All recipes

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Shimla mirch alooPepper and potato stir-fry

Shimla mirch aloo is everyday Punjabi home cooking from both sides of the border, the sabzi that fills a lunchbox paratha or sits next to dal on a weeknight in Rawalpindi. Potato cubes go soft and golden first, then strips of green pepper are tossed in just long enough to soften while keeping a little bite, all held together by a dry tomato-chilli masala. The classic mistake is adding the peppers with the potatoes: they collapse, turn khaki and lose their fresh, slightly bitter flavour. Chef's tip: a pinch of amchur at the end lifts the whole pan without adding any extra liquid.

25 min

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Aloo palakPotato and spinach

In Lahore and the villages of Pakistani Punjab, aloo palak is the dish that turns up on a weekday when the spinach at the sabzi stall looks good and nobody has time for a long curry. Small cubes of potato cook in a garlicky cumin masala, then a mountain of chopped spinach wilts down over them into a soft, dark green coat. Eat it with hot chapati or plain rice and a spoon of yogurt on the side. The usual mistake is cutting the potatoes too big: they are still hard when the spinach is done, and by the time they soften the greens have gone grey. Chef's tip: keep the lid off once the spinach goes in, so the water cooks away and the leaves stay bright.

30 min

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Qeema matarMinced meat and pea curry

In Lahore and across Pakistani Punjab, qeema matar is the mince dish that appears on a Tuesday when nobody has time for a slow salan: minced mutton or beef browned hard, cooked down with tomato, ginger and garlic, then studded with sweet green peas. It is dry enough to scoop with a hot roti or paratha, with a little sliced onion and lemon on the side. The usual mistake is adding the tomatoes before the mince has lost its raw, wet look, which leaves it boiled and grey instead of rich and brown. Chef's tip: break the mince up with the back of a spoon while it fries, so it cooks into fine crumbs rather than lumps.

30 min

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Buchtičky se šodó (tiny buns in vanilla custard)

Ask anyone who went to school in Czechia or Slovakia about the canteen, and buchtičky se šodó comes up with a smile: a bowl of tiny, soft, buttery yeast buns baked close together and pulled apart, sitting in warm vanilla custard. Families make it at home as a sweet main course or afternoon treat, especially in winter. The custard here is lightly sweetened. It contains gluten, milk and egg. Chef's tip: brush the buns with melted butter before they go into the tin, so they pull apart cleanly after baking.

60 min

Czech Desserts

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RohlíkSalt and caraway breakfast roll

Ask a Czech or Slovak what they ate for breakfast as a child and the answer is usually a rohlík: a long, slim roll rolled up from a triangle of dough, sold for a few crowns at every bakery and supermarket from Prague to Bratislava. It has a thin, crisp golden crust scattered with coarse salt and caraway, and a soft, tight spiral inside. People eat it with butter and jam, with a spread such as egg or bean pomazánka, with a cup of white coffee, or simply dunked in a mug of cocoa. This version uses sunflower oil, so it is vegan. Rolling the triangles loosely is the usual mistake; the spiral opens in the oven and the roll splits. Chef's tip: stretch each triangle gently by its point as you roll it up, which keeps the coil tight and gives the long, even shape.

135 min

Czech Breads & Parathas

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Tawa chickenGriddle-fried chicken

At night on the motorway service roads and Lahore's Gawalmandi, cooks drum their metal spatulas on huge round tawas as they chop and fry chicken to order: boneless pieces scraped about the hot iron with tomato, onion, green chilli and spice until dry, smoky and coated. The noise is half the show, and the chicken is eaten straight off the griddle with naan or paratha. The mistake at home is using a small non-stick pan over a timid flame, which stews the chicken; use your widest heavy pan or griddle and keep the heat high. Chef's tip: chop the chicken into small pieces with the edge of your spatula as it cooks, the way the stalls do, so every bit picks up the charred masala.

