For Peshawarites, Siri Paya is not just a winter treat

Be it Sehri or Iftar, famous Siri Paya outlets remain crowded

PESHAWAR: For most Pakistanis, Siri Paya is a dish best enjoyed in nippy winter weather. To them, a piping hot serving a delicacy enjoyed far and wide in the country is one of the best ways to beat the chills. Not so for Peshawarites, though, it seems.

The residents of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s capital like their Siri Paya all year round.

During Ramazan, the dish is the breakfast of choice at sehri for many Peshawar residents. But that does not mean its consumption is solely confined to just before daybreak.

The delicacy is also a regular item at iftars in Peshawar. In fact, if you want to break your fast with a serving for Siri Paya from any of Peshawar’s famous vendors, you will often find it impossible to
do so without booking a place in advance.

Some of the famous Siri Paya vendors of Peshawar are located in the Hashtnagari, Tehsil Gor Khatri, Kohat and Saddar areas.

Kartarpura — Pindi’s gastronomic gold mine

Be it sehri or iftar, a visit to any of these outlets would reveal them to be overcrowded. While the price of a single serving has doubled to Rs200 due to inflation, it appears to have done nothing to Peshawarites’ demand for Siri Paya in Ramazan.

Siri Paya, which translates to ‘head and hoof’, is cooked using, as the name betrays, meat and bones from the head and hooves of either goats, sheep or cows.

An amalgamation of Central and South Asian cuisine, the meat and bones are seasoned with spices and cooked on low heat for hours.

Historically, the dish would be cooked overnight on open fire, but modern stoves and pressure cookers mean it can now be prepared much faster. Once ready, the dish resembles a soup and is usually eaten with naan as breakfast.

Siri Paya’s analogue in Central Asia is known as Pacha. That dish was adapted and developed into Siri Paya by the Muslim cooks of the Sub-Continent through the addition of South Asian spices.

Nowadays, Siri Paya is popular all over Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The dish is also available wherever a South Asian diaspora exists and South Asian cuisine is sold.