The Karahi Chronicles

Karahi gosht (Urdu: کڑاہی گوشت) is perhaps one of the most well-known and loved dishes from northern Pakistan. Originating from the Shinwari and Afridi tribes hailing from the town of Landi Kotal and Afghanistan, Pashtun cuisine is characterized by the use of limited ingredients

The name of the dish comes from the vessel used to prepare it.

Conceptually a karahi is similar to a wok but with steeper sides and a flatter base. And while it is not compulsory to cook karahi gosht in a karahi, the traditional vessel made of thin sheets of cast iron does lend itself well to evenly disperse the fierce heat of fires commonly found across commercial dhabas (roadside food stalls, frequented by travellers and truck drivers) all over the country.  

Historians have researched and found that inhabitants of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area believed that meat was the most intense of foods to be consumed because the environmental essences contained in the soil were transferred from plants into herbivores, and then to carnivores, hence the transference of strength turned meat consumption into a sign of strength.

It is said that the karahi travelled from Landi Kotal to Punjab through dhabas and restaurants from where it spread to the rest of the country.

Tomatoes are one of the main ingredients which form the base of the karahi.

Green chili peppers.

In Punjab, small cubes of mutton are preferred, which are cooked in ripe tomatoes, chopped green chillies, ginger, minimal powdered spices, salt and rendered animal fat.  

Balti gosht, which also hails from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan (close to Afghanistan), is essentially the same as karahi, and in general only salt, fresh green chillies and ripe tomatoes are used to produce an indulgent yet simple meaty dish.  

Each region of Pakistan has adjusted the karahi to their own palette. Punjabis often add julienned ginger, green chilli and powdered spices to theirs, while others may add a little sweetness with onions, but most prefer a simpler gravy consisting of a handful of ingredients.

Apart from karahi, lamb and mutton boti, also known as Namkeen Boti (salty morsels of meat) is also an extremely popular dish.

Cooked over coal fire.

With just 2 ingredients, salt and pepper to marinate in, the meat is combined and basted with rendered fat which produces a singularly delicious skewer of meat.  

Namkeen tikka/barbecue.

No matter what form this dish takes, the karahi retains a universal appeal for those throughout the nation and beyond that is not going to dwindle any time soon.