Pashtun cuisine facts for kids
Pashtun cuisine (Pashto: پښتنۍ خواړه) is the traditional food of the Pashtun people. You can find it in both Afghan and Pakistani cuisine. This food style often uses lots of meat like mutton, beef, chicken, and fish. Rice and different vegetables are also very important.
People often eat dairy products like yogurt and cheese with their meals. They also enjoy various nuts, local vegetables, and fresh or dried fruits. Cities like Peshawar, Kabul, Kandahar, Quetta, and Islamabad are famous for their Pashtun food.
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Popular Pashtun Dishes
Pashtun cuisine has many delicious dishes. Here are some of the most well-known ones:
Main Courses and Sides
- Kabuli palaw: This is a very famous rice dish. It often has carrots, raisins, and pieces of lamb or beef.
- Pekhteh or Pukhtay: These are tasty beef or mutton ribs.
- Naray ghwakha: A special mutton dish.
- Chopan Kabab: Lamb chops grilled on charcoal skewers.
- Seekh kabab: Grilled meat on a skewer, made with beef, mutton, or chicken.
- Chapli kabab: A flat, round kebab often made from ground meat.
- Shinwari tikka: Roasted lamb, usually very tender.
- Kichrei: A sticky rice dish with mung beans and onions. It's often topped with a melted cheese sauce and eaten in winter.
- Londei (also called Tarshay): Spiced lamb or beef jerky cooked with rice.
- Shorwa: A warm and comforting soup.
- Bonjan: Eggplant cooked with oil, potatoes, and tomatoes.
- Bendei: Okra cooked with onions and tomatoes. In some places, it's called Bhindi.
- Ghatay Rujay (or Ghatay Wrejay): This means "fat rice." It's a rice dish similar to risotto, made with short-grain brown rice.
Dumplings and Flatbreads
- Aush: Hand-made noodles, often served in a soup.
- Aushak: Dumplings filled with vegetables and chives. They are topped with tomato and yogurt sauces.
- Mantu: Meat-filled dumplings, usually served with a yogurt-based white sauce.
- Bolani (also called Piraki in Afghanistan): A thin flatbread often filled with vegetables like potatoes or leeks.
- Kaddo Borwani: Pan-fried and baked baby pumpkins served with garlic and yogurt.
- Afghani naan or Dodai: A flatbread baked in a special clay oven called a Tanoor (or Tandoor).
Drinks and Dairy
- Masteh: Freshly made yogurt.
- Shomleh/Shlombeh (also called Triwai in Kabul): A refreshing drink made by mixing yogurt with water. It's shaken well and can have dried mint and a little salt.
Traditional Breakfast
Pashtuns often start their day with green or black tea (chai). Many Pakistani Pashtuns enjoy masala chai, which is spiced tea. Sheer chai is another popular tea, made with milk and sugar.
Other breakfast foods include:
- Afghani naan
- Paratha (a type of flatbread)
- Eggs
- Butterfat (a rich dairy product)
- Milk creams
- Cheeses
Pastries, cakes, and cookies are also eaten with tea or warm milk. In cities, people might buy breakfast items like porridge, oatmeal, cereal, pancakes, sausages, or fruit juices from stores.
Images for kids
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Chapli Kabab made by Chef Nina.
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Men eating lunch in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.
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A Pashtun dinner set on a dastarkhan in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
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Roasted chicken is a favorite in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Naan bread is widely eaten in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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A typical dinner with various dishes in Peshawar.
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Village elders and US special forces drinking Afghan green tea (kawa).
