Pakistan – Dum Pukht

Traditional Cuisine of Balochistan, Pakistan

By Dahiza Umar

TRADITION OF BALOCHISTAN

Balochistan is a province of Pakistan. Every province, every region of Pakistan has its own tradition about clothing, their rituals and even food.
Speciality of balochistan in food is DUM PUKHT and SAJJI. Both dishes are similar somehow with some variations.

ABOUT THE DISH

Dum pukht is actually a method of cooking means “slow cooking“.

The meat either lamb or chicken is cooked on slow heat either by steam or low heat in oven or on stove.

In Balochistan, traditional method of making ‘’dum pukht’’, is whole lamb spiced with traditional seasoning and buried in the desert where tandoor(clay stove/ oven) is made. Because balochistan is a province of desert cholistan, thal and thar.

So lamb is buried inside the hot sand for 12 to 24 hours. After hours, the dish , whole lamb is ready to fill dozens of people to their full. But in homes we spiced whole chicken or a piece of lamb like ribs or leg and cooked on stove. Here the home method of making dum pukht.

INGREDIENTS

• Whole chicken/ lamb leg : 3 kg
• Yogurt : 3 cups
• Garlic paste : 2 tablespoons
• Ginger paste : 2 tablespoons
• Green chilies paste : 2 tablespoons
• Onion paste : 4 tablespoons
• Fried onion crushed : 2 tablespoons
• Red chili powder : 1 tea spoon
• Crushed red chili : 1 teaspoon
• Salt : 1 tablespoon
• Chaat masala : 1 tablespoon
• Garam masala : 1 teaspoon
• Black pepper : 1 teaspoon
• Coriander powder : 1 tablespoon
• Cumin powder : 1 tablespoon
• Cloves powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Green cardamom powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Black cardamom powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Star anise powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Oil : 1 cup

METHOD

• Take whole chicken/ lamb leg and add all the ingredients into it like all spices, yogurt, oil, onion paste , garlic ginger paste. Everything into meat and marinate the whole thing for 2 hours.
• Now in a steamer cooked the meat for 1 hour or in oven at 80 to 100 degree Celsius for half hour.
• Check if thee meat is cooked take the meat out.
• Add little around 2 tablespoon oil in a pan and fry the whole chicken to colour the meat.
• Fry until golden brown colour appeared.
• Serve the dum pukht with rice specially plao or with naan and raita.
• Enjoy!