Sindhi cuisine
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Sindhi cuisine (Urdu: سندھی پکوان, Hindi: सिंधी भोजन) refers to the native cuisine of the Sindhi people from Sindh, Pakistan. The daily food in most Sindhi households consists of wheat-based flat-bread (phulka) and rice accompanied by two dishes, one gravy and one dry. Today, Sindhi food is eaten in many countries including India, where a sizeable number of Sindhis migrated following the Partition of India.
Historical influences
The arrival of Islam within South Asia influenced the local cuisine to a great degree. Since Muslims are forbidden to eat pork or consume alcohol and the Halal dietary guidelines are strictly observed. Sindhis focus on other areas of food such as beef, lamb, chicken, fish, and vegetables as well as traditional fruit and dairy. The influence of Central Asian, South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine in Sindhi food is ubiquitous.
Snacks
- Kutti (Mashed Roti [Bread] with sugar and butter)
- Lolo or Mithi Loli (Sweeter version of koki (see below) - also made if you get chicken pox
- Maal-apuroo Mithaee Maanii (Sweet roti made with milk, butter, sugar)
- Ku-ini Kich-anee (Sindhi comfort food. A porridge like dish made with rice and served with yogurt)
- Chhola Dhabal (baked bread with chick peas in thick gravy)
- Ka-raw-o (religious offering made with flour, ghee and sugar)
- Bhat - (porridge, usually given to a sick child, but popular at all times)
Meals
- Beh (Beh simply means 'Lotus root' in English. A high quality lotus root is grown in the North of Sindh which is then cooked in clay-pot using various spices, which then results in an excellent delicacy that is famous all over Pakistan.)
- Sindhi Biryani (Boiled rice steamed and mixed with special sindhi recipe of spices)
- Sindhi Curry - (chick pea flour and vegetables like lady finger, potato and eggplant.
- Seyal Mani (Cooked Chappati in green sauce with tomato, coriander and spices).
- Seyal Dab-roti (variation of above, but instead of Chappati, use bread)
- Seyal Phulko
- Bhugi Bhaji
- Seyal Bhaji (mixed vegetables cooked with onion garlic paste)
- Sabu dal chawar ( yellow daal with rice)
- Koki (thick chapati can be made with onions and coriander or just plain salt and pepper)
- Loli/Lolo/Lola (a thick chappati with ghee, onion and coriander).
- Loli Du-dh (as above, but served with yogurt. Some Sindhis will eat Loli with pickles, but many Sindhis don't consider it good form to mix yogurt and pickles). This is a popular dish served at breakfast or brunch.
- Pappad (a crisp and thin snack. Sindhi will generally eat this after a meal to digest food and in particular after an oily meal).
- Dhodo Chutney (A thick roti with garlic paste and served with mint chutney)
- Sai Bhaji (a spinach based gravy, sai means green - the colour of spinach)
- Bugha Chawar (a browned rice)
- Bhugal Bheeha (lotus root in thick curry)
- Dhangi Fulko (moong beans with roti)
- Curry Chawal (a tomato curry eaten with white rice - served with aloo took, a potato cutlet)
- Besan ji Bhaji (vegetable made of gram flour)
- Bhugal Teewarn (a mutton dish)
- Jera & Bhukiyoo (Fried liver, Kidney of goat)
- Dal Tikkhar (daal yellow pulses) cooked in gravy eaten with crisp fried very thin matthi)
- Tikhi Dal khichdi (thin yellow pulse served with variation of rice)
- Bhugge Chawal (rice cooked in flavoured spices beige/ golden brown in colour with vegetable assortments)
- Pava (goats legs)
- Pakkwan Dal (lentil and solid crunchy puri)
- Curry Chawal (It's Kathi Curry eaten with Rice
- Phote waro Tivan (Lamb meat in cardamom)
- Keemo (ground lamb meet)
- Seyal Pallo (pomfret fish in garlic sauce)
- Fishes like king fish (surmayee), paplet (paplait), cod (dhanbro and other river fishes)
Desserts or Sweets or Drink
- Thadal (Famous Sindhi drink made from almonds, khashkhaash especially)
- Varo (Indian sweet made with pistachio, almonds or other nuts)
- Tosho (Sweet made with wheat atta and Sugar chaashni, looks like stick)
- Dothi (Sweet made with Wheat atta and Sugar chaashni, looks like big peda)
- Geara (Called emarti in North India)
- Moomthal (Indian sweet)
- Khi-r-ni (hot drink made with milk with flavours of cardamoms and saffron)
- Sherbet (a drink made from sandal wood)
- Mesu Tikki (Sweet made with Gram flour and in light orange or yellow color)
- falooda (vermiclli and ice on top of ice cream)
- Boorani (A yellow colored sweet made by processing flowers, also known as boori in Pakistan's Sindh)
- Johnnie Walker Black Label is considered the sindhi alcoholic beverage of choice. Many sindhis choose to drink this with Coca-Cola or Diet Coke
- Layee (In Sindh, sugar or jaggery is cooked with various nuts and then cooled to solidify)
- Bhoreenda (til k ladoo, sesame seeds mixed with sugar)
- Lasee (yoghurt blended with some water, milk and salt, different from Punjab which tastes sweet)
- Gulqand (used all over India and Pakistan, especially paan _ Gulqand is made from rose petals and sugar but with a lengthy process)
Pickles
- carrot pickle
- mango pickle
- mix fruit pickle
- green chilli pickle
- Murbo ( sweet grated mango in sugar syrup)
Food for Special Occasions
There are food that are served during special occasions, such as during Diwali a Bahji called Chiti-Kuni is made with seven vegetabels. If some gets chicken pox and after it is gone, it is common to make an offering and make 'mitho lolo'.
