Break Your Fast Right: Pakistani Iftar Recipes
Iftar is the most anticipated meal of the day during Ramadan, and Pakistani tables do not disappoint. This collection brings together the crispy, the tangy, the sweet, and the soothing — from gol gappay and pakoras to sheer khurma and doodh chawal — everything that belongs on a proper Pakistani iftar dastarkhan.
10 recipes in this collection
Pyaz Pakora (Onion Fritters)
Pyaz Pakora — crispy, lacy, golden onion fritters dipped in a spiced chickpea batter and deep-fried — is the first thing every Pakistani makes when it rains. The scent alone is enough to start a conversation.
Aloo Samosa (Crispy Potato-Filled Pastry)
Aloo Samosa is Pakistan's most iconic street snack — a perfectly crispy, triangular pastry filled with spiced mashed potatoes and peas, deep-fried to a golden crunch. Sold on every corner from Karachi to Peshawar.
Dahi Baray Chaat
Soft, pillowy urad dal fritters dunked in cold, creamy yoghurt and showered with tangy chutneys and crunchy toppings — this is Pakistan's most-loved street snack. Every layer adds something: cool against spicy, soft against crunchy, sweet against tart. Once you make these at home, the street vendor version will never quite be enough.
Gol Gappay
Crispy hollow puris filled with spiced chickpeas and tangy tamarind water — Pakistan's most addictive street snack. Once you start, you physically cannot stop at one.
Karachi Chana Chaat
Karachi Chana Chaat is the city's most beloved street snack — spiced boiled chickpeas tossed with crunchy onions, tangy tomatoes, tart imli (tamarind) chutney, cool dahi (yoghurt), and a snowfall of masalas. Every bite is simultaneously sweet, sour, spicy, and salty — a flavour explosion that Karachi has made its own.
Sheer Khurma
The Eid morning vermicelli pudding — toasted sevaiyan simmered in sweetened milk with dates, pistachios, almonds, and cardamom. No Eid is complete without it.
Doodh Chawal Kheer — Pakistani Rice Pudding
Kheer is the quintessential Pakistani celebration dessert — rice slow-cooked in full-fat milk until creamy and thick, perfumed with cardamom and saffron, and crowned with pistachios and silver leaf. It appears at every eid, wedding, and birth celebration across the country.
Lahori Dahi Bhalla
Dahi Bhalla is the crown jewel of Pakistani street snacks — soft, spongy lentil dumplings soaked in tangy dahi (yoghurt), crowned with imli (tamarind) chutney, fresh mint chutney, and a generous sprinkle of chaat masala. Sweet, sour, spicy, creamy, and pillowy all at once.
Karachi Halwa (Cornflour Halwa / Bombay Halwa)
A jewel-bright, translucent, gloriously chewy halwa made from cornflour, sugar, and an extravagant amount of ghee — cooked in one pot with relentless stirring until it transforms into a bouncy, glistening confection the colour of liquid amber or emerald. Set in a greased tray, cut into diamonds, and decorated with pistachios, it looks like something from a confectionery museum. It is also utterly, devastatingly delicious.
Bun Kebab Karachi Style
Karachi's original street burger — a spiced lentil patty tucked in a bun with sweet-tangy chutney, egg wash, and raw onions. The 50-rupee meal that punches above its weight.