Lahore: City of Food Lovers
Lahore is a city with diverse cuisine and rich history of food. It offers a variety of foods from local desi cuisine to Italian, Chinese, and Arabic cuisines. But Lahori Desi food, there is no second to its taste. There are many desi and famous foods in Lahore which you should try, some of these are
- Nihari
- Siri Paya
- Kofta
- Murgh Chana
- Taka Tak
- Karahi Gosht
- Naan Haleem
- Dal Chawal
- Chicken Tikka or Boti
- Chikar Cholay
- Laddu Pithi
- Cholay Pathuray
When it comes to the best desi restaurants in Lahore, you have many options that you can choose from. You can find some amazing Pakistani food at Lakshami Chowk or head over to Tuba Restaurant for their famous Lahori Cholay.
Many tourists from around the world visit Lahore and they enjoy it a lot while visiting Lahore and having its delicious and tasty foods.
The historical food places in Lahore are also worth going to. Be sure to stop by Kasar-e-Shireen for their Gulab Jamuns or Yousaf Falooda at Nabha Road for some Kulfi Falooda on your visit.
Lahori Street Food
There is a saying 'high shop dull dish'. Today we are going to tell the opposite of this idiom i.e. 'low shop sweet dish'. The people of Lahore are second to none in eating more and this habit of eating is famous all over the world.
Food should be delicious for Zinda Dalan Lahore, whether it is a high-end shop or a food stall on the sidewalk. They do not feel ashamed to eat while standing by the handcart or sitting on the ground.
Most Lahori people and tourists eat spicy and mouthwatering street foods while shopping in Lahore.
In many places in Lahore, there were or are now items that shopkeepers offer on the sidewalk in the baskets. These are live examples of Lahori street food.
Historical Desi Food in Lahore
Today we introduce you to some of the famous food cooked in Lahore which started selling in baskets. The first of these we are referring to is the oldest and most famous seller of lentils and meatballs or Chanay, Koftay in Lahore.
Haji Ghulam Rasool Chanay Walay
These are known as the best Chanay in Lahore. His name is Haji Ghulam Rasool. Chanay Koftay is a compulsory dish in Lahori Nashta as well as Siri-Paye, Halwa-Puri, Lassi, are traditional and desi Nashta in Lahore.
He started his career by planting lentils in a small basket in the Blue Dome, located near New Anarkali Bazaar known as Neela Gumbad.
He quickly attracted customers because of his delicious and tasty Chanay, Koftay. And because of his hard work, dedication, and honesty, he is selling in big stores. Surprisingly, the standard mansion he set up at the beginning of his career is still in place.
Breakfast in Lahore or Lahori Nashta doesn't complete without Naan Chholay. It is also known as cheap food in Lahore.
A conference of heads of Islamic countries was held in Lahore during the rule of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In honor of all of them, a sumptuous dinner was organized at the Royal Fort in Lahore and its menu included lentils made by Haji Ghulam Rasool's shop.
Many famous personalities from all over the world often come and eat delicious Chholay from this shop.
Gawalmandi Then and Now
Gawalmandi, the largest food hub for best desi foods in Lahore, used to have only two barbecue shops. One was near Sardar Machhliwala in Gawalmandi Chowk and the other was known as Billa Kababan Wala on the corner of Nasbat Road Chowk.
These shops were true examples of Lahori spices called Bara Masalay. Even today Gawalmandi is very famous for being the best desi restaurant in Lahore.
This was in the 1960s when mutton was 25 paise and mutton kebab was 12 paise. But still few people could afford this luxury.
Near this barbecue shop, a man used to sell Beef Paye. He also had a large basket on the ground, full of Paya curry, He would put curry in bowls and people would put Naan or small pieces of bread in them. And they used to sit on a wooden seat next to him and eat.
Paya curry is still very popular in Lahore today, which is a delicious combination of delicacies and spices. Its delicacy and taste make it the king of local Lahori cuisine. It is also known as the best desi food in Lahore.
Let's also mention that in those days, a large number of Paya and Nahari sellers used to sit on the ground and shop.
Phajja Siri-Paye food
Once upon a time, there was a very famous shop inside the Taxali Gate, known as the best desi food restaurant in Lahore named Phajja Siri-Paye food.
People from far and wide used to come to get food from it. The shops still exist but could not maintain their quality and lost their popularity.
Goga Murgh Shorba
Iqbal Qadri alias Goga serves chicken curry soup breakfast on the sidewalk in front of a shop outside Lohari Gate.
He has been in this business for over 50 years. And the soup curry he makes is also very delicious. It is a very famous desi restaurant in Lahore.
