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403 recipes

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

Pakistani Chicken

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EierbalFried egg in curry ragout

The eierbal is a snack-bar legend from the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, found in the wall of hot snacks at many cafetarias and at borrels: half a hard-boiled egg wrapped in a thick curry ragout, breaded and fried into a golden ball the size of a fist. This vegetarian version makes the ragout with vegetable stock and milk. It is rich, so one per person with mustard is plenty. The classic mistake is wrapping eggs in ragout that is still warm; it must be chilled firm or it will not hold. Chef's tip: bread the balls twice, egg and crumbs then egg and crumbs again, so they do not split in the oil.

60 min

Dutch Snacks & Starters

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RookworstSmoked pork sausage

Rookworst, the horseshoe-shaped smoked pork sausage of the Netherlands, is sliced into thick warm coins for borrel boards in winter and served on cocktail sticks at Friday drinks and football nights, always with a pot of strong yellow mustard. It is also the sausage laid on top of stamppot. Rookworst is sold ready-cooked, so it only needs heating through gently. The common mistake is boiling it, which splits the skin and lets the juices escape. Chef's tip: warm it in water that is just steaming, then serve it within minutes so the slices stay juicy.

22 min

Dutch Meat

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BamischijfFried noodle disc

The bamischijf is pure Dutch snack-bar culture: Indonesian-style bami goreng, fried noodles with pork, leek and celery, set firm with a little ragout, cut into discs, breaded and deep-fried. It came out of the Indo-Dutch kitchen into the cafetarias of Rotterdam and The Hague, and it is eaten at borrels with sweet chilli or peanut sauce. Here the pork mince is cooked to 71 °C before it goes in. For a vegetarian version, leave out the pork and add more cabbage, carrot and mushrooms. A common mistake is skipping the chilling, which makes the discs fall apart in the oil. Chef's tip: press the noodle mix hard into the tin with a second tin on top before chilling.

75 min

Dutch 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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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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Kaasblokjes met mosterdCheese cubes with mustard

Friday afternoon in a Dutch brown café, or a birthday circle in a living room in Utrecht, means a borrel, and the first thing on the table is a plate of cheese cubes on cocktail sticks. Belegen or oude Gouda, aged until it is firm and nutty with little salt crystals, is cut into neat cubes and served with a pot of coarse mustard and a shake of celery salt. Traditional Gouda is made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian aged Gouda-style cheese if needed. A common mistake is serving the cheese fridge-cold, which hides its flavour. Chef's tip: cut it half an hour before guests arrive and let it come to room temperature, covered.

10 min

Dutch Snacks & Starters

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ErdäpfelstrudelSavoury potato strudel

Austrians, especially in the Mühlviertel of Upper Austria and the Waldviertel, make savoury strudels as often as sweet ones, and Erdäpfelstrudel is a farmhouse favourite for a meatless Friday or a cold evening. Thin pastry wraps a filling of potatoes, fried onion, sour cream, marjoram and parsley, baked until crisp and golden and sliced with a green salad or a dill and sour-cream dip. Bought filo makes it easy at home. The mistake to avoid is a wet filling, which turns the pastry soggy underneath. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before rolling; warm filling makes the layers stick and tear.

90 min

Austrian Vegetarian

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OssenworstSpiced beef sausage

Ossenworst is Amsterdam's own borrel sausage, made since the seventeenth century from lean beef spiced with cloves, nutmeg, mace and white pepper, and sliced thin at cafés in the Jordaan with mustard, pickled onions and gherkins. The traditional sausage is raw and lightly cured, so it is best bought from a specialist Amsterdam butcher, and like all raw meat it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. This home version keeps the same spicing but is gently poached until the centre reaches 71 °C, then chilled and sliced, which makes it safe for everyone. A common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes it dry and crumbly. Chef's tip: keep the water at about 80 °C, never bubbling, and check the core with a thermometer.

80 min

Dutch Meat

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KaasstengelsCheese pastry twists

Kaasstengels come out of ovens all over the Netherlands for birthday parties, New Year's Eve and the Friday borrel, piled in glasses so guests can grab one with a drink. Strips of puff pastry are brushed with egg, coated in grated aged cheese and twisted, then baked until crisp, flaky and golden. They are one of the easiest party snacks there is, made with ready-rolled pastry. Most aged cheese is made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one if needed. The common mistake is underbaking, which leaves them pale and soft in the middle. Chef's tip: chill the twisted strips for 10 minutes before baking so they keep their spiral.

25 min

Dutch Snacks & Starters

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VlammetjesSpicy mini spring rolls

Vlammetjes, little flames, are the fiery mini spring rolls of the Dutch borrel, served by the dozen in bars from Amsterdam to Groningen with a bowl of sweet chilli sauce. The filling is beef mince cooked with onion, garlic, sambal and sweet soy until dry and spicy, then rolled tightly in spring roll pastry and fried until blistered and crisp. Make the heat to your own taste. A common mistake is rolling a wet filling, which splits the wrappers and spits in the oil. Chef's tip: cook the mince until the pan is dry and it starts to crackle, then cool it completely before rolling.

60 min

Dutch Snacks & Starters

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BorrelnootjesCoated peanuts

Borrelnootjes, peanuts in a crunchy seasoned shell, are the bowl you find on every Dutch bar counter and next to the cheese at home borrels, and they come from the Indo-Dutch kitchen, where they were spiced with garlic and coriander. Most people buy them in bags, but home-made ones are lighter and far less salty. Raw peanuts are dusted in seasoned flour and starch, splashed with water and coated in several thin layers, then baked until they crack. Never serve them to anyone with a peanut allergy, and keep whole nuts away from small children. The usual mistake is adding too much water at once, which makes the nuts clump. Chef's tip: build the coating in three thin layers, shaking the bowl hard each time.

45 min

Dutch Snacks & Starters

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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

Pakistani Chicken

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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

Pakistani Curries

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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

Pakistani Chicken

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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

Pakistani Meat

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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

Pakistani Vegetarian

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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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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 Meat

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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

Pakistani Chutneys & Dips

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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

Pakistani Curries

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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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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

Pakistani Chicken

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