Dawn Images

14 photos that prove Pakistani street food is the absolute best

Cue cravings!

Updated 14 Aug, 2018

Okay, enough with the fancy shmancy fine dining restaurants! We all know that some of the best food in Pakistan is its street food. From shawarma to paan, we have an amazing variety of goodies that you can get on the go!

Here's our top picks from the many fantastic photos of 'Street Foods' submitted to us on Instagram through our #DawnWeeklyProject:

1. Shawarma is a little piece of heaven.

#DawnWeeklyProject : Topic 'Street Food' #Mouthwatering Shawarma is a famous street snack of #Pakistan. Photo submitted by @thatkarachiite To participate in our project, send us mouthwatering pictures of street food by tagging them with #Dawnweeklyproject. Deadline: April 24, 2016 #shawarma #snack #streetphotography #streetsnack #food #foodie #weeklyproject #dawndotcom

A post shared by Dawn (@dawn_dot_com) on Apr 20, 2016 at 11:14pm PDT

**2. You love the paratha culture? Go for some pizza paratha for that desi goodness!**

#DawnWeeklyProject : Topic 'Street Food' #Delicious desi #pizza paratha best served with #chutney and #Raita Photo submitted by @mehrynahmad To participate in our project, send us mouthwatering pictures of Pakistani street food by tagging them with #Dawnweeklyproject. Best pictures will be featured on our account as well as on our website Dawn.com. Deadline: April 24, 2016 #desi #pizza #paratha #delicious #dawndotcom #weeklyproject #chutney #Raita #food #foodie #foodphotography #Pakistan

A post shared by Dawn (@dawn_dot_com) on Apr 20, 2016 at 2:20am PDT

3. Take a break from your shopping and grab some sweet and spicy dahi bhallay

**4. How about a glass of creamy and delicious lassi to beat the heat?**

#DawnWeeklyProject : Topic 'Street Food' #Lassi is a #traditional summer #drink from the #state of #Punjab. This #popular, #creamy, sweetened #yogurt drink is a gem among Punjabi foods and beverages. Photo submitted by @shafa.sajjad To participate in our project, send us mouthwatering pictures of street foods by tagging them with #Dawnweeklyproject. Deadline: April 24, 2016 #Lassi #drink #sweetened #yougurt #salty #refreshing #weeklyproject #dawndotcom #Anarkalibazar #Pakistan

A post shared by Dawn (@dawn_dot_com) on Apr 21, 2016 at 10:44pm PDT

5. Sometimes, all you really need is grilled corn on the cob

#DawnWeeklyProject: Topic 'street food’ Photo of spicy grilled corn is submitted by @itshassannasir This week, send us photos of mouthwatering Pakistani street food by tagging them with #DawnWeeklyProject, and get a chance to be featured on our account as well as our website dawn.com Deadline: April 24, 2016 #food #streetfood #foodphotography #Dawndotcom #grilledcorn #cornonthecob

A post shared by Dawn (@dawn_dot_com) on Apr 19, 2016 at 5:47am PDT

6. Don't wanna ruin your health goals? Then sugarcane juice is a must!

#DawnWeeklyProject: Topic 'Street food' Nothing can be as useful as fresh #Sugarcane juice to kill the #heat in #summers. Photo submitted by @goeathammad This week send us photos of mouthwatering Pakistani street food by tagging them with #Dawnweeklyproject and get a chance to be featured on our account as well as on our website Dawn.com Deadline: April 24, 2016 #food #foodie #streetfood #photography #streetphotography #dawndotcom #weeklyproject #Pakistan

A post shared by Dawn (@dawn_dot_com) on Apr 18, 2016 at 11:31pm PDT

**7. Pakoray... we salute you**

Pakora (fritter) is a fried snack, originally from India, found across South Asia especially in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. #dawnweeklyproject

A post shared by Masam Khan Shah Ahmed Khail (@masamkhan) on Apr 24, 2016 at 6:27am PDT

