What do Pakistanis miss most when they go aboard? Their family, obviously, and their friends; but most of all they miss our delicious desi cuisine that has no rival anywhere in the world. Images on Sunday reviews three iconic Pakistani eateries which have proved that for many of us, patriotism is best nurtured at the dining table.

Dilbar Hotel, Purana Qila, Rawalpini Housed in a 110-year-old building, the hotel is the flag bearer of Kashmiri cuisine since Partition. Munshi Mohammad Aslam, proprietor-cum-chef, comes of a family that specialises in cooking Kashmiri food and has been associated with the hotel since the last 30 years.

The menu offers over 10 Kashmiri dishes, including Gushtaba, Ristay, Tabaq Mazh, Maithi Mazh, Kashmiri Kebabs, Shabdeg, Karam Fish, Karam Gosht (mutton), Aab Gosht, Saag Gosht and Razma Daal with Lobia. Many of these dishes are served as part of Wazwan, a seven-course meal which is a must at every grand Kashmiri occasion. A typical Wazwan served at Dilbar would include:

Gushtaba, prepared with mutton, beef or chicken, is the queen of all these dishes. The meat is tenderised to a pulp with a wooden hammer; it is then shaped into balls and cooked with turnips, yoghurt and spices over a low flame for over three hours. It is served with rice or roti. “You can eat as much as you want without getting that bloated feeling,” says Aslam.

Tabak Maaz — an integral part of Wazwaan — is a delicacy that receives rave reviews from food lovers all over the world. It consists of roasted mutton ribs which have been boiled in milk and whole spices.

Shab Deg Kashmiri Roghan Josh is perhaps the most popular dish on the Wazwaan menu, as is Aab Gosht, a mutton curry prepared in milk and Yakhni, a white gravy made from curd and small onions.

In addition, Dilbar is also known for its wide variety of saag called Karam, cooked with either fish, mutton or beef. Razma, a dish prepared with lobia is another unique offering.

A cup of Kashmiri kehwa after this feast is a must. It is brewed in samovars, i.e., special kettles-cum-charcoal holders, with tea leaves, a dash of saffron, cardamom or sugar.

The breads accompanying the main dishes and kehwa usually include Girda (a small roti made in a tandoor), Lavasaa (akin to a naan) and the Bakarkhani (very crisp roti). — Mohammad Saleem Shahid

Bundu Khan, Karachi Karachi’s Bundu Khan is one of those institutions that has become part of the cultural fabric — so much so that it is a regular representative of our cuisine at the Pakistani Pavilion at the Global Village during the Dubai Shopping Festival.

Some might rightfully say that the tikka at another restaurant is more tender than at Bundu Khan, or that the Bihari kebab is not what it used to be. But honestly, if you order everything on the menu and rank it with the same fare at any other restaurant, Bundu Khan would come out winning like Sea Biscuit at the Santa Anita — the entire menu gets a solid ‘A’ where other places might boast just one or two winners. The reshmi kebab, glistening with ghee, is so juicy it melts in the mouth; the seekh kebab is twelve whole rolls of ground beef falling over each other, all for your pleasure; the Bihari kebab is still, much more than garam masala, red chillies and papaya — what that certain dash is might keep any number of Biharis arguing throughout dinner. Even the white karahi, while understandably out of the breadth of barbequed entrees, is a welcome complement to the menu — creamy, spiced with ginger and stout green chillies that bring some fire to the round chunks of chicken.

And how can you have a meal without their parathas? Flaky, crispy, and oily enough to shut arteries down, they are the precise thickness to make a niwala out of. Unfortunately, they also bring to a meal those awkward breaks — there are never enough parathas at the table. The menu also features chapatis, though this writer has yet to meet someone who has tried them.

The place might be lacking ambience, but for a true taste of desi cusine, you can’t beat the great Khan. — Shayan Shakeel

Phajjay kay Paye, Lahore Lahore is famous for its food. But if any single dish has come closest to represent the city’s ‘iconic food’ it has to be the sticky Phajjay Kay Pa’ey (trotters to the more fashionable) from the famous Heera Mandi inside Texali Gate. While the dancing girls of the Heera Mandi may have lost their lustre ever since Gen Ziaul Haq took upon himself the task of Islamising society in the 1980s, Phajja retains the loyalty of his patrons spread all over the country and beyond.

Introduced by the late Fazal Deen alias Phajja just a few years before Independence, the dish soon acquired the status of a prestigious brand. Helped by the traffic of people in the area because of the dancing girls, Phajja is widely known to be the one who actually popularised pa’ey in Lahore.

Phajja has — so to speak — set the standards for culinary achievements in the city’s food business. This may appear a bit of an exaggeration but very often you overhear people remarking after a satisfactory dining-out experience that ‘the food was as tasty as Phajjay kay pa’ey’.

“We work hard to ensure that the quality and taste of our food remains the same. It is precisely why our old patrons keep returning to us, and others keep using our brand name — Phajja — to sell their food in Lahore and other cities,” says Mohammad Suhail Pervez, the third-generation custodian of the brand, who has recently opened a second outlet in Mozang to cater to people who are reluctant to bring their families to Heera Mandi.

The patrons of Phajjay Kay Pa’ey include many leading politicians. The most famous amongst them is the former prime minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif. “Mian Sahib has been to our shop many a time,” says Suhail who claims that former Indian Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpaee, especially requested Phajay kay pa’ey to be included in the menu for a state dinner in his honour when he came to the city in February 1999. To many Phajjay kay pa’ey is not just food. It is also a cultural experience and a journey into the past that few people would want to miss. — Nasir Jamal