Vermicelli is served on both Eids. On special religious occasions, mitho lolo, accomapanied with milk is given to the poor.
Mitho lolo is also served with chilled buttermilk called Matho on various occasions.
Translations
This section provides the translations between Urdu/Hindi, Sindhi and English (British and American) cooking terms of common Sindhi food.
There are occasional differences in Sindhi dialects for instance Hyderabadi Sindhi will refer to an egg as 'bedo' however Sindhis from other parts will refer to it as 'aano'.
Herbs
Urdu/Hindi | Sindhi | English |
---|---|---|
Sokha Dhan-ia | Suka Dhana (داڻا) | Coriander Seed |
Hara Dhan-ia | Sawa Dhana | Coriander Leaves |
podeena | phood-no | Mint leaves |
methi | methi | Fenugreek |
taez paat | Kamaal Pat | Bay leaf |
Spices
Urdu/Hindi | Sindhi | English |
---|---|---|
Amchoor | Amba-choor | dry mango powder |
elaichi | Photo (فوتا) | Cardamon Pods |
namak | Lhoonu (لوڻ) | Salt |
kali mirch | Kaara Mirch | Black Pepper |
lah-sun | Thooma | Garlic |
adrak | Adh-rak | Ginger |
Zeera | Giro | Cummin Seeds |
Haldi | Haiduh | Turmeric Powder |
Heeng | hing | Asafoetida |
Zafran | Kesar | Saffron |
gur | Jaggery | |
mirch | mirch | chillies |
imli | Gida-mi-ri | Tararind |
Khashkhash | poppy seeds | |
Caraway | ||
Raee | mustard seeds | |
Long | Lua-nga | Clove |
Fruit, Vegetable and Pulses
- Aalu Patata (some parts of northern sindh also calls batala) PotatoUrdu/Hindi | Sindhi | English |
---|---|---|
Baigan | Vaan-ghar | Aubergine (UK) or Eggplant (US) |
Band Gobi | Pata Gobi | Cabbage |
Gaajar | Gajhar | Carrot |
Dal | Daal | Lentil |
Sag | Palak | Spinach |
Khajoor | Ka-tal | Dates |
Nuts
Urdu/Hindi | Sindhi | English |
---|---|---|
Mongphali | Behi-munga or Munghera | Peanuts |
Kaju | Kha-ja | Cashewnuts |
Badaam | Ba-da-miyun | Almond |
Pista | Pista/dodiyun | Pistachio |
Other
Urdu /Hindi | Sindhi | English |
---|---|---|
Ghee | Gheehu | Clarified Butter |
Chapati | Phulko | Thin wrap |
Cheeni or Shakkar | Khandre | Sugar |
Bheja or Maghaz | Magaz | Brain |
Papar | Pa-pper | Poppodum |
double-roti | Dhabalroti | Bread |
Aata | Atto | Wholewheat flour (Chappati flour) |
Anda | Bedo (Hyderbadi Sindhi) or Aano | Egg |
Murghi | Cook-ker | Chicken |
Paplate | Paplet | Pomfret fish |
Gosht | Tivan | Lamb Meat |
Hilsa machhli | Pallo | shad (fish) |
Vegetarian cuisine
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2010) |
Certain sects of the Sindhi community are vegetarians. The Thathai, Halai and Kutchi Bhatias are followers of Vallabh Acharya. He put forward a way to worship Sri Krishna called Pushtimarg. They are strict vegetarians who do not eat even onions and garlic and are devoted to Srinathji, the child form of Sri Krishna. The first ever website on Thathai Bhatia cuisine, http://www.panjakhada.com was launched on June 28, 2010 in Dubai. It contains over 150 recipes in various sections, all of which are vegetarian and have no onion or garlic used in any of its preparations.