8. Have an epic brekkie with good ol puri!

No love is sincerer than the love of food. #poori #streetfood #dawndotcom #Dawnweeklyproject #khana #khaba #foodstreet #anarkali #oldanarkali #photography#etribune#travelbeautifulpakistan#islamicrepublicofpakistan#food#photooftheday#instagram#igpakistan#igworldclub#photographyislifee#nikon#likes#likes4likes#likesforlikes#instalikes#pakistanifood#punjabifood#instafood#lahorifood#dwpwinterfeasts #PicturePakistan

A post shared by irtaza_photography (@irtazachaudry) on Apr 24, 2016 at 2:36am PDT

**9. Grab a Kulfi from those stands! Don't forget the coconut spinkles!**

Dawn Weekly Project : Topic 'Street Food' Photo of kulfis, a local version of #icecream, sold by street #vendors, submitted by @angelr9238. To participate in our project, send us your photos of Pakistani street food by tagging them with #DawnWeeklyProject. Deadline: April 24, 2016 #Pakistan #foodie #foodphotography #streetfood #desifood #kulfi #sweettreats #summer

A post shared by Dawn (@dawn_dot_com) on Apr 24, 2016 at 2:42am PDT

**10. What is evening chai without them freshly fried patties**

Roadside Patties stall in West Garden, Karachi #dawnweeklyproject #dawndotcom #etribune #shutterpak #picturepakistan #travelbeautifulpakistan #iamkhi #ig_sindh #ig_pakistan #exklusive_shot #kinfolk #vsco #instagram #instadaily #vscocamgram #vscogoodshot #vscodaily #vscocam #vscocamphotos #vscom #vsmanity #vsco_russia #vsco_hub #agameoftones #justgoshoot #shoot2kill

A post shared by Ali Haseeb Jaffri (@alihaseebj) on Apr 13, 2016 at 3:49am PDT

**11. Want something heavy duty? Better have the anday wala bun kebab**

شامی برگر Still no burger can beat it #burger #desi #food #lahore #foodie #evening #cravings #fresh #bun #egg #tomato #spicy #instafood #foodporn #foodie #delicious #igers #like4like #DawnWeeklyProject

A post shared by JA. (@jam.al) on Apr 5, 2016 at 12:21pm PDT

**12. Treat yourself to a gola ganda in this heat!**

Master of his art - Desi ice lolly 2/2 #lahore #boy #ice #lolly #colors #dawndotcom #perfection #art #earning #young #naive #like4like #DawnWeeklyProject

A post shared by JA. (@jam.al) on Apr 2, 2016 at 1:32am PDT

**13. Have that doodh jalebi for pre-dessert. You earned it, you know you did!**

Dawn Weekly Project : Topic 'Street Food' Photo of Doodh Jalebi, submitted by @lahoreinme. To participate in our project, send us your photos of Pakistani street food by tagging them with #DawnWeeklyProject. Deadline: April 24, 2016 #Pakistan #dessert #tradition #hotjalebi #warmmilk #foodie #foodphotography #southasia #deepfried #doodhjalebi #streetfood #desifood

A post shared by Dawn (@dawn_dot_com) on Apr 23, 2016 at 10:40pm PDT

14. Conclude your happy food spree with paan

from @yourworldmylens - From a village to a metropolitan city, from a merc wala to a cycle wala, from a big fat Indian wedding to a "not so fat" Indian wedding if there's anything that's common between these are the people (obviously) and their louuve for this acidity ki remedy- our PAAN. It's really fun to see during any wedding that first there will be a royal rumble going on over food and then suddenly they all will be chilling over paan. Peace maker I believe😁😁 P.S.- btw the claim "eating a banarasi paan can help unlock a locked Brain-" from the movie DON is totally absurd. Kuch nahi hota aisa, I tried. Poets imagination🙊🙊🙈. #indiapictures #_oye #indiaclicks #photographers_of_india #_soidelhi #sodelhi #dfordelhi #delhigram #mypixeldiary #_soimumbai #somumbai #things2doinmumbai #Myjodhpur #itz_mumbai #mumbai_uncensored #dawndotcom #dawnweeklyproject #indianphotography #streetphotographyindia #ig_india #soulfmag #maibhisadakchap #myblr #sobangalore #foodtalkindia #saadidilli #ip_food

