Our Haleem came with zarda, which is a bright orange rice dish that contains sugar and milk. You add garlic, fried onions, mint, lemon, masala, and chilies to the Haleem.
Karachi Haleem is located on Burns Road, which becomes a bustling food street at night. They also offer aromatic chicken biryani, but we were here for the Haleem! We got both the chicken and beef varieties and ate at an outdoor seating area across the street.
The levels of seating areas are beautiful. It can take up to a half-hour to an hour just to get a seat there. Our table overlooked the entire place and was above the water. The lower deck is right on the water.
The people in Karachi were so kind, warm, and friendly. I love this city! It was the best hospitality I’ve ever experienced. Next, we drove 20 minutes to the Clifton Neighborhood to have some gappa ghotala at Mirchili. It’s essentially the father of pani puri and is huge!
The chicken tikka naan comes with garlic mayo. It was crispy on the outside, doughy on the inside, and creamy. I loved how savory it was, and it had a bit of heat, too! Meanwhile, the Hazelnut Chocolate Oreo Naan was like an Italian dessert pizza. It was unreal and took me back to my time in Rome. I loved every bite!
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Next, even though we were full, we headed to get dinner at Kolachi with our friend Shehroze from Manaky. The restaurant is right on the beach and is massive! The outdoor seating is unreal and is spread out over several levels.
The chilies were super hot! Meanwhile, the chicken makhni handi was creamy and flavorful, while the mutton chops were smoky, tender, and fatty.
Further down the road, we stopped at Fresco for dahi baray, which is a sweet, creamy chaat in yogurt. They sell lots of sweets, as well as samosas outside.
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We ordered chicken makhni handi, mutton chops, Afghani boti, with parathas. They also came with Roghni naan, potatoes, vegetables, chilies, and more. The Afghani boti contains lamb and lamb fat and is one of the best lamb dishes I’ve ever had.
We got a new dish that isn’t even on their menu yet that contains chicken, beef, mutton, and cheese. It was so rich and hearty, and the tamarind sauce added a nice sweetness.
It’s my favorite food I had in Karachi! Finally, we finished up with some pure apple juice, which was so refreshing!
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Then, we also got some puris with chickpeas inside with yogurt, tamarind chutney, coriander, and masala on the side so we could build our own dahi puri! The yogurt with the tamarind with the crunch was fantastic! Then, we ended with some masala lemonade with mint!
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Then, I tried the Zarda, which was basically sweet rice with a bit of an herbal flavor. It served as a nice palate cleanser! Our entire meal came to just 440 rupees, or roughly USD.
The dahi baray was a delicious and refreshing dessert, and a great palate cleanser after the haleem. It was sweet and contained lentil balls and came topped with crispy, fried dough.
I loved the lentil balls in it. The fried, crispy dough on top was excellent, too!
The best way to eat the Haleem is with some crispy naan. It was absolutely delicious and pasty. The combination of textures and flavors was unreal. I could see pieces of the shredded chicken in it.
What a phenomenal Pakistani food tour in Karachi! This was the perfect way to end my time in the city. Huge thanks to my friends at Manaky, especially my guides Furqan and Shehroze, for taking care of me and showing me around!
The place is packed! There’s a huge waiting area and the kitchen is full of activity. From the stacked chickens in a circle to the organ meat to tandoori naan, there’s so much going on. They have 200 staff members in the kitchen! It’s epic!
The crispy exterior and soft, chewy interior were fantastic. It was so filling and now I was full!
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Next, we got some fire paan at Panwaari. It was cold, crunchy and smoky. I loved the ice and coconut inside! It’s such an intense rush and gives you tons of energy! They also sell Signature Pan, Signature Gold Pan, Pan with Nutella, and more.
After a few days in Karachi, my time in the largest city in Pakistan was coming to an end. Come with me as I go all-out with my last Pakistani food tour in Karachi before continuing my trip around Pakistan!
The carrots, zucchini, and asparagus was really nice, and the roghni naan was almost like focaccia bread or a white pizza. The roghni naan with the chicken makhni handi was perfect. Everything at this restaurant was of such a high quality!
Outside is a vendor selling Arabic parathas, which is stuffed with chicken, tomatoes, herbs, an egg, and spices, and deep-fried. The guy gave me one for free! It tasted like a Chinese egg roll. The egg held it all together.
Where have you been?
I’d had Haleem in Kuwait back in 2019 and loved it then. But this one was on a whole other level! There was so much complexity in the texture, and the flavors were out of this world!
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Karachi Haleem is Furqan’s favorite spot in the city to get Haleem, a hearty stew that can be made from meat, lentils, and grains. In Pakistan, it’s made mostly with meat and lentils, but you can find other varieties in India and the Middle East. Here, you can get yours with chicken or beef.
The beef Haleem was much thicker and denser than the chicken. It was so rich! I understood why the beef was Furqan’s favorite. I enjoyed it more than the chicken. The masala, spices, and chilies worked together so well. It was so filling!
My Pakistani food tour in Karachi began at Karachi Haleem with my friend and guide Furqan from Manaky. He’d be taking me on an incredible, seven-hour street food tour of Karachi to try tons of local favorites, including Haleem, dahi baray, gappa ghotala, stuffed naan, chaat, and more!
I tried the chicken Haleem with a spoon first. It had a nice kick and was very thick. The combination of the mint and chilies was super tasty! I also loved the crispy fried onions.
Our next stop was Cloud Naan, a fusion place that makes stuffed naan. We got some creamy tikka naan, which contains chicken, mushrooms, onions, mozzarella cheese, and spicy cream sauce. We also got a hazelnut chocolate Oreo naan!
It contains cilantro, sev, three chutneys, yogurt, lentils, and chickpeas. It reminded me of dahi puri and was sweet, salty, and bitter with a nice crunch! The yogurt tied it all together. I loved it!