60 min

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Anday wala burgerEgg and beef burger

After dark, Karachi's burger carts on Burns Road, Tariq Road and outside every college fire up their griddles for the anday wala burger: a thin, spicy beef patty and a fried egg in a soft buttered bun, with shredded cabbage, onion, ketchup and a sharp green chutney. It is cheap, messy and the city's favourite late snack. A cousin of the anda bun kebab, which uses a lentil and potato patty, this version is all about the meat. The common slip is pressing the egg too thin until it is leathery; cook it in the patty's fat just until the white sets. Contains egg, wheat and milk. Chef's tip: dip each patty in beaten egg before it hits the griddle, as the cart cooks do, so a thin egg jacket forms and keeps it juicy.

35 min

Pakistani Fast Food

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Doodh pattiStrong milk tea

Doodh patti is poured from a dented pan at every truck stop, university canteen and street-corner dhaba in Pakistan, from Karachi's Saddar to the Murree road, and it is drunk at all hours: before work, after cricket, at midnight with a paratha. The tea is made without any water at all, boiling loose black tea and sugar in milk until it turns a deep caramel colour and tastes rich, malty and strong. The mistake is simmering too gently and pulling it off too soon, giving a weak, milky drink; it needs a proper rolling boil, more than once. Contains milk. Chef's tip: lift the pan off the heat each time the tea froths to the top and return it, three times; each rise deepens the colour and flavour.

11 min

Pakistani Drinks

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Prawn karahi

Karachi's fishing harbour supplies the city's seafood restaurants on Sea View and in Clifton, and prawn karahi is the quick, fiery dish people order there for a Saturday dinner by the sea: prawns tossed through a tomato, garlic and green chilli masala in a blazing wok, eaten with naan or plain rice. The tomato breaks down into a thick, tangy coating that clings to each prawn, sharpened with lemon and coriander. Prawns that are rubbery and tight are the usual let-down; they need only 3–4 minutes once the sauce is ready, so add them last. Contains shellfish. Chef's tip: fry the prawn shells in the oil first for 2 minutes, then lift them out: the oil takes on a rich, sweet prawn flavour.

28 min

Pakistani Fish

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Karahi qeemaMinced meat karahi

Karahi qeema is what home cooks across Punjab make when guests arrive unannounced, and what roadside karahi shops in Rawalpindi and Lahore fry to order for a quick lunch: beef or mutton mince stir-fried hard in an iron wok with tomato, ginger and green chilli until dry and glossy. It is scooped up with roti or stuffed into a paratha the next morning. The usual mistake is crowding the cold mince into a lukewarm pan, which stews it; get the oil smoking hot and break the meat up quickly so it fries. Chef's tip: finish with a handful of julienned ginger and a squeeze of lemon off the heat, for a fresh bite against the rich meat.

30 min

Pakistani Chutneys & Dips

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Podina raitaMint yogurt dip

Order a platter of tikka at a Burns Road or Gawalmandi grill and a steel bowl of pale green podina raita lands beside it without asking; it is the cooling counterweight to smoke and chilli, and at home it goes with biryani, pulao and kebab rolls too. Mint, a handful of coriander, one green chilli and freshly toasted cumin are whisked into thick yogurt until it is pourable but still clings to a piece of naan. The usual slip is blitzing the herbs in a blender with the yogurt, which thins it to a watery green drink; pound or chop the herbs separately and fold them in. Contains milk. Chef's tip: dry-roast the cumin seeds yourself and crush them at the last minute: the smoky, toasty smell is what makes a grill-house raita taste like one.

12 min

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Daal chanaChickpea dal

A bowl of daal chana with a fiery tarka poured over at the table is one of the most ordered plates at dhabas from Multan to Rawalpindi, and in many homes it is the Thursday dinner, eaten with roti, raw onion and pickle. The split chickpeas cook until soft but still hold their shape in a thick, yellow, gently spiced base, and then the tarka of fried onion, garlic, cumin and whole red chilli in ghee crackles over the top. The mistake is serving it before the dal is truly soft; chana dal takes longer than you think, so test a grain by squeezing it. Contains milk (ghee); use oil for a vegan version. Chef's tip: pour the tarka over at the very last moment so it hisses, and cover the pot for a minute to trap the smoky aroma.

