July 28, 2017
Britain has always maintained a special food relationship with Asia. Indian restaurants throughout the country have become famous across the world for their own takes on traditional dishes. Across the UK these restaurants tend to fall under the same branch of ‘Indian Restaurant’; but a Pakistani food revival has been taking place over the past 70 years since the division of British India, and now Pakistani cuisine – although still sharing a lot of similarities – holds its own ground in the UK restaurant market.
So what are the differences between Indian and Pakistani food?
To answer this we should start at the beginning. India and Pakistan were, for a long time, both under the classification of British India; with links to China and the Middle-East the cuisine shares roots with a lot of Asian and Persian foods. Because Pakistan is a mainly Muslim country you wont find many famous pork dishes. Indian and Pakistani restaurants around the UK have introduced more pork dishes into their menus but the most authentic meats they deal with will be beef, chicken, lamb and fish.
Most Pakistani dishes will sound familiar to our ears as they appear across Indian restaurants across the country. The most common meat dish Kofte, a meat kebab generally cooked over an open fire is a staple across the UK Indian and Pakistani food scene. Kormas, Biryanis and the famous roti or nann; types of flatbread are both famous names across Indian and Pakistani restaurants.
Pakistani food is diverse. A simple online search can open your eyes to a plethora of Pakistani recipes that don’t necessarily strike you as Pakistani. Dishes like Chicken Karahi Queema; a stir fried ground chicken which resembles a thin and delicate version of deep fried chicken.
Kaali Sabut Masoor ki Daal; a deep dark lentil stew with a warming heartiness that wouldn’t look out of place served alongside a pint of ale in a wood fired room of a country pub.
To experience an authentic Pakistani restaurant in London, Royal Nawaab and their banqueting suites provide the perfect setting to enjoy perfect Asian fusion cuisine. We have years of experience in Asian cuisine in both their Manchester and London restaurants and consider our dishes traditionally Pakistani.
