10 Mouth Watering Tradition Pakistani Dishes

When it comes to food, Pakistan has one of the most delicious and vast variety of food items. Starting from seasonal vegetables like cabbage, okra or chickpeas, to lentils, milk, seasonal sabzi, Pakistan has abundant food variety to form basis of Pakistan cuisine. So, here I present you the 10 most delicious dishes for which Pakistani food is known for.

10. HalwaPuri

HalwaPuri, a very special and famous breakfast food from Punjab. It is famous in Pakistan and all over the World for its very delightful taste and its eye catching color. It is served with Halwa- a very popular food dish prepared from suji, puri- made out of gram floor and then deep fried in oil. It is usually served with Lassi or tea depending upon the region where it is being served

9. Naan Kebabs

It is not a dish in particular but essential add one to a Pakistani dinning table. Kebab is a very
delicious piece of food made up from minced meat and naan from flour with dough. When it comes to kebabs, Pakistan has a wide variety of them, including tikka kebab, Shami Kebab, Gola Kebab, Seekh Kebab, Chappal Kebab and so on, preference of Kebabs among people varies place to place, like the most popular type of kebab famous in Peshawar is Chappal Kebab while the most famous kebab in Lahore is gola kebab, but all the kebabs are very tasty.

8. Sajji

Sajji is one of the most special and tasty dishes of Baluchistan. It is very famous all over the country. It is prepared after skewing a whole lamb or chicken which makes it a very unique and scrumptious dish. It is marinated in salt and roasted over coals which is the cause of its unique and delightful taste.

7. Painda/ Sobuth

One of the most favorite food of Pathans all around Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A dinning table at pathan’s place is incomplete without this delicious dish. It’s prepared by chicken or beef stock, soaked with naan pieces in the chicken/beef. It is served with tomato, salad and lemons.

6. Haleem

Haleem is one of the most famous dishes of Sindh. It is the most popular dish in Karachi. It is made of many food ingredients including rice, meat, maze ad lentils, although the dish varies from region to region. It is also a very famous dish across the country besides only Sindh, it is served with lemon and garlic sauce along with naan.

5. Chicken Karahi

Probably the most delicious and common Pakistani dish is Chicken Karahi. Meat is cooked with vegetables to get it prepared and it is served in its particular container in which it has been prepared to enhance the taste of it. It is the most common dish all over Pakistan and one of the most preferred dishes of all time on all the dining tables.

4. Biryani

The most popular South Asian food all over the World, Biryani is the most favorite Pakistani food all around the country. No Pakistani dining table is complete without its vicinity. It’s basically a South Indian dish still turned into crushing hit all around Pakistan. It’s made differently in different parts of Pakistan. Most famous one is Hyderabadi Biryani. It is made from rice and meat of any kind.

3.Nihari

Nihari is one of all time favorite dishes in Punjab. It is meat cooked overnight prepared dish to make extremely tender. It consist of thick soup served with a topping of chillies, lemon juice and garlic. Mostly maghaz and nalli of cow are put in the soup. It is traditionally made with lamb but in some areas, it is also made by chicken or cow.

2. Siri Paaye

Siri paaye, a common dish eaten in breakfast particularly in Lahore and Karachi. It is also a preferable dish to have in winter as it comprises of hot soup. It’s essential ingredient is feet of lamb or cow, cooked overnight to make it’s soup. It is one of the most healthy dishes for bones. It contains bone marrow which is an instant source of energy. It is served with naan usually

1. Nargisi Koftay

Nargisi Koftay, is a lovely dish of meatballs as its basic ingredient. In the dish, the meatballs unlike other meatball dishes, have boiled eggs in the center of the ball. Each egg is cut into half and covered with meat mince that makes it lovely to see and delicious to eat. The meatballs are fried till brown and then they are cooked in curry. It is one of the most favorite dish in Sindh served with hot green coriander leaves and naan or roti. In Sindh it is the essential dish on special occasions like Eid.

