Pathoray: The delicacy that’s been tantalising Lahori taste buds for decades

Dish is light and can be enjoyed as a snack instead of a meal

LAHORE: Among the array of food street items immensely enjoyed by Lahoris - pathoray is one dish that adds to the uniqueness of the local foodscape.

It is famous as a breakfast item and anyone who notices a typical pathoray stall for the first time might mistake it for the regular channa puri or halwa puri, but the seemingly ordinary puri made with a mix of several different types of lentils with chickpeas, flavoured with garam masaala is what makes a pathroray refreshingly different.



A regular pathroay is served with chickpeas curry, commonly known as choolay, along with mango pickle (achaar) and salad.

Experts roll out the dough, fill it with a various ingredients and then deep fry it to a golden brown colour. However, owing to the ingredients it is prepared from, the dish is surprisingly light on the stomach and one can enjoy it as a snack rather than a complete meal. It is famous as a breakfast item and pathoray can be found at various old food streets in the city.

One of the shops is at Old Anarkali Food Street, which is more famously known as Anarkali Market, off Mall Road.



Talking to The Express Tribune the shop owner Muhammad Javed, who is in early 60’s now, said the shop is functional for around 80 years. “I remember when I started working at the shop, I was in grade two,” he said.

“A large number of students from nearby universities and colleges, especially in winter season, visit our stall. A single serving is sold at Rs55,” he added.

According to Javed, the street vendors use to mostly sell channa puri, but with the changing dynamics and the renovated Gowalmandi food street, not very far from the Anarkali Market, a lot of small scale shops closed down while the rest have significantly lost their business.

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“Around 15 years ago, we used to sell pathoray worth Rs10,000 daily during peak season, but don’t get many customers during summers,” said Javed.

Javed said that they also prepared a slightly different and a richer version of pathoray for special occasions. “We just add a bit of chicken into the roti to add more flavour for special events such as weddings,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2017.