- Good morning, I hope
you're having an amazing day.
It's Mark Wiens.
I'm in Karachi, which is a mega city
in Pakistan along the Arabian Sea.
This city has some extreme
food, and food in the masses.
And so, today I'm meeting up
with my friend Ali and Shahrooz,
and they're gonna take me on
a Karachi street food tour.
We're gonna eat some
unbelievable Pakistani food.
This is going to be the ultimate
street food tour of Karachi.
(rhythmic music)
We just arrived at the first air crowd.
This place is called Javed Nihari.
We're here to eat a very specialty.
How are you this morning?
- It's called nihari.
It's like a meat stew.
It's so rich, and this
is one of the best places
in Karachi to eat it.
There's a couple different
components to the dish.
So, he first scoops on the meat,
then he scoops on the thick, rich stew,
and then some of the red
oil Desi Ghee on top.
Everything here is just
massive, and they have these,
they're like podiums
where they cook the food,
where they serve the nihadi,
but then also the bread production.
The star of the hill is the Sheebow,
which is a type of bread
I've never seen before,
then the really interesting
part is when he takes it out,
and then I think that's just
a panful of water and a brick.
Just sprinkles it with water,
and then this is the finished product.
That's unique.
We're all here.
We're all ready.
- This is fun.
- This is the crew
for the day.
The Karachi street food tour,
the ultimate street food tour.
Let's tear into the bread first,
and this is that special bread, pull,
and, yeah, that's amazing.
I've never seen water sprinkled on bread.
Now, the nihari, this is the
signature with the bone marrow,
with the meat, a little bit of ...
Oh, it's just ultra tender.
Oh man, and you wanna kind
of balance a little bit of
that stew along with that Desi Ghee.
Oh, wow.
Wow, you can feel the chilis in that,
and then the bread, it is
almost like croissant style,
like pastry dough, and then
the nihari has almost like a
cinnamony-infused taste to it.
You gotta sprinkle it
with ginger, fresh ginger,
and fresh chili.
This is one of the joys of eating nihari.
(rhythmic music)
With the lime, that gives
it that refreshing touch,
and the fresh chilis.
That is a generous chunk of the cow brain.
Oh, look at the creaminess of that.
It looks like cottage cheese.
You've got creaminess, on top of richness,
on top of richness, on top of creaminess.
It's so creamy.
This is one of the hardiest breakfasts
you could possibly have in the world.
(rhythmic music)
That is not a dish you wanna eat every day
because it's so rich, but once in a while,
that will just satisfy
you like nothing else.
Thank you very much.
(speaking in foreign language)
- One of the greatest things
about being a food lover
in Karachi is that it's such a mega city,
and it attracts people.
People live here from all
over every single tiny region
of Pakistan, and so you'll
find food from every region
of Pakistan within Karachi.
(rhythmic music)
Where are we heading next?
- [Ali] Burns Road.
- Burns Road?
Okay, and Burns Road is really known
for its extreme food, right?
(upbeat music)
We just made it to Burns Road,
and it's kind of quiet
today I think because
it's a Sunday, but one
thing you'll notice,
and one thing you'll love
about Karachi are the buses.
They kind of look like
they're on their last leg.
They've been well used,
but the decoration,
they're so artistic.
It's such a culture of the buses.
It's so cool to see, and
as you just drive by,
you can just see so
many different designs.
(speaking in foreign language)
Okay.
(speaking in foreign language)
Oh, yeah, wow, this place is just bumping.
- Hey.
- Hey, how are you?
- How are you?
Pay for travel, you're
on Google or YouTube?
- This one is the Arabian Paratha,
and yeah, it's similar
to things you'll find
all across this entire region.
He flattens out the
dough, he fills it with
that mixture, and then
wraps it up into a pocket,
and into the oil to fry.
It's shallow fried.
I love the one-handed egg
drop, and then he takes
the spatula, and just like
flattens it into the meat.
So, he just cut it in four pieces.
It's kind of like an entire
mint, chicken omelette
within the fry bread.
Oh, it's hot.
(speaking in foreign language)
Thank you.
We didn't have any chairs
at first, but the kind guy
just brought a chair over.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Shahrooz] Thank you, man.
Thank you very much.
- Okay, convenient.
- [Ali] Did you taste?
- I'm getting literally like whole ...
It's how they leave the cumin
seeds whole, like, every now
and then, you get a whole
crunch of a cumin seed.
It's so good.
- So interesting.
This is actually quite Arabic,
but it's very mild in spices.
- [Mark] And he's serving tea, right?
Nice.
- [Shahrooz] Out of a bucket.
(speaking in foreign language)
(laughing)
(rhythmic music)
- He is performing for us.
He's just moving into the road to dance.
(rhythmic music)
Wow, that is sweet.
Thank you, man.
Nice to meet you.
Thank you.
- [Ali] This is Matka kulfi.
