Tariq Abro
Recipes by Tariq Abro
Authentic Karachi Biryani
The iconic Karachi-style biryani — fiery, tangy, loaded with potatoes and prunes. Born in the streets of Karachi, perfected by generations of Muhajir cooks.
Karachi Falooda
Karachi Falooda is Pakistan's most theatrical dessert drink — layered with rose syrup, chewy falooda vermicelli, plump basil seeds, cold rabri, and topped with a scoop of ice cream. Every sip is a different texture. Every glass is a full event.
Karachi Parsi Dhansak
Karachi's Parsi dish of slow-cooked lamb with 3-4 lentils, pumpkin, fenugreek, and brinjal in a sweet-sour-spicy broth. Traditionally served with caramelised Parsi brown rice and kachumber salad. Cultural note: Dhansak is Parsi mourning food — served on the fourth day after a death. It is not made at weddings or celebrations.
Chicken Manchurian
The undisputed king of Pakistani Chinese restaurants — crispy fried chicken tossed in a fiery, ketchup-red gravy that is nothing like anything you will find in China, and absolutely everything you want.
Pakistani Chowmein (Desi Chinese Hakka Noodles)
Spicier, oilier, and more aggressively seasoned than any Chinese noodle dish — Pakistani chowmein is its own glorious thing, born in Karachi's wok-fired kitchens and perfected on high heat.
Chicken Corn Soup (Pakistani Chinese Style)
Pakistan's most beloved Chinese-origin soup — silky, golden, comforting, and built on a real homemade chicken stock that does all the heavy lifting.
Hot and Sour Soup (Pakistani Chinese Style)
The fiery red sibling to Chicken Corn Soup — a tomato-ketchup-spiked, chilli-forward broth that is uniquely Pakistani in character and absolutely nothing like the Chinese original.
Pakistani Egg Fried Rice
The essential companion to Chicken Manchurian — Pakistani egg fried rice made with basmati, not jasmine, giving it a unique fluffy texture and aromatic character that sets it apart from every other version in the world.
Pakistani Spring Rolls
Crispy golden rolls with a halal chicken and vegetable filling — a Pakistani Chinese staple that shows up at every family dawat, school canteen, and street-side Chinese stall from Karachi to Lahore.
Sindhi Biryani
Sindh's distinct, masala-forward biryani — a looser, spicier curry base with prominent aloo bukhara (dried plums), large half-potatoes, and natural colour from spices rather than food dye. Distinct from Karachi biryani; the version from Hyderabad and Sukkur's interior.
Seyal Maani (Sindhi Leftover Roti in Spiced Gravy)
Torn pieces of day-old roti slow-cooked in a rich tomato-onion gravy until they absorb every drop of spiced masala and transform into a unified, comforting dish with soft centres and slightly crispy edges. This is Sindhi genius: turning yesterday's bread into today's showstopper. Once you try it, you'll deliberately make extra roti just to have seyal maani the next morning.
Taftan
Taftan is a delicate, Persian-heritage bread from Karachi's Iranian community — soft, slightly sweet, saffron-golden, and scattered with poppy seeds. It is more refined than a naan and more flavourful than a plain roti, sitting somewhere between bread and festive pastry.
Mitho Lolo — Sindhi Sweet Jaggery Bread
Sindh's sweet jaggery flatbread — whole wheat dough with dissolved gurr (jaggery), ghee, fennel seeds, and cardamom, cooked slowly on a tawa. Made for Thadri (Shitala Satam) festival and when someone recovers from illness. Bread and dessert simultaneously — one of the most distinctive things in Sindhi cooking.
Sindhi Aloo Gosht
Sindh's take on the classic potato-meat curry — with more tomatoes, a brighter red colour, and the warmth of whole spices that define Sindhi cooking. A comforting everyday curry with personality.
Keema Bhurji
Karachi's beloved breakfast qeema — loose, scrambled-style spiced mince cooked quickly with eggs, green chillies, and fresh herbs. Street food speed, restaurant flavour.
Sindhi Achar Gosht
Sindh's version of achar gosht with more tomatoes, extra heat, and that characteristic Sindhi boldness in every bite. The tangy pickle spices meet Sindhi assertiveness — a combination worth knowing.
