Is Lahore the food capital of the Earth?

[Stewie]

Indians also won’t have any clue about pilloried Chapli kebab, my God, they are the best!

 

[sithb]

bro @sithb i have been to Indian Punjab, you guys dont even have karahi, so no way our punjab food is similar.

When did Peshawar become part of Punjab ?

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Btw, if anyone ever gets a chance to eat chollay bhatoray from an indian restaurant, plz try it.

One of the best indian breakfast. I miss the haldirams cholay bhatoray.

I prefer cholay bhatoray over halwa puri.

Sadly we dont have them in pindi. And in lahore its not same kind.

Haldiram's Chole Bhature are really good, I had them just the other day. Even Virat likes Chole Bhature.

It is quite popular across North India, especially in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

 

[sithb]

Haldiram's Chole Bhature are really good, I had them just the other day. Even Virat likes Chole Bhature.

It is quite popular across North India, especially in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

Delhi chole bhature is different from amritsari chole bhature. Both are really awesome though.

 

[Hikaru]

Haldiram's Chole Bhature are really good, I had them just the other day. Even Virat likes Chole Bhature.

It is quite popular across North India, especially in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

Avoiding food like this is the reason I look in my early 20s even at 34. Avoid this stuff if you want my kind of success

 

[sithb]

Avoiding food like this is the reason I look in my early 20s even at 34. Avoid this stuff if you want my kind of success

Have in moderation bro. The life is too short and the world is too messed up to avoid having man pasand ka khana once in a month or so.

 

[Hikaru]

Have in moderation bro. The life is too short and the world is too messed up to avoid having man pasand ka khana once in a month or so.

Oh I do that brother, but it's simply not so tempting for me at all. Stuff like this used to be my daily breakfast for years, and I never realised the damage it did until a few years ago. Dropping this really changed me for better and I am still a work in progress.

 

[sithb]

Even including the deep fried part , chole bhature really isn't as unhealthy as what people make it out to be. Doesn't mean that people need to have it day in day out.

Ideally , if sufficient oil is maintained in the cooking vessel and sufficient heat , the bhature Cooks fast enough without absorbing the additional oil.

The danger is the chole which are mostly made full of oil and ghee. But once in 10 days, people can have it. Absolutely no problem

 

[sithb]

And @Major hasn't responded as to how chicken karay is a Punjabi dish.

Let alone someone who says that Lahore is a food capital of the world.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Avoiding food like this is the reason I look in my early 20s even at 34. Avoid this stuff if you want my kind of success

You can have it twice a month. No one is asking you to eat it everyday.

 

[Major]

When did Peshawar become part of Punjab ?

What are you on about?

 

[Major]

And @Major hasn't responded as to how chicken karay is a Punjabi dish.

Let alone someone who says that Lahore is a food capital of the world.

Im gonna let you first answer where chicken karahi is attributed to.

 

[sithb]

Im gonna let you first answer where chicken karahi is attributed to.

 

[sithb]

When is that region Punjab ?

 

[sithb]

Bhailog. I think Pakistan has really awesome food. As has every part of the world.

Just don't go on say Lahore is the food capital of the world and not expect be called up on.

If any of you guys cook , please come and give debate. Otherwise there's nothing to talk about.

 

[sithb]

And you are correct that indian Punjab doesn't have the actual kadahi dish. Because it's not actually Punjabi to start with.

 

[sithb]

Same goes for chapli kabab , it's not a Punjabi dish.

Now the topic is on Punjabi cuisine and Lahore being the food capital of the world.

And you are correct that indian Punjab doesn't have the actual kadahi dish. Because it's not actually Punjabi to start with.

 

[Major]

@sithb bro you are confusing the classic karahi with Shinwari karahi.

Shinwari Karahi is actually form KPK

Karahi is a punjabi dish. It is made in oil and ghee along with tomatoes. The Karahi that is known to be a Peshawari dish is Shinwari karahi or Charsi karahi. A completely different dish that is made from lamb or mutton fat and relies on salt to enhance the taste.

Karahi started from Pakistan Punjab and than KPK made their own version. Our karahi has Ginger, garlic, tomatoes, green chilli and coriander, while the Karahi of KPK has animal fat along with tomatoes and salt.

We mostly eat in chicken while KPK eats it in mutton.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

@sithb bro you are confusing the classic karahi with Shinwari karahi.