60 min

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Shinwari karahiLamb karahi

On the Grand Trunk Road out of Peshawar and in the Namak Mandi lanes, Shinwari cooks fry lamb in a vast iron karahi with nothing but its own fat, salt, tomatoes and green chillies, and diners sit cross-legged in the dera to eat it with naan straight from the pan. There is no onion, no powdered spice and hardly any water, so the meat tastes deeply of lamb and the sauce is short, glossy and tangy. The mistake is adding water to speed it up: it boils the meat grey; instead keep the lid on over a low heat and let the meat steam in its own juices. Chef's tip: use bone-in shoulder with its fat (or add 50 g of lamb fat), because the rendered fat is the sauce.

75 min

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Kalmi tikkaGrilled chicken drumsticks

Kalmi means 'of the leg', and at Karachi BBQ joints from Burns Road to Do Darya the kalmi tikka is a whole drumstick, slashed to the bone, marinated in yogurt, chilli and roasted spice and turned over coals until its edges blacken; Lahori tikka houses serve it the same way after Friday prayers. The meat stays juicy on the bone while the marinade forms a tangy, smoky crust. The common mistake is grilling over fierce flames the whole time, which burns the outside long before the bone end is cooked; start over medium heat and only char at the end. Contains milk. Chef's tip: smoke the cooked drumsticks for two minutes under a lid with a hot coal and a drop of ghee (the dhuanaar) if you are cooking on a hob rather than a grill.

165 min

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Chana pulaoChickpea pulao

From carts parked outside Karachi offices at lunchtime, chana pulao is ladled onto paper plates with a dollop of raita and a few onion rings: long-grain rice cooked in a spiced stock with chickpeas until every grain is separate and fragrant. Browned onion gives it a golden colour and a gentle sweetness, while cloves, cardamom and black cumin scent the steam. The usual mistake is stirring the rice once it goes in, which breaks the grains and makes it sticky; once the water is in, just cover and leave it alone. Chef's tip: let the rice absorb most of the water over a high heat, then seal the lid with a tea towel and give it 10 minutes of dum on the lowest heat so it steams through.

65 min

Pakistani Rice & Grains

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White chicken karahi

White karahi took off in Islamabad and Lahore restaurants as the mild, peppery alternative to the red version, and it has become a favourite for family dinners and mehndi menus where not everyone wants chilli heat. The chicken is fried with ginger and garlic, then finished in yogurt, cream and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper with whole green chillies, so the sauce is pale, rich and fragrant rather than fiery. A grainy, broken sauce is the classic pitfall; take the karahi off the heat before the yogurt goes in and bring it back to only a gentle simmer. Contains milk. Chef's tip: crack the black pepper coarsely just before using it, and add half at the start and half at the end for both warmth and aroma.

50 min

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Chicken handi

Chicken handi is the dish families order at Lahore's M.M. Alam Road restaurants and Karachi's Do Darya when everyone wants something rich but not fiery; it arrives bubbling in its clay pot with a swirl of cream, and disappears with garlic naan. Boneless thigh is marinated in yogurt, then cooked in a tomato masala that is finished with cream and crushed fenugreek, giving a velvety, gently tangy sauce. A sauce that splits into grains usually means the yogurt went into a fiercely boiling pan; lower the heat first and stir it in. Contains milk. Chef's tip: let the gravy 'bhuno' (fry) until the oil comes to the surface before you add the cream: that is where the deep, roasted flavour comes from.