A post shared by BEING LITTLE DESI ❤ (@being_little_desi) on May 11, 2016 at 10:02pm PDT

In our weekly project, we give photographers on Instagram a chance to have their pictures featured on our Instagram account as well as our website. Want to participate in our #DawnWeeklyProject? Then follow @dawndotcom and @dawn_images and stay tuned for updates!

Comments

Pakistanie May 23, 2016 02:15pm

once I had gola ganda and the sweet color on it tasted bitter :(

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Sweettooth May 23, 2016 02:19pm

Wow, what an array of delicious goodies!

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Pak Khan May 23, 2016 02:25pm

Yummm

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Akram May 23, 2016 02:40pm

Shawarma isn't Pakistani. I thought it was middle eastern.

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Awan May 23, 2016 03:04pm

In my view the Health of an Individual in any nation determines that the food of a certain region is good or not. The average height of every Pakistani ( Excluding Northern Punjab and some parts of KP) is decreasing by an Alarming rate of One Inch per generation. The situation is more grim in Karachi and Lahore where every passing generation is smaller than its predecessor. Similar everywhere you see Fat Bellies. In my view our street food is dangerous and unhealthy. Our food is pure junk as it is causing malnutrition and growth deficiencies. Learn from Northern Europe, Scandinavia etc where people are the healthiest and the food is simple but great. For instance the so called Gola Ganda mentioned above is harmful for human consumption. They use textile coloring that contains dangerous chemicals.

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Ramesh Nakhwa May 23, 2016 03:19pm

All these are Indian dishes. Whats pakistani about them ???

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Ali Akbar May 23, 2016 03:20pm

All un-hygienic, clean your hands, put some gloves on and stop sneezing on the food then this article is worth it!

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rs May 23, 2016 03:30pm

The food on display is same as we see on Indian streets. So similar is our life styles but so far is our relations. Crude reality.

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Hassan May 23, 2016 03:43pm

Paan? seriously? The rest i agree with but Paan is one thing our country can do without. With its cancerous health hazards and spit marks on every white wall in our country.

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Sajjad May 23, 2016 03:45pm

My all times favourites Pakoray, lassi dahi bhallay and Kulfi.

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mazhar May 23, 2016 03:48pm

I love and miss , mouth watering Pakistani food, minus the hygiene.

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Safwan May 23, 2016 03:50pm

Pakistani food is simply the best in the world.

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joop May 23, 2016 03:52pm

mouth watering SERIOUSLY

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charu May 23, 2016 04:04pm

Agree with everything except the title...it should be desi chaat not Pakistani chaat...and please add aloo tikki, gol gappe, vada pav, bhel puri...to mention street food and not mention these is absolute blasphemy!

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sheraz May 23, 2016 04:11pm

Too much!

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khuram May 23, 2016 04:17pm

i am so hungry now

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Tivoli May 23, 2016 04:53pm

Why is samosas not in the list ??

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Nil May 23, 2016 05:05pm

Jst shows how similar india n pak are. These are street food in india too. Jst delicious!!!

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hem May 23, 2016 06:00pm

The Pakistan street food shown is equally famous and mouthwatering in India. So why are we fighting for

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hem May 23, 2016 06:01pm

The Indian street food is also similar and mouth watering . So why are we fighting for

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karachi Wally May 23, 2016 06:06pm

All of these are Pakistani because its been adopted and adapted. From pizza to burger to Sharma our chefs and food vendors have 'Pakistanized' everything. I live in Dubai and I compare our food with Indian version of the same dishes; but taste is lot different. Taste is much more wholesome and rich in Pakistan version of the same dishes and lot unhealthier as well!!

