Pakistani Cuisine: Wheat and other flour products are the mainstay of the diet, one familiar form being CHAPATI, an unleavened bread made with dough prepared from whole wheat flour. Another basic food is LASSI, milk from which curds and butterfat have been removed. Vegetables, usually seasonal, lentils are commonly used. And the more affluent cook with GHEE, which is clarified butter, instead of with vegetable oil.
The imaginative - and sometimes heavy - use of spices, herbs, seeds, and flavorings and seasonings have helped cooks transform rather ordinary staple foods into an exotic cuisine: chilli powder, turmeric, garlic, paprika, black pepper, red pepper, cumin seed, bay leaf, coriander, cardamom, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, mace, nutmeg, poppyseeds, aniseed, almonds, pistachios, and yogurt.
Their use in a wide range of pickles, chutneys, preserves, and sauces, together with curries of all descriptions and special treatment for meats, sea, food, vegetables and lentils, gives Pakistani cooking much of its distinctive character.