Residents of the area sit on the benches beside him and have a hearty breakfast, and they also take breakfast home.
He prepares as much breakfast every day as he can sell by nine or ten o'clock in the morning because the shop in front of which he runs his business opens at eleven o'clock.
This desi Lahori food will give you the ultimate taste of the Pakistani spices, and you will remember it for years.
Kashmiri Dal Chawal
Uncle Inayat started planting dal rice in the evening at Lakshmi Chowk. His business soon flourished under the name of Kashmiri dal rice.
People used to sit on the sidewalk and eat dal rice. From that time till today, the popularity of Kashmiri dal rice has not changed.
Now Kashmiri dal rice has become a brand in local desi foods in Lahore. It is one of the cheapest foods in Lahore with the ultimate taste and flavor.
Uncle Inayat has died and his desi restaurant in Lahore has been taken over by his son Altaf Hussain.
And he has taken a shop nearby and shifted to it. Now Altaf Hussain is running this desi restaurant well with his sons.
Kashmir Dal rice from its local restaurant located at Lakshmi Chowk Lahore for 70 years is still popular today.
Their season is in summer. And people who come here in winter eat spicy food. And most turn to Karahi meat, chicken, roast, fried or grilled chicken, and Desi Murgh Karahi shops.
Let me tell you Lakshmi chowk is known as a hub for Pakistani spicy and desi food, with a numerous number of the best desi restaurants in Pakistan.
Munna Murgh Chana
There used to be a banyan tree in Lakshmi Chowk but nowadays there is a police post here. Munna used to sit under this banyan tree and his Murgh Chana restaurant was very busy at that time.
This desi restaurant has been going on since that time. Today his grandchildren have taken over this business and providing the best desi food in Lahore.
The shops selling Kashmiri dal rice and Munna Murgj Chana are right in front of each other at Lakshami Chowk Lahore.
These are the people who diligently and enthusiastically enjoy their work and progress with the passage of time.
And opened the way for their children to earn a living. Nowadays, these two shops are run by their grandchildren with great success. And adding value to desi food in Lahore.
Lakshami Chowk Then and Now
Heading towards the Capital Cinema, you can see two more desi Murgh Chanay shops. One is called the Shahi Murgh Chanay and the other is called the Tuba Murgh Chanay.
Eager to eat lentils, these shops continue to flourish. All the shops in this line used to be decorated on the sidewalk.
Shahi Green Tea
Now take a look in front of the Capital Cinema and you will see a Shahi green tea shop.
This shop is also very old. Once upon a time, this shopkeeper used to sit with a small pot of green tea and there was a big crowd of people after the evening because of the surrounding cinema houses.
If people came to see a movie they would definitely drink tea from this green tea man. Gradually, it became popular. The small pot was replaced by a large pot.
Thick, creamy and almond, pistachio tea. The aroma of hot tea forcibly attracts passersby.
If the weather is cold, the taste is doubled. Drinking this tea gives pleasure as well as heat.
That is why many people used to come to this shop only to drink tea and still come today. This shopkeeper has bought his shop here.
There is a royal or Shahi green tea board here. Whether it is cold or hot, green tea is sold at this shop.
Today people drink tea with great satisfaction, not standing in this beautiful shop, but sitting in a comfortable chair.
This tea lasts all year round, whether it is hot or cold. But the number of customers decreases in summer. While in the winter season there is a lot of tea drinkers and there is no place to sit at this shop.
Lahori Chikar Cholay
A man has been setting up a stall on the sidewalk in front of the main gate of Shimla Pahari Lahore Press Club for a long time.
On which he sells Chikar Cholay. This name will be very strange to many of our readers. Whatever the name, this spicy dish also has a unique place of its own.
People from far and wide come to eat this local and desi food and eat it while standing near the stall or sitting on the benches.
These Lentils do not contain anything called egg or meatballs or you can say Andey Koftay. These are simple spicy, traditional Cholay with which pickles, radishes, and onions are eaten.
Our journalist brothers who come and go in the press club are well acquainted with this stall owner. And they also treat their guests to this special dish.
Another specialty of this famous Lahori food is that it is not sold in brass, copper, or steel pots. Instead, special wooden utensils are used, They are shaped like large pots.
Similarly, a Chikkar Chholay seller sits on Regal Chowk near the Martyrs' Mosque. And he has been camping here for a long time.
His Chikar Cholay is second to none in Lahore due to the fact that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family were his regular customers.
Nawaz and his family is a food-loving family as they love a lot of Lahori foods. They are used to eat and offer to their guests' tasty foods of Lahore.