Where Pakistani Cuisine meets Indian Dining

Indian Cuisine is readily available all over Britain. Almost every town and city in the country will be represented by an Indian Restaurant and Indian food. Alongside Italian dining, Indian food overshadows the cuisine of almost every culture outside of the UK in this country. The large population of Indian people who live in Britain is one of the main contributing factors as well as the use of flavours so foreign to tastes native to England. This makes it all the more surprising that Pakistani cuisine does not share the same coverage in the UK despite their similarities in flavour to Indian Cuisine and the high volume of Pakistani people living in the UK.

However, there is a large Pakistani representation in many Indian Restaurant menus. With similar usage of spices and flavours; these dishes fit seamlessly within the Indian Cuisine. Dishes from the two countries are often enjoyed simultaneously. The Pakistani provinces of Sindh and in particular Punjab share many similarities in taste to their Indian counterparts. Punjabi food is commonly found within the confines of an Indian Restaurant.

With similar temperatures and weather conditions in the two countries; India and Pakistan are able to harvest similar foodstuffs and spices. Mustard, black pepper, cardamom and turmeric are commonplace in the two countries, heavily influencing the flavours of the delicacies.

Masala is used very liberally throughout the cuisine of both India and Pakistan. It allows for a wide variety of flavours to be produced within their dishes. The masala can flavour rice and whole wheat depending upon the spices used.

Many of the curry dishes that are popular in Indian Restaurants have their histories deeply entwined with that of Pakistan. Rogan Josh, Biryani and Butter Chicken have long all been popular dishes in Pakistan. Restaurants in Pakistan use a great deal of decadent ingredients such as butter, ghee and cream to create incredibly rich dishes.

Unleavened breads such as Naan and Roti are just as popular in Pakistan as they are India.

There are such similarities between the two cuisines that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two.