Paya (food)

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Paya is a traditional and nutritious food from Pakistan.

It is also served at various festivals and treated to special guests and people who get together. Paaya means Legs in Urdu.

The main ingredients of the dish are the trotters (or hoof) of a cow, goat, buffalo or sheep; cooked with various spices and herbs.

Video Paya (food)

Origins

The paya originated from the amalgamation of South and Central Asian cuisine. In Central Asia it was known as pacha. The dish was adapted to the local cuisines by the Muslim cooks of the South Asian subcontinent.

Subsequently, paya became popular all over present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is also available in restaurants serving Pakistani cuisines outside South Asia. It is especially very famous in Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi of Pakistan.

Maps Paya (food)

Recipes

Recipes for this dish vary regionally. The soup base is created by sautéed onions and garlic, where a number of curry-based spices are then added to the meat and bones. The cooked dish is served with a garnish of fresh diced ginger and fresh long coriander leaves, along with fresh sliced lemon.

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Cooking methods

It is slow cooked on low heat for hours (usually overnight) on the stove. However, it is nowadays mostly cooked in a pressure cooker.

Historically, when people used wood or coal as a cooking fuel, women would start this dish at night and slow cook it in the coals until the morning. This dish has a soup-like consistency and is usually eaten as a breakfast food in the winter months with naan.

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Variations

There are many variations of this dish. A popular variation is siri paya (??? ????), where siri means the head of an animal and paya means the feet. It is considered a delicacy.

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See also

• Pacha
• Nihari
• Haleem
• List of stews
• Pakistani meat dishes
• Punjabi cuisine

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References

Source of the article : Wikipedia