- [Mark] Matka.
- [Ali] Kulfi.
- Matka Kulfi.
Kulfi is like ice cream,
but then these are unique
because they're made and frozen
into little clay, little cones.
I think I got the pistachio part.
Oh, wow, this actually is great.
- [Shahrooz] Is it the
cone in there again?
- [Ali] Yup.
- Like reduced-down, kind of
like homemade condensed cream.
Let's trade, I gotta try that saffron.
Oh, wow, you can really taste the saffron.
It does have a really
pronounced saffron taste to it.
That was really good
actually, a very unique
ice cream eating experience, Kulfi.
The highlight is just eating it out
of the little clay cups, cones.
Rabri.
- Rabri.
- The Rabri here.
okay, there's another thing in
Karachi that we have to try.
It's called Rabri.
We're gonna order one here.
It's all milk based.
You can see kind of like some strands,
kind of like some strands in it as well.
Oh, wow.
It really has like a
condensed milk taste to it
but, at the same time, has
almost like string cheese
in the middle of that like
condensed milk, yogurty sweetness.
- Of course, I was
expecting it to be cold.
It's like sweet curds.
- Rabri Shireen.
- Rabri Shireen.
(rhythmic music)
That one is kind of like a sweet yogurt
with little jellies in it.
We're just walking past,
and we just smelled it,
and saw the giant copper pot.
He's serving biryani, and we just decided
to get a small plate just to try.
We're all just gonna sample it,
but this is such a cool
place underneath a tree.
(speaking in foreign language)
(rhythmic music)
And he conveniently has
some tables out here too.
Just try that rice first.
It's such a long grain,
such a fluffy rice,
and what I can taste,
it tastes like it has a
dry lemon flavor to it.
What's really good to me about this
is that dry lemon flavor,
the aromatic foundation
of this biryani.
And this is just such a cool spot.
I mean, you see the big, copper metal pan,
people are hanging around.
This is a great spot.
(speaking in foreign language)
Very good.
(speaking in foreign language)
(rhythmic music)
(speaking in foreign language)
Liaquatabad (speaking in foreign language)
Okay, that's the name of this area.
(rhythmic music)
This area is so congested,
and there's so much action going on.
I mean, it's one of those
areas where just everything
is exciting, and something
is fascinating everywhere you look,
the energy, the excitement.
Their shit's called Nali biryani.
Now, Nali is the bone marrow in biryani.
We already actually sampled
some biryani earlier
this morning, but this is Nali biryani,
so it's bone marrow biryani.
He just took like shovel
fulls of the bones,
these are beef bones, and dumped them into
the spices which are already simmering.
It just like shattered
into the giant pots.
Wow, that smells unbelievably good.
(speaking in foreign language)
And now, that's just gonna simmer away
until the rice is fully cooked,
and everything has mingled
together in the pot.
So they're making the
biryani down the road,
but then you walk down the road here,
and this is where they're serving it.
(speaking in foreign language)
As he's dishing it out, with
every spoon that he grabs,
he hits the spoon on the side of the pot.
He hits the side of that pan so fast,
like my eye cannot even follow it.
I'm like trying to film,
I mean, I'm looking in my
screen filming, and I cannot
actually follow him hitting
the spoon on the side.
It's something to quickly mention
as they dish out our biryani.
There are two spots.
They both have, I believe,
started around the same time,
but both serve the Nali biryani.
The more well known spot is
actually across the street here,
but they happen to be closed on Sunday,
but then they built this
like indoor dining room,
but this place, what's
this place called, Ali?
- [Ali] Mudri Biryani.
- [Mark] Mudri Biryani.
- [Ali] Mudri Ali Biryani.
- I think they're serving our plate.
(speaking in foreign language)
It's not even a plate, but
this is an entire metal saucer,
but, wow, the heaviness (laughing).
Before we empty out the bone marrow,
let's just try that
rice, that fragrant rice.
You can see it's fluffy.
There's chilis in here.
We saw those chilis floating
around in the sauce.
(laughing)
Oh, the black pepper in there.
That's the first spice that I notice.
Hassam is gonna help us with the bones.
Oh, there it comes.
(rhythmic music)
- [Shahrooz] Dude, I can't
believe that actually works.
- I'm just amazed at how
much marrow just came out.
That just splattered all over the biryani,
and they're still getting more.
Just like pure, butter
whiteness just coming out
of that bone, and we still got one more.
Okay, I gotta try it.
It's just like dripping with oil.
(laughing)
- It works.
- Like a worm just fell out.
- Gotta hit it hard, man.
- Gotta hit it harder?
Rice is kind of flying.
I can hear pieces rattling in there.
Oh, there it comes.
My fist is getting sore, but I guarantee,
this is one of the most fun meals
you will ever have in your life.
I'm kind of like just
splattered in spice and rice.
- [Ali] Wow.