70 min

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Lobia masalaBlack-eyed bean curry

Truck drivers on the GT Road and students in Lahore's Anarkali eat lobia at dhabas for a few rupees a plate: soft black-eyed beans in a dark onion and tomato masala, mopped up with tandoori roti and a green chilli on the side. It tastes earthy and comforting, with a peppery edge and a thick, spoonable gravy. Undercooked beans that stay chalky in the middle are the common complaint, especially when tomato goes in before the beans are soft; boil them tender first, then simmer them in the masala. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot near the end, which thickens the gravy the way dhaba cooks do.

50 min

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Mutton chaap

Mutton chaap belongs to Lahore's Gawalmandi and Lakshmi Chowk, where chops are pounded thin, rubbed with raw papaya and spice and slapped onto a hot tawa or a charcoal grill late into the night; families order them by the plate for Eid gatherings and weekend dinners. The papaya enzyme and yogurt make the meat tender enough to pull off the bone, while the chilli-spiced crust chars and turns sticky. People often leave papaya paste on for too long or overnight, and the meat goes mushy; two hours in the fridge is plenty. Contains milk. Chef's tip: finish the chops with a knob of butter and a squeeze of lemon on the tawa for the last minute, which is how the Lahori stalls get their glossy glaze.

175 min

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Sabzi handiCreamy vegetable curry

Lahore and Islamabad restaurants send sabzi handi to the table in its own little clay or copper pot, the vegetarian partner to chicken handi on any family dinner order, scooped up with hot naan. Potato, carrot, beans, cauliflower and peas cook in a gently spiced tomato and yogurt masala, then a spoon of cream turns it silky and pale orange. Vegetables thrown in all together go to mush in places and stay hard in others; add them in stages, the slow ones first. Contains milk. Chef's tip: crush a pinch of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) between your palms over the handi right at the end for the authentic restaurant aroma.

50 min

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Fish tikka

On winter nights along Karachi's seafront and in the Do Darya restaurants, skewers of fish tikka go round the table straight from the grill, the chunks blushing red from chilli and yogurt with blackened corners. Firm white fish such as surmai (kingfish) or monkfish holds its shape while the marinade sets into a light, tangy crust, and it needs only lemon, sliced onion and a bowl of raita. The mistake most people make is marinating fish as long as chicken: more than 40 minutes and the lemon and salt start to 'cook' it, so it flakes apart on the skewer. Contains fish and milk. Chef's tip: rub the fish with lemon and salt first, rest it 10 minutes and pat dry before the yogurt goes on, so the marinade sticks and doesn't slide off.

50 min

Pakistani Fish

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Seekh kebab

The long, charred seekh kebab is the first thing grilled when the coals glow on Lahore's food streets and on Karachi's Boat Basin in the evening, eaten hot off the skewer with naan, onion rings, lemon and green chutney. Coarsely minced beef (or mutton) with some fat is kneaded with onion, ginger, garlic, green chilli and roasted spices until it turns sticky enough to cling to a flat skewer, then grilled until smoky outside and juicy within. The classic failure is a kebab that slides off into the coals, which happens when the onion is left wet or the mince too lean; squeeze the onion dry and use mince with about 20 per cent fat. Chef's tip: chill the shaped skewers for 20 minutes before grilling so the fat firms and holds the meat in place.

45 min

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Králík na smetaněRabbit in cream sauce

Králík na smetaně is a Sunday lunch in the Czech countryside, especially in Moravia and South Bohemia, where many families once kept rabbits in the yard. Rabbit pieces are braised with carrot, celeriac, parsley root and onion, then the vegetables are blended into a velvety cream sauce brightened with lemon and a pinch of sugar, much like the famous svíčková. It is served with sliced bread dumplings (houskové knedlíky) and a spoon of cranberry sauce. The usual mistake is boiling the sauce after the cream goes in, which can split it; keep it at a bare simmer. Rabbit is lean, so cook it gently and check that the meat comes easily off the bone. Chef's tip: blend the vegetables until completely smooth and pass them through a sieve for the silky sauce Czech cooks are proud of.

