customs
Nihari
Nihari derives its name from the Urdu word Nihar, which means "morning." A Nihari breakfast in Pakistan can be very filling it’s a stewed beef cooked overnight with chilies and spices, also flour is added to thicken it and on top sprinkle cilantro ,green chilies and ginger finely sliced and served with hot Nan (bread).
Halim
A mixture of dals (lentils), whole wheat, spices and spices .this cooked on slow heat for hours and become into a mixture. This is served as main dish sprinkle on top with chat masala and green cilantro. This is very filling dish full of protein.



Desserts
Pakistanis enjoy many desserts such as kheer (rice pudding) or kulfi (pistachio ice cream). Jalebi, which are deep-fried orange "pretzels" made with flour, yogurt, and sugar, and Barfi, made from dried milk solids or Shahi Turka, a dessert of sliced bread, milk, cream, sugar and saffron.
B.B.Q
Chicken tandoori, a dish in which chicken is cooked at low temperatures in special ovens called TANDOORS, and murgh musallum’ means whole chicken in which the whole chickens are roasted with special spices and ingredients.
Chicken Tikka
Chicken marinated in herbs and spices and grilled on charcoal.
Sweets (Mitahi)
Sweets are important for celebration especially for happy occasion or to celebrate happy events is a popular Pakistani tradition. Where sweets are exchanged as friendly gesture .Pakistani loves to live in community and care for the family is a must and show their love by exchanging sweets and flowers.
Some sweet which are very popular are Carrot Halwa, Walnut Halwa.

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