Pashtun cuisine

Some of the popular Pashtun dishes, from left to right: 1. Mutton grilled kebab (seekh kabab); 2. Palao and salad; 3. Tandoori chicken; and 4. Mantu (dumplings). The Pashtun cuisine includes a blend of Central Asian, South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. Most Pashtun dishes are traditionally non-spicy.

Pashtun cuisine (Pashto: پښتنۍ خواړه) refers to the cuisine of the Pashtun people and is covered under both Afghan and Pakistani cuisines. It is largely based on meat dishes including mutton, beef, chicken, and fish as well as rice and some other vegetables.[1] Accompanying these staples are dairy products (yogurt, whey, cheeses), various nuts, local vegetables, and fresh and dried fruits. Peshawar, Islamabad, Kabul, Bannu, Quetta, Kandahar and Mardan are centers of Pashtun cuisine.

Afghan Pashtun cuisine

  • Breakfast items include: Kachala boiled turnips served with chukni. Chickpeas, kidney beans and liver often served with naan.

Pakistani Pashtun cuisine

Bolani

The following is an incomplete list of food items that Pashtuns enjoy eating.

  • Afghan burger
  • Aush (hand made noodles)
  • Aushak (vegetable and chive-filled dumplings topped with tomato and yogurt sauces)
  • Bannu Pulao, hailing from the Bannu district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The dish is made with tender beef, aromatic rice, and a blend of local spices, resulting in a rich and robust taste.
  • Bolani, also called Piraki in some parts of Afghanistan
  • Badenjan (cooked eggplant in oil with potatoes and tomatoes)
  • Bhindi (cooked okra in oil with potatoes and tomatoes)
  • Biryani
  • Chapli kabab
  • Chopan Kabab (lamb chops, skewered and grilled on charcoal)
  • Dodai (a flat bread made in vertical clay ovens called Tanoor in Pashto, Tandoor in Urdu/Hindi)
  • Shomleh/Shlombeh, also known as "Triwai" in Kabul (a drink made by mixing yogurt with water and shaking it extensively before adding optional dried mint leaves and a small amount of salt)
  • Fried fish with Kachumar Raita (diced onion, tomatoes, cucumbers in Masteh/Dahi) and naan
  • Ghatay Rujay, Ghatay Wrejay (literally "fat rice"; a rice dish resembling risotto prepared in Charsadda, Mardan, Pirpiai, and other villages of the region where short grain brown rice is grown)
  • Kabuli palaw
  • Kaddo Borwani (sweet pumpkins)[2]
  • Kichrei (sticky rice with mung beans and onions topped with melted qurot sauce, mostly eaten during winter)
  • Londei, also known as Tarshay (lamb or beef jerky cooked with rice)
  • Pikora/Pakora
  • Paratha
  • Pekhteh or Pukhtay (beef/mutton ribs)
  • Penda/Sohbat, is a traditional dish consisting of pieces of posthi (a thin bread) dipped in meat soup, typically served with raita and salad. This dish shares similarities with the Arabic dish Tharid and is commonly consumed in the southern Pakhtunkhwa districts of Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, and Dera Ismail Khan.
  • Piye Wresha/Pai Halwa, is a sweet dessert made by simmering milk, sugar, ghee, and sometimes nuts, often enjoyed during festivals.
  • Naray ghwakha (mutton, mutton dish)
  • Seekh kabab (beef/mutton/chicken)
  • Shinwari tikka (roasted lamb)
  • Shorwa (soup)
  • Talbaar/Maidan, plain rice, with desi ghee and yogurt placed atop its center, is consumed in FATA, notably in Waziristan and in regions like Paktika, Khost, and Bannu and Hangu.
  • Mantu (meat dumplings, usually served under a yogurt-based white sauce)
  • Masteh (freshly made yogurt)
  • Rosh (cooked lamb and mutton with no spices)[3]
  • Pashtun cuisine
  • Peshawari Chapli Kabab
    Chapli kabab
  • Men eating lunch in Kunar Province of Afghanistan
    Men eating lunch in Kunar Province of Afghanistan
  • Pashtun dinner sitting on dastarkhan in Helmand Province of Afghanistan, with U.S. troops in the background
    Pashtun dinner sitting on dastarkhan in Helmand Province of Afghanistan, with U.S. troops in the background
  • Roasted chicken is popular in Pakistan and Afghanistan
    Roasted chicken is popular in Pakistan and Afghanistan
  • Naan bread is widely consumed in Afghanistan and Pakistan
    Naan bread is widely consumed in Afghanistan and Pakistan
  • A typical Peshawari dinner course with various dishes
    A typical Peshawari dinner course with various dishes
  • Village elders and US special forces drinking Afghan green tea (kawa) in 2007
    Village elders and US special forces drinking Afghan green tea (kawa) in 2007
  • Samples of some native Afghan fruits
    Samples of some native Afghan fruits

Traditional breakfast items

Pashtuns in their traditional territory drink green (kahwa) or black tea (chai) with breakfast. Some drink masala chai, especially the Pakistani Pashtuns. Sheer chai, a type of tea that is mixed with milk and sugar, is also consumed. Other breakfast foods can include Afghan naan, paratha, eggs, butterfat, (malai) milk creams, cheeses, etc. Pastries, cakes and cookies are consumed with either tea or warm milk. Those in cities buy and eat whatever breakfast items are sold in grocery stores, which may include porridge, oatmeal, cereal, pancakes, sausages, and fruit juices, among others.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The End of Afghan Cuisine in Pakistan?". 8 May 2018. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Exile on Charles Street: Restaurateur Qayum Karzai's life is split between Baltimore and his native Afghanistan". Baynard Woods. The Baltimore Sun. 3 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2021-12-28. Kaddo Borwani, baby pumpkins pan fried and then baked and served with garlic and yogurt
  3. ^ آغا جان ماما مشهوره روش، کندهار Popular Rosh, Kandahar on YouTube