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reshma May 23, 2016 06:14pm

You missed Kheer from karachi in clay dishes. The amount of flies over it adds beauty. When people go closer to shop it feels like a a black sheet lifted from the kheer dishes. Please add flies alongwith kheer. Everyone's taste buds will tingle.

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Tariq, Lahore May 23, 2016 06:28pm

I will have all bar 'paan' please!

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Vishnu Mahant May 23, 2016 06:42pm

Pakistani foods like Indian foods, are great tasting delights. No other food in the world can beat it. However, be careful what you eat, somethings that is not cooked can cause problem. Not all places have polluted water, we insist on bottled water. If you visit India or Pakistan, and not not try local street foods, you haven't tasted the heavenly treats!

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Lakhkar Khan May 23, 2016 07:03pm

@Ramesh Nakhwa, Here is something that might shock you but Pakistani was a part of India once. So, that makes all the listed foods Pakistani as well. BY the way, Shawarma is neither, its Middle Eastern Bun kabab is also not current day Indian, it's pure Karachi delight.

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Big Brother May 23, 2016 07:17pm

@Awan I agree with you most of the part. However there is something called food colors and its the duty of the health department to monitor the use of such colors. Our food is one of the best in the world in Pakistan, but due to poverty and absence of City administration our street venders in particular are not using the best and healthy ingredients most of the time.

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Gawal Mandi Ya May 23, 2016 07:48pm

Oh my goodness, sitting 9000 miles away, you got me hungrier than a pahalwaan after a workout.

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shami May 23, 2016 09:01pm

@Ramesh Nakhwa Is shwarma Indian food? I thought Hindus don't eat meat. Btw it is also not Pakistani food. Its origin is somewhere in Turkey.

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Sam May 23, 2016 09:11pm

@Safwan how about health?

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Sam May 23, 2016 09:13pm

Kulfi, puri, jalebi, pakore are all indian dishes not Pakistan

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Sam May 23, 2016 09:20pm

Kebab and jalebi is persian, gholkanda, puri , pakora,kulfi are indian, so what ia pakistani in in the above mentioned dishes?

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Asif Mir May 23, 2016 09:22pm

It is interesting that we have brought Islam into everything but food. Why does the food still have Punjabi names and not Arabic equivalent names?

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Thoroughthinker May 23, 2016 10:59pm

@Awan : Right. All food colors are poisonous to a varying extent. Natural colors are the best.

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Zulfi May 23, 2016 11:15pm

So true Pakistani by birth, have lived in the London for more than a decade. Haven't seen a bakery like Tehzeeb in Islamabad or the United bakery in London. goras don't have a clue what a party is etc.

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me May 23, 2016 11:40pm

hmmmmmmm!!!!!! fried street food.

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Chirag Patel May 24, 2016 01:01am

we got all these Street food as well.....as a matter of fact all the names are same as well.....except "bun kebab".....but this more like north Indian Street food.....best thing is.....God east we got bengali, UP and biharee Street food.....west we got rajasthani, gujarati and maharashtraian Street food.....and everyone knows how good south indian food is....

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Murtuza Babrawala May 24, 2016 02:18am

We are not fighting we just think that all of India and Pakistan is one big cricket field. At least I hope to think that way. And I dream that these two similar countries would soon realize that peace bring prosperity to people and mouth-watering food.

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Jimmy May 24, 2016 04:25am

All are tempting if they are cooked/processed hygienically. If you want to try one of those then go to a Reputable restaurant. No doubt all are junk but i don't mind having one of those once in a month.

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Muslim Medina May 24, 2016 05:02am

Oh I miss these street foods and drinks so much. I remember having BHUTTA (corn}. but once flourishing Gerrard Street here in Toronto has lost its status as the main desi shopping centre.

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Frank S May 24, 2016 05:11am

@Ramesh Nakhwa With all respect, I have tried a lot of Indian food. It is the taste of Pakistani food that gives it an edge over Indian food. It deserves a separate identity.

