The bustling food streets of Old Lahore are the gastronomic heart of Pakistan. Locals and tourists stroll from stall to stall, delighting in the joys of taka tak (minced spiced offal sizzled in butter), icy metal cups of buttermilk lassi, deep-fried river fish, nankhatai (ghee shortbread cookies), and more. But to my old friend Shayma Saadat, the internationally published Pakistani-Afghan author of the blog Spice Spoon, the main attraction of these inner-city areas, aside from their “beautiful Mughal architecture and mosques,” is the fresh and fiery chicken karahi, named for the deep, curved vessel with ring-shaped handles it is cooked in. At outdoor tables “they will bring you chicken karahi—in the karahi—and then they bring warm naan from the tandoor,” she said when we recently caught up on a video call.
“[Chicken karahi] holds huge emotional significance for me.”
—Fatima Nasim, celebrated food writer
Eating the dish is an invigorating, multisensory experience. Start by inhaling the tangy-sweet aromas of spices and fresh