Shinwari Karahi is actually form KPK

Karahi is a punjabi dish. It is made in oil and ghee along with tomatoes. The Karahi that is known to be a Peshawari dish is Shinwari karahi or Charsi karahi. A completely different dish that is made from lamb or mutton fat and relies on salt to enhance the taste.

Karahi started from Pakistan Punjab and than KPK made their own version. Our karahi has Ginger, garlic, tomatoes, green chilli and coriander, while the Karahi of KPK has animal fat along with tomatoes and salt.

We mostly eat in chicken while KPK eats it in mutton.

Karahi is actually a Pashtun dish. It was brought to Punjab from KPK.
In Afghanistan, they actually put fried egg over karahi as well.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Not sure, think every city in Pakistan has its own flavor of food.
I have had some great food in Punjab as well as in KPK.
Islamabad on the contrary, my city, doesn't boast as good of a desi food. Karachi I believe has very good food as well although I haven't had food from there.

 

[sithb]

Karahi is actually a Pashtun dish. It was brought to Punjab from KPK.
In Afghanistan, they actually put fried egg over karahi as well.

ho gayi na baat @Major

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Haldiram's Chole Bhature are really good, I had them just the other day. Even Virat likes Chole Bhature.

It is quite popular across North India, especially in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

Poori over Bhatura every day.
Chole or chanay, you can call them whatever are differ slightly from restaurant to restaurant. But Poori tastes much better than bhatoora.

 

[Obaidd]

Have you tried Silver Spoon? It is a Pakistani restaurant in Scarborough.

I tried their biryanis a few times. Pretty delicious.

I haven’t had it over there. We had ‘Karachi Silver Spoon’ in Lahore too where I’ve tried it so many times for paratha roll. Used to be pretty good but haven’t had that in a while.

What are your favourite spots for BD food?

 

[sweep_shot]

I haven’t had it over there. We had ‘Karachi Silver Spoon’ in Lahore too where I’ve tried it so many times for paratha roll. Used to be pretty good but haven’t had that in a while.

What are your favourite spots for BD food?

Silver Spoon is in Scarborough. I loved their biryani. Tried it a few times.

For BD foods here, I recommend Adda (located in Danforth). They have great beef biryanis, kebabs etc. You can also get Mughlai Paratha there.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

A roadside street food vendor in Maharashtra is using gutter water to prepare food.

 

[Suleiman]

Silver Spoon is in Scarborough. I loved their biryani. Tried it a few times.

For BD foods here, I recommend Adda (located in Danforth). They have great beef biryanis, kebabs etc. You can also get Mughlai Paratha there.

Doubt that’s the same Silver Spoon branch as in Karachi, there’s so many restaurants with that name probably lol and all of them desi too. My cousin was telling me Canada is now chock full of halal, and high quality desi food. Toronto is now in contention for food capital or what?


Silver Spoon Karachi was delicious @Obaidd albeit this was about 20 or so years ago. Best chapli kebab I’ve had in Pak. Believe they had katakut as well- such an underrated dish. Beef / mutton enjoyers unite.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Lahore is a great place for foodies. Pakistani cuisine and street food is delicious and a heavenly experience for those who like it. Food capital title will be pushing it because of the lack of variety of international cuisines.

Melbourne, Toronto, London, Dubai etc are cities that offer a huge variety of cuisines to pick from. You can never get bored there if you love experiencing different cuisines.

In South Asia, Delhi is the best city by far for a food lover. I have been there and was impressed by the sheer number of great restaurants i found there from various countries cuisine.

 

[sweep_shot]

Doubt that’s the same Silver Spoon branch as in Karachi, there’s so many restaurants with that name probably lol and all of them desi too. My cousin was telling me Canada is now chock full of halal, and high quality desi food. Toronto is now in contention for food capital or what?


Silver Spoon Karachi was delicious @Obaidd albeit this was about 20 or so years ago. Best chapli kebab I’ve had in Pak. Believe they had katakut as well- such an underrated dish. Beef / mutton enjoyers unite.

I see. I don't know if it is the same company but we have one here. LOL.

Could be a copycat.

Anyway, chicken biryani is good there.

 

[Stewie]

Bhailog. I think Pakistan has really awesome food. As has every part of the world.

Just don't go on say Lahore is the food capital of the world and not expect be called up on.

If any of you guys cook , please come and give debate. Otherwise there's nothing to talk about.