Karachi Prawn Biryani
Karachi Prawn Biryani brings together the Arabian Sea's freshest jheenga (prawns) with the city's signature bold masala and fragrant basmati. Faster to make than meat biryani but every bit as impressive, this coastal classic is a seafood lover's dream layered in a pot.
Qeema Pulao
Qeema Pulao is a quick, flavourful rice dish where spiced minced meat is cooked directly with basmati rice, creating a deeply satisfying one-pot meal that's ready in under an hour and tastes like it took much longer.
Sindhi Rice Khichdi
Sindhi Rice Khichdi is the ultimate comfort food of Pakistan's Sindh province — rice and lentils cooked together with warming spices and finished with a sizzling tarka of garlic, cumin, and ghee that brings everything to life. Nourishing, healing, and deeply satisfying.
Karachi Chicken Tikka
Karachi Chicken Tikka is marinated overnight in a signature red-orange spiced yoghurt, then grilled over coal or broiled to achieve a charred exterior and impossibly juicy interior. This is the tikka that made Karachi's BBQ culture legendary.
Gola Kebab Karachi
Karachi's Gola Kebab is the rotund, juicy cousin of seekh kebab — round mince patties cooked on a tawa (griddle) or grill with a distinctive jerk-and-spin technique that Karachi grill cooks have turned into performance art.
Sai Bhaji Karachi
Sai Bhaji is Sindh's legendary iron-rich mixed greens and dal dish — a nutritional powerhouse simmered until velvety, with a signature tempering of garlic and whole spices that makes it utterly irresistible.
Sindhi Halwa Puri
Sindhi Halwa Puri features a distinctive atta (whole wheat) puri and a richer, looser halwa made with more ghee and milk — the rural Sindhi take on this iconic breakfast that's warmer and more rustic than the city versions.
Sindhi Koki Crispy
Sindhi Koki is a thick, rustic whole wheat flatbread generously seasoned with chopped onion, fresh coriander, and cumin — slow-cooked until crispy outside and soft within. Sindh's answer to the paratha.
Koki with Onion and Chilli
This variation of Sindhi Koki leans into bold piyaz (onion) and mirch (chilli) flavours, creating a spicier, more pungent version loved for its strong character — ideal for those who want their breakfast to wake them up.
Aloo Tuk Crispy
Aloo Tuk is Sindh's legendary twice-fried potato side dish — crispy, golden, and seasoned with the perfect blend of earthy spices. The ideal accompaniment to sindhi kadhi or as a standalone snack.
Seyal Maani Lahori
Seyal Maani is Sindh's brilliant solution to leftover bread — day-old roti or chapati braised in a richly spiced onion-tomato masala until it transforms into a deeply savoury, comforting one-pan meal.
Chawal Ki Kheer — Sindhi Slow-Cooked Rice Pudding
Traditional Sindhi-style chawal ki kheer made by slow-cooking basmati rice in whole milk until the grains dissolve and the pudding turns thick and creamy. Scented with cardamom and rose water, this is the patient cook's reward — simple ingredients, extraordinary results.
Sindhi Zarda — Fragrant Sweet Rice with Coconut
Sindhi-style zarda sets itself apart with the addition of fresh coconut and a heavier hand with rose water, creating a fragrant sweet rice dessert with a distinctly coastal character. Made for Sindhi celebrations and eid gatherings, this version is lighter on ghee but big on flavour.
Aloo Samosa — Sindhi Style
Sindhi-style aloo samosa with a spiced potato and onion filling flavoured with amchur (dried mango powder), cumin and coriander seeds, wrapped in a thin crispy pastry. Slightly tangier and more cumin-forward than Punjabi versions — the Sindhi approach to a pan-Pakistani classic.
Karachi Chana Chaat with Masala
Karachi's beloved chana chaat — boiled chickpeas tossed with chopped tomatoes, onions, fresh coriander, green chilli, tamarind chutney and a generous dose of chaat masala. Quick, tangy, spicy and completely addictive — the street food that built Karachi's snack culture.