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Akil Akhtar May 24, 2016 05:49am

@Ramesh Nakhwa These are our dishes, we did not import them from India...you can call them indian dishes we will call them Pakistani. Why such narrow mindedness.

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Muhammad Munir May 24, 2016 07:52am

@Ramesh Nakhwa India used to be part of Pakistan before you guys went your own way. I think that is why it seems so similar to you :)

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Mahendra May 24, 2016 08:16am

Yummy....... Street food across the sub-continent is awesome & addictive. So much in common.........

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XoF May 24, 2016 09:36am

@Ramesh Nakhwa They are IN Pakistan...a separate nation. You are so insecure and desparate that you still want some machismo to show on a food page. Better make a film ull feel good.

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sudhir May 24, 2016 09:37am

Well. This got me salivating. All these are available in India and a lot more. Vadas, Dosas and Idlis from the south, Chicken Xacuti and Caffereal from Goa, Sol kadi from Maharashtra, Dhoklas and theplas from Gujarat, Appams and Chicken stew from Kerala and the list is endless. One common thread across all these dishes are the spices. if people are heading towards India from the north, the spice route begins in Peshawar and ends in Kanyakumari.

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MB May 24, 2016 10:11am

DAWN you shoudl recommend places to eat as well. It's cruel to add pictures with no eating spots to find these delights

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Nildhwaja raja May 24, 2016 10:39am

we love Pakistani food bcz these are similar to Indian food there are no any difference between them.....If problem will be solve between India and Pakistan then people easily go to India and Pakistan and taste it.......yummy taste

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ripan May 24, 2016 11:31am

hardly any pakistani food on the menu

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TunTun May 24, 2016 02:05pm

Shawarma is not a Pakistani snack - maybe you are mixing it with Al Bakistan?

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immo May 24, 2016 06:43pm

@Ramesh Nakhwa Indian cuisine? we are not vegetarians here in Pakistan

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Bupi May 24, 2016 07:09pm

Traditional foods are necessary as our forefathers new the food values the local things ( materials ) carried and were most needed to our bodies as well requirement.

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Parveen Sadiq May 24, 2016 08:43pm

It brought childhood memories back.Growing up in Karachi,cant forget,samosa and Dahi bara of Bohra Bazar.Thanks for sharing street food.

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Freda Shah May 25, 2016 12:56pm

May be tasty, but not always made under hygenic conditions. Beware of getting gastro-enteritis !

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Awadh May 26, 2016 02:15pm

@Akram you are right bro. Its a Lebanon's delicacy

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Omar Sadiq May 27, 2016 01:15pm

@Ramesh Nakhwa Hey Ramesh, what about "breathing"?? Does India & Indians hold monopoly over that too??? Pleassseee....grow up; as an individual and as a nation!

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Omar May 28, 2016 02:45am

@Ramesh Nakhwa Why are you even here?

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Amer Aug 14, 2018 10:32am

Does not matter which country these foods are from ... they are really unhealthy and serve no nutritional purpose. Please STOP eating them or get ready for heart and health problems.

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Ramu Aug 14, 2018 10:41am

I cannot see my favorite Dahi bhalle! Is it my computer?

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Neo Aug 14, 2018 11:43am

@TunTun. Too good sir, too good.

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JA-Australia Aug 14, 2018 11:59am

Rabri, fresh roasted spicy peanuts (moong phali), spicy guava or fruit chaat, gathia, sev-boondi, etc. etc. etc. We used to get our maid to bring 'boon' from her family home in interior Sindh. It's blocks of a yellowish powder made from the dried petals of some flower. I couldn't get enough. So good...

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Manuj Mohla Aug 14, 2018 12:12pm

Its ironic to see that absolutely same street food rules across the border in India... I really wish if we were one country and i can travel to Lahore to taste these delicacies and people from Pakistan can travel to Amritsar or Delhi to taste the same here.

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