5 best places to Eat in Islamabad

On a crazy day at Islamabad with overcrowded streets and overheated atmosphere, what would you do to please your appetite? An overwhelming answer to this question by most of you would be: staying home because what most of restaurants have to offer is overcrowded place and overpriced ´special menus´.

Yet if you are too curious to draw up list of best places to eat in Islamabad on a perfect day to loosen their wallet, one would have a reason to ask a bunch of people who know the city and its food better than others.

So here we have the review based on experience of some of the seasoned foodies of Islamabad of their favorite places for a meal. They are more interested to have nights of fantastic food instead of painting the town red. So before you decide which place are you going this weekend to have the perfect meal where you give farewell to the old and welcome the new, check out the top ten restaurants blessed by these critics.

1. Tuscany Courtyard, Kohsar Market

Clearly a biggie among most of the food critics, Tuscany´s name is all time favourite place. It´s perfect place when you are not In mood to take any chances. Appreciated for its delicious new-Age Italian style food, peaceful environment even on crowded nights of festivals, their menu has something to offer for every appetite.

They serve the best Fettuccine Alfredo pasta in the town followed by delicious apple pi with ice cream, you can’t really go wrong here. But the real biggie at  Tuscany Courtyard is Tamarind Fish and Béarnaise Steak for the steak lovers. If its good food that you need to have tonight, you should definitely visit Tuscany Courtyard.

2. The Monal, Pir Sohawa Road

Another peaceful and full of delight place, The Monal – Pakistani restaurant  is the favorite spot for many of the foodies. It is probably the best place to dine in on a beautiful sunny day along with your family to enjoy Pakistani food in desi style along with ghazals played by few very talented ghazal singers. It has the perfect view of mesmerizing Islamabad from the top and one can’t have better atmosphere to have food.

It’s the best place to dine in in Islamabad if you want to have Pakistani food. They serve the most delicious biryani in town served with chatney which will leave you salivating for more. You must also have their exquisite seekh kebabs served with traditional pakhtoon sauce on the side along with fresh hand picked podina. What’s more is that it is the only place in Islamabad where you can get economical and delicious buffet on every Sunday brunch. For getting the best experience of Pakistani food in Islamabad, it is the best place to go.

3. American Steakhouse, Super Market 

The relatively new, American steakhouse, is one of the best places to have steak in the town. If you are willing to find peace from hustle bustle of super market you can find this beautiful place where you may have the perfect environment to eat. They serve delicious mushroom steak with mashed potatoes.

4. Khyber Dodai, Super Market

The new restaurant In the heart of Islamabad, Khyber Dodai, is one of the most trending restaurants of Islamabad. A place which one must visit for the sheer quality of pakhtoon food that is served. The vibe is welcoming, the interior is beautiful and the food is super tasty. Their different pakhtoon dishes are tasty and they are trending in Islamabad. Starting with their best and most delicious dish “Painda” , their special

kabuli pulao and rosh namkeen are the most exquisite dishes that one can ever taste.

If you haven’t tried pakhtoon food, just give it a try and pay a visit to Khyber dodai, you will become fan of pakhtoon food.

5. Howdy, F-7/3

A western themed, happening and fascinating Burger joint has just been opened in Islamabad. Espacially famoused for their Lamb Burger, Howdy serves the best burgers in town. With it’s unique interior, and ‘live cooking concept’ they have gained attention of audience and with their delicious quality of food, they have managed to convinced people to visit again and again. Howdy is a great choice for a budget friendly and epic meal.

Eating on a budget

It’s no more a secret that eating on budget often ends up in eating a lot of processed food. Organic food, especially fruits and vegetables, are more expensive than he regular processed food these days. According to a

research conducted by British Medical Journal, it takes extra $250 a year to eat organic healthy food.

But we have a good news,eating on budget is not confined to mostly processed food. If you are familiar with some of he RULES of  budget eating,it’s no more a rocket science to have cheap and healthy food. Pre-planning – planning the solution in advance, is the first rule for being healthy because it ensures eradication of impulse buying and also maximizes your ingredients. Another good solution is to buy in bulk.
Following are some advices for eating on a budget.