120 min

Czech Meat

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Arvi ka salanColocasia in tangy gravy

Arvi ka salan is a Lahore and Karachi home curry, cooked on weekday evenings when the vegetable seller has a basket of small, hairy colocasia roots. The roots are boiled, peeled and simmered in a loose, sour gravy of onion, tomato, ajwain and a squeeze of lemon, so the slightly slippery arvi soaks up the spice and turns creamy at the centre. Eat it with hot roti or plain rice and a little raw onion. The usual mistake is undercooking the arvi: half-cooked colocasia leaves an itchy, scratchy feeling in the throat, so it must be soft all the way through. Chef's tip: once the boiled arvi is peeled, press each piece flat with your palm before it goes into the gravy, so the rough edges thicken the sauce.

50 min

Pakistani Chutneys & Dips

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HemenexHam and eggs

Hemenex, the Czech spelling of "ham and eggs", has been a breakfast in Prague cafés and pub kitchens since the First Republic and is still a weekend favourite at home: slices of cooked pork ham warmed in butter, eggs cracked right over them and fried until the whites set, then everything slid out together and eaten with bread and pickled gherkin. The common mistake is frying the ham until crisp; it should just warm and brown a little at the edges. Cook the yolks fully set for pregnant people, young children, older or vulnerable people. Serve with rye bread, or gluten-free bread if needed. Chef's tip: lay the ham in overlapping slices so it forms a "plate" under the eggs and the whites can't stick to the pan.

10 min

Czech Breakfast & Brunch

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Lahori kulfaKulfi with falooda

On hot Lahore nights, families stroll to Gawalmandi food street and the old shops near Anarkali for kulfa: a whole cone of dense, cardamom-scented kulfi is sliced into fat discs, laid over soft falooda noodles and spooned over with rabri, the thick sweetened milk. It is cold, chewy and creamy in every mouthful. Contains milk and tree nuts (pistachio and almond); the falooda noodles may contain wheat. Chef's tip: scrape the bottom and sides of the pan constantly as the milk reduces; one scorched patch flavours the whole batch.

60 min

Pakistani Desserts

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Shikarpuri acharMixed mango and lime pickle

Shikarpur, the old trading town in upper Sindh, is famous across Pakistan for one thing in a jar: a dark, oily mixed pickle that families say keeps for a year. It is made in May and June when green mangoes are sour and limes are cheap, cured in the hot Sindhi sun, and eaten all year with daal chawal, aloo paratha at breakfast, Sindhi biryani and plain roti with yoghurt. The flavour is sour, salty and fiery, with the bittersweet crunch of fenugreek, anise-sweet fennel and the onion note of kalonji, all carried in pungent mustard oil; the mango stays firm, the lime rind turns soft and chewy and the chickpeas stay nutty. Its long life comes from salt, sour fruit, vinegar and a thick layer of oil, so keep every piece under the oil. Common mistake: any water at all — wet fruit, a damp jar or a wet spoon — which brings mould within days. Dry everything in the sun or a low oven. It is ready after 2–3 weeks, when the lime skins are tender and the oil has turned red and fragrant. Chef's tip: heat the mustard oil until it just smokes and let it cool; this softens its raw bite.

75 min

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Kale chane ka salanBlack chickpea curry

Across Pakistani Punjab, from Faisalabad homes to roadside tandoors near Gujranwala, black chickpeas in a thin, peppery gravy are winter food and a Friday staple, eaten with fresh roti or rice. The small brown chana keep their bite and give a nutty, earthy broth flavoured with cinnamon, black cardamom, cloves and bay. It is cooked in one pot, on the stove or in a slow cooker, and tastes even better the next day. The usual mistake is skipping the overnight soak: unsoaked black chana stay hard however long you cook them. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the cooked chana against the side of the pot at the end; it thickens the gravy without any flour.

70 min