Pashtun cuisine (Pashto: پښتني خواړه) refers to the cuisine of the Pashtuns, who are predominant in eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The cuisine of the Pashtun people is covered under Afghan cuisine and Pakistani cuisine, and is largely based on cereals like wheat, maize, barley and rice as well as a plethora of meat dishes that includes lamb, beef, chicken, and fresh fish. Accompanying these staples are also dairy products (yogurt, whey, cheeses), including various nuts, locally grown vegetables, as well as fresh and dried fruits. Cities such as Peshawar, Jalalabad, Kabul, Quetta and Kandahar are known for being the centers of Pashtun cuisine.
The following is a short and incomplete list of some food items that Pashtuns often eat. The dishes listed below, are Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek and Turkman food.
Kabuli pulao
Pekhteh/Peshteh (beef/mutton ribs)
naray ghwakha (mutton dish)
Chopan Kabob (lamb chops, skewered and grilled on charcoal)
Seekh Kebab (beef/mutton/chicken)
Shami kebab
Chapli Kabab
Shinwari tikka, roasted lamb
Kichrei, sticky medium grain rice cooked with mung beans and onions, topped with melted qurot sauce. This is mostly eaten during winter.
Londei, (spiced lamb jerky cooked with rice)
Shorwa (soupe)
Aush (hand made noodles)
Aushak (vegetable and chive-filled dumplings topped with tomato and yogurt sauces)
Mantu (meat dumplings), usually served under a yogurt-based white sauce
Bolani also called Piraki in Afghanistan
Burrani, is a style of presentation, usually eggplant (Badenjan|Bonjon) sometimes potatoes (kachaloo|aloo) or pumpkin (kadoo), where the vegetable is sauteed in a tomato based sauce and garnished with yogurt. Not to be confused with Bolani.
Bonjan, eggplant cooked in oil with potatoes and tomatoes
Bendei, okra cooked in oil with onions and tomatoes
Masteh (freshly made yogurt)
Ghatay Rujay, literally big rice, is a rice dish, resembling risotto, prepared only in Charsadda where the small grain rice needed to make it is grown.
Naan or Doday. Naan or, Doday, as it is called in Pashto, is a flat bread usually made in vertical clay ovens called in Pashto (Tanoor) and Urdu (tandoor)
Shomleh/Shlombeh (sometimes called "triwai" in Kabul), a drink made from mixing yogurt with water and shaking it extensively. Then adding dried mint leaves and small amount of salt.
Pashtun cuisine
Chai, bread, eggs, and sometimes cheese (paneer).
