Pakistani cuisine can be characterized as a blend of regional cooking styles and flavours from across South, Central and Western Asia. Pakistani cuisine is influenced by Persian, Indian, and Arab cuisine. The cuisine of Pakistan also maintains certain Mughal influences within its recipes and cooking techniques. Pakistan's ethnic and cultural diversity, diverse climates, geographical environments, and availability of different produce lead to diverse regional cuisines.
Biryani is a mixed rice dish, mainly popular in South Asia. It is made with rice, some type of meat and spices. To cater to vegetarians, in some cases, it is prepared by substituting vegetables or paneer for the meat. Sometimes eggs and/or potatoes are also added.
Harees, jareesh, boko boko, or harisa is a dish of boiled, cracked, or coarsely-ground cracked wheat or bulgur, mixed with meat and seasoned. Its consistency varies between a porridge and a gruel. Harees is a popular dish known throughout Armenia where it is served on Easter day, and the Arab world, where it is commonly eaten in Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the month of Ramadan, and in Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain during Ashura by Shia Muslims.
Arab cuisine is the cuisine of the Arab world, defined as the various regional cuisines of the Arab people, spanning from the Maghreb to the Mashriq. These cuisines are centuries old and reflect the culture of trading in ingredients, spices, herbs, and commodities. The regions have many similarities, but also unique traditions. They have also been influenced by climate, cultivation, and mutual commerce.
Iraqi cuisine is a Middle Eastern cuisine that has its origins in the ancient Near East culture of the fertile crescent. Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals—the first cookbooks in the world. Ancient Mesopotamia was home to a sophisticated and highly advanced civilization, in all fields of knowledge, including the culinary arts.
Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, in the sense of the rough area of former Ottoman Syria. The cuisine has similarities with Egyptian cuisine, North African cuisine and Ottoman cuisine. It is particularly known for its meze spreads of hot and cold dishes, most notably among them ful medames, hummus, tabbouleh and baba ghanoush, accompanied by bread.
Yemeni cuisine is distinct from the wider Middle Eastern cuisines, but with a degree of regional variation. Although some foreign influences are evident in some regions of the country, the Yemeni kitchen is based on similar foundations across the country.
Paya is a traditional food from South Asia. It is served at various festivals and gatherings, or made for special guests. Paya means 'leg'/'feet' in Hindi and Urdu languages. The main ingredients of the dish are the trotters (hooves) of a cow, goat, buffalo, or sheep, cooked with various spices.
Khichdi or khichri is a dish in South Asian cuisine made of rice and lentils (dal) with numerous variations. Variations include bajra and mung dalkhichri. In Indian culture, in several regions, especially in the northern areas, it is considered one of the first solid foods that babies eat.
Hyderabadi cuisine, also known as Deccani cuisine, is the native cooking style developed in the kitchens of the Muslim aristocrats of the erstwhile Hyderabad State, India. The haute cuisine of Hyderabad began to develop after the foundation of the Bahmani Sultanate, and the Qutb Shahi dynasty centered in the city of Hyderabad promoted the native cuisine along with their own. Hyderabadi cuisine had become a princely legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad as it began to further develop under their patronage.
Hyderabadi haleem is a type of haleem popular in the Indian city of Hyderabad. Haleem is a stew composed of meat, lentils, and pounded wheat made into a thick paste. It is originally an Arabic dish and was introduced to the Hyderabad State by the Chaush people during the rule of the Nizams. Local traditional spices helped a unique Hyderabadi haleem evolve, that became popular among the native Hyderabadis by the 20th century.
Dalcha, is an Indian lentil-based stew originating from Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Its origins may lie with a similar middle eastern dish Harees which is more of a gruel with cooked meats. Primary ingredients are lentils, can be chana dal or sometimes tur dal. Vegetables or meats, both chicken or mutton may also be added to the stew, so if mutton is added it will be called a mutton dalcha. Bottle gourd is another key ingredient in a Dalcha. It is traditionally served with the rice dish called bagara khana.
Barkas is a neighborhood in Hyderabad, India, located in the old city area of Hyderabad. The name "Barkas" is believed to be derived from the English word "barracks". Before Indian independence, Barkas served as the military Barracks of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Khichra or Khichda is a variation of the dish Haleem, popular with Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. Khichra is cooked all year and particularly at the Ashura of Muharram. It is made using goat meat, beef, lentils and spices, slowly cooked to a thick paste. It is the meat-based variant of Khichdi, a rice dish from the Indian subcontinent. In Pakistan, beef Haleem and Khichra is sold as street food in most cities throughout the year.
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef, pork, venison, rabbit, lamb, poultry, sausages, and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, stock is also common. A small amount of red wine or other alcohol is sometimes added for flavour. Seasonings and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature, allowing flavours to mingle.
Lentil soup is a soup with lentils as its main ingredient; it may be vegetarian or include meat, and may use brown, red, yellow, green or black lentils, with or without the husk. Dehulled yellow and red lentils disintegrate in cooking, making a thick soup. It is a staple food throughout Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
