A taste of Pindi

ISLAMABAD: The trend of dining out in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad was not prevalent in the past, but since the last two decades, the quest for a variety of cuisines has increased manifold.

Now the love for eating out in the twin cities is as common as in Lahore and Gujranwala, which are famous for their food variety and its lovers.

When it comes to the desi or traditional food, the downtown areas of Rawalpindi are famous, particularly the streets around Banni Chowk that are surrounded by well-known food outlets offering a wide range of items especially on the weekends. In fact, they present a festive look that is similar to Lakshmi Chowk and Purani Anarkali Bazaar of Lahore or the main bazaars of Gujranwala where one can see people sitting at the roadsides and at the footpaths enjoying traditional food.

The main Kartarpura, almost a couple of hundred yards away from Banni Chowk, still holds centre stage. Throughout the day right from early morning when the traditional breakfast is served including halwa puri, nihari and paye till the servings of mutton and chicken karahi and dozens of other desi foods for lunch and dinner, hustle and bustle remains the order of the day here.

The tandoors too in the area offer a variety of breads such as chicken roghni naan, qeema naan and some more types of naans popular among the visitors of the bazaar. Some other specialties include makhni chana and saag, grilled fish and barbequed chicken, the traditional lassi and refreshing gulab sherbet, kheer, firni and sweets of all kinds.

But the situation at the Jamia Masjid Road is altogether different where one doesn’t see food outlets during the daytime, but as soon as the sun sets, vendors with their makeshift foot outlets offering a host of food items including daal chawal, desi style chicken curry, spicy pakoras and karhi pakora are seen doing brisk business.

Right at the middle of Jamia Masjid Road, a couple of shops serve a host of desi foods and one can see rush at the shops till midnight. The specialty of both the food outlets is the desi style chicken soup.

Just opposite the food outlets, an old man sells jalebi. The quality of the dessert could be gauged by the fact that people take tokens for their turn to buy the sweet delight.

 From Kashmir with love

In a small alley leading to the famous Purana Qila just opposite the main gates of the Jamia Masjid, a restaurant is located that serves Kashmiri cuisine only. The eatery has been serving the specialties for over a century now. “Our last three generations have run the restaurant that specifically offers traditional Kashmiri food,” the owner Abdul Ghani Lone apprised. His forefathers came here from Srinagar before the partition of the subcontinent, he added.

Ghani said his family had been in the business for well over a century and their restaurant was opened by his grandfather in the early 19th century. There were strong imprints of Kashmiri culture in downtown Rawalpindi, he further apprised.

Another new entry in the culinary culture of Rawalpindi is the Quetta kiosks that were opened in big number at every nook and corner of the city. Most of the outlets specialise in a variety of tea including the tandoori tea besides a wide range of parathas such as the chicken, aaloo, daal, qeema and some others types on the menu.

A reason for the popularity of the Quetta kiosks is their round-the-clock service that quickly gained popularity among the teenagers.

But generally, the treat to eat is considered to be the namkeen gosht (salted meat) which is cooked in the famous Bolan style. People in large numbers enjoy the traditional meat particularly during the winter.