Why does it matter if someone can cook or not. By the way I dont think anybody can realistically make the claim that such and such is the best at such and such unless they have had the exposure to it. I dont think any of us here can claim we have ate and tested the cuisine all around the world.

I cannot pass judgment on South Indian food because I never visited the area or ate there. Similarly, I dont think you are in any position to pass judgment on food from Lahore. First get a visa, come over, we will welcome you. Try the local cuisine first and then you can start doing the comparisons you have been doing here for three pages.

Cheers!

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I see. I don't know if it is the same company but we have one here. LOL.

Could be a copycat.

Anyway, chicken biryani is good there.

pulao over biryani for me

 

[Obaidd]

Silver Spoon Karachi was delicious @Obaidd albeit this was about 20 or so years ago. Best chapli kebab I’ve had in Pak. Believe they had katakut as well- such an underrated dish. Beef / mutton enjoyers unite.

Silverspoon is the OG when it comes to paratha roll. Don’t think I’ve tried their Takatuk but I certainly appreciate the creativity of that dish. We call it Takatuk not Katakut in Lhr. As you’d know the name comes from the sound (tak a tak) of preparing it. Brain/kidneys/testicles all go in there to make it one of the most special dishes around.

 

[Obaidd]

The whole Karachi vs Lahore thing when it comes to food is really funny because Karachi food is imported from India, and Lahori food is imported from Gujranwala (a city near lahore which was known as the city of pehlwaans).

But the part about lahore being known for its food got mixed up over time. It was actually about the eating habits of lahoris and not the food itself. But over time the story became about lahori food being better or tastier.

Lahore, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura and Sialkot are cities of Punjab which are made up of either Businessmen or land lords. Thus, having more money means these guys tend to eat more and bigger quantities. People from this region, both men and women, tend to eat in larger quantities, infact when you got a restaurant in lahore or Gujrawala, naan/roti is charged at per head rate and not on the quantity of roti itself. A normal 4 person karahi or handi is considered less for 2 people their. In their weddings, they tend to offer much more variety of food.

A day would start with a meal of paye, chanay with lassi (all this in breakfast), than a lunch of pulao or daal and than a dinner with karahi, mutton or batair.

So its more about the quantity, plus heavier food with usage of dairy in it, instead of spice.

Indians would prefer Lahori food though, because it offers a different unique taste to them due to mild spices, compare to karachi food which is similar.

Karachi food is more focused on spice and has better taste. But the demographics of karachi is very different. They dont eat like Punjabis. Yes business community also exists their, but its a very diverse city, with a very large working class that tends to watch what it eats.

So the whole eating behavior of Lahoris/Gujranwalas is what got exaggerated into lahori food being better.

I agree with your analysis that the idea of Lahoris being fond of food got conflated with Lahore being a food haven over time.

However I don’t think that Lahore imported all of its dishes from Gujranwala. Lahore has been an important city for various empires for centuries. Even Mughals whom I think are responsible for many of the shahi dishes (shahi korma, shahi chanay etc), made Lahore one of their mainstay cities. No disrespect to Gujranwala but it’s not even in the same stratosphere as Lahore when it comes to historical/cultural relevance.

 

[Major]

I agree with your analysis that the idea of Lahoris being fond of food got conflated with Lahore being a food haven over time.

However I don’t think that Lahore imported all of its dishes from Gujranwala. Lahore has been an important city for various empires for centuries. Even Mughals whom I think are responsible for many of the shahi dishes (shahi korma, shahi chanay etc), made Lahore one of their mainstay cities. No disrespect to Gujranwala but it’s not even in the same stratosphere as Lahore when it comes to historical/cultural relevance.

I didnt mean that lahore dishes are from Gujranwala, what i meant was that Gujranwala is known more for desi food. Yes those dishes might have originated from lahore like karahi, but gujrawala is like the foodie heaven, thus disputing what OP said.

Mughal dishes also originated from delhi, as the story goes that their chefs that made the food in the darbers started opening their own eateries to sell to the public.

There is soo much food history between india and pakistan that alot of us dont know. Its sad that indians on this forum like trolling or being toxic instead of wanting to share knowledge.

For example, i have lived my whole life Pindi, and we never really had a famous dish here until savour style pulao got famous.

Later in life i found out that in India Punjab, Pindi cholay or Rawalpindi Cholay are a famous dish their. Making me curious if the sikh used to make cholay dishes in rawalpindi.

Over here cholay/channa is a famous delicacy of Lahore for breakfast