Pakistan

Pakistani cuisine is rich, meat-forward, and boldly spiced, from slow-cooked nihari and karahi to fragrant biryanis and tandoor breads. Punjabi, Sindhi, and Mughal traditions meet over ghee, yogurt, and generous garam masala.

Nihari is a night-long stew, its name taken from the Arabic for day because it was eaten at dawn after cooking overnight, and it is still a breakfast dish in Lahore and Karachi rather than a dinner one. The pot is often never fully emptied, a little of yesterday's held back as the starter for today's.

Partition rewrote Pakistani menus. Muhajir families arriving from northern India after 1947 brought their own biryani, which is why Karachi's version is its own thing, heavier on potato, tomato and sourness than the Sindhi or Lahori styles. The tandoor remains a neighbourhood facility as much as a kitchen fixture, with dough carried to it and bread carried back.

Chicken flash-cooked in a wok-like karahi with tomatoes, ginger, and black pepper, no onions, no shortcuts.