1 Budget Bytes

Everybody needs to eat on a budget but still no one wants the food to be boring! Budget bytes is one of the greatest idea of having healthy food, its even the best one. Perhaps this is the reason of this term to get transformed into a cookbook, which Is a great guide for stocking your kitchen while staying in budget. Budget bytes is a very comprehensive platform for eating well on budget, it explains different wise strategies like wisely shopping , freezer is your friend and so on.

2 BrokeAss Gourmet

Broke Ass Gourmet since it has been founded in 2009, has been giving us exciting and economical recipes, all under $20. It’s a blog turned cookbook, containing both collections and individual recipes. Homemade English Muffins and Bankok Style Deviled Eggs are some of the most popular recipes of Broke Ass Gourmet. It has a variety of English economical recipes, mostly all of them are under $20.

3 Stone Soup

Stone shop also offers healthy and affordable recipes that won’t let you feel like making some big sacrifices. Recipes like Green Curry and Carbonara are one of the best. They also help you having a budget diets by having their  “three golden rules of do-it-ahead-meals“ and the “dos and don’ts of keeping leftovers safe.” Columns. According to whole and sole of Stone Soup,Jules Clancy, mostly all the recipes are of five ingredients, ready to cook in ten minutes.

4 Not Eating Out In New York

Famous blog by Cathy Erway Not Eating Out in New York after eating from restaurants, streets stand food stall throughout New York City since 2006 to 2008. Her blog turned book “The Art of Eating In” gained her huge respect which features many recipes worth of quitting eating from New York City’s restaurants and eating in. The book comprises of a lot of good recipes like Grilled Steak Shoulder bites and Curried Carrot soup Erway also mentioned cost of all the ingredients along with the recipes that is very helpful to get you budgeted. In her book she besides the reason of just budgeting explains some other good advantages of cooking in, like enjoying season better by cooking at home. Its not easy to cook at home as compared to eating out but according to her, it’s worth enjoying.

Atrio-café and grill, a café was started in the “abode of peace” known to be “Islamabad”, by Imran Rashid, back in 2012. It with a breakneck speed turned out to be a celebrated house for the wizards of the food due to the large variety of viaticum available in its menu.

Owner of Atrio Café and Grill Imran Rashid believes that the capital city was gone astray of a rooftop experience in the market that is said to be ‘the heart’ of Islamabad; where tired shoppers and foodies can now enjoy being in the center of all the activity.

The two-story café claims to be a combined experience of casual coffee-dates and fine dining with a lavish menu that conquers the outrageously advocated barbecue grill items, soups, salads, steaks, pastas and desserts in addition to a generous selection of cold and hot coffees from the popular Vermont based brewery, Green Mountain Coffee.

The floor below is a contrast to the hurly-burly of the rooftop; its                interior and big glass windows overlooking the market reminiscent of a New York-style café.  The lighting is dim and warm, and mirrors reflecting the space made it appear to be larger than it is. The chefs also prepare tender chicken pieces, kebabs and hors d’oeuvres that are served on the tables. Along with a serene atmosphere inside, the backdrop comprised of scattered lights   that glittered as they fell upon Margalla Hills.

The wifi-equipped café is open between 12pm to 12am on weekdays and 12pm to 1am on the weekends. Its rather aspiring menu costs to be Rs.700 to Rs.800 per head.

Boasting to be the only place in the otherwise reputedly dead capital city, where customers can enjoy a contrast of ambiance and food that encourages one to truly unreel. Atrio Café and Grill is sure to attract a lot of attention in the coming weeks. To me, “People of Islamabad should come out of their homes and visit such a lavish place, residing remarkably in this dead city, providing the essence of life.”

Address: F-7 Markaz, Islamabad

Phone: (051) 8319999

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/atriocafegrill/