- More is coming out.
He's looking at (laughing).
(speaking in foreign language)
(laughing)
And you can see the whole spices.
There's cinnamon, and I noticed
the star anise in there too,
but we gotta make a marrow
bite that counts next.
Let's go in, guys.
- [Shahrooz] Oh, hello.
It's still so hot.
- [Mark] It's so delicate.
Marrow bite.
- [Men] Cheers.
- No way.
(laughing)
- The marrow makes butter feel tough.
That's how soft and melt
in your mouth it is,
going from solid to liquid on your tongue.
I need a marrow chunk bite on that bite.
(rhythmic music)
- Biryani is one of my
favorite, favorite dishes
in the world.
That is easily the best.
It cannot be described how
much flavor was in every bite.
- [Mark] Ali, what did you think?
- It was amazing, and I'm
not very regular with marrow,
but I think marrow and biryani
make a perfect, lethal combination.
- Very best food, biryani in the league.
- It's blown me away.
I have a renewed sense
of energy right now.
We tried to pay.
They would not accept payment.
They wouldn't take money from
us, so they gave it to us.
Huge thank you to this spot.
That is amazing biryani that
will just blow your taste buds.
Wipe the sweat and the marrow
coming out of my pores.
(laughing)
Oh man.
That was a game changer,
a biryani game changer in Karachi.
(rhythmic music)
(speaking in foreign language)
Video.
- You add this channel.
- Yes, I will add it, I will add it.
Great, nice to meet you.
- [Young Man] Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
- We are all Pakistani,
left to all 20%, all people.
- [Mark] Thank you.
- Very much.
- [Mark] Thank you.
- Okay, see you.
- Awesome, really, have a great day.
- Thank you.
- So many friendly people,
and we had to actually stop to ask around
because there's so many
alleys, you can get lost.
It's a maze back here,
but the next dish is supposed
to be somewhere around the corner
that we're gonna try to find.
(rhythmic music)
- These are vegetable salad,
and he puts masala on top of this.
After having so much (speaking
in foreign language),
and biryani--
- [Mark] We need some vegetables.
- [Ali] We need some vegetable.
- And he is a master slicer.
He chops up the cucumber.
It's (chopping sound).
He's a machine slicer,
just amazing, amazing
chopping skills, and what's
amazing is how he cuts the onion
in like a floral blooming shape.
Street Karachi vegetable salad,
it felt like the right thing we should do
after eating that much
bone marrow in the morning.
We need some vegetables.
(rhythmic music)
He has some of the most
amazing knife skills
I've every seen.
That is what you call
a hand-chopped salad.
One more thing I just noticed,
the vegetables are sitting
here on the cart, but
he's using a wind screen.
This is a car wind screen,
piece of glass, a windshield
to hold the chopped
vegetables as the counter top.
The countertop is a windshield.
This is a first for me.
(rhythmic music)
okay, let's try some of this salad.
The plate is in the cart.
Quite a few people surrounding us,
but let's try this salad.
- It's so awesome.
- I got an onion and one of the cucumbers.
The masala and the lime juice,
and it is so incredibly fresh tasting.
These carrots are almost red, so sweet.
That combination of the
masala and the fresh squeeze
of lime, though, that's what makes it.
(speaking in foreign language)
Amazing.
(speaking in foreign language)
That was one of the, by
far, the coolest salad ever,
but what a man, what skills.
Actually, we didn't even
make it to the right place.
The place that we're going
to which serves fish katakat
is actually right next door here,
and you can here the clanking of the pan.
(sizzling)
But it's usually made
with a variety of meats,
and especially organs and brain,
but this one is made with fish.
The aromas, and the steams,
and the smoke just pouring
off of that gridle, and
then he makes a fresh batch,
serves it, like as soon as it's ready,
he serves the entire thing
and starts the process again.
Wow, this is next-level food.
I think I got some chili smoke
to the eyes on that batch,
but this is the stall, this is the place,
and then across the street,
they have a seating section.
Hey.
- Hey, brother.
- [Mark] Hey, how are you?
- How are you?
- [Mark] Nice to meet you.
- I was just
watching your video in the morning,
and I was thinking how can I ...
you're not coming to Pakistan.
- [Mark] Thank you very much.
- It was a surprise for me.
- [Mark] Awesome to meet you.
- It's a complete surprise
for me.
- [Mark] Thank you, thank you.
What is your name?
- My name is Solmon, brother.
- Alman.
- Solmon.
- Solmon.
- Yes.
- Great, very nice to meet you.
- I was watching your
video in the morning.
(speaking in foreign language)
- We met the owner,
really threatening man.
He's like one of a kind here too.
He's the only one that
makes the fish Katakat.
It's served with chapati, so
we'll just try the fish first
before we dig into the extra chutney.
(rhythmic music)
Oh, wow.
Oh, that's masterful because
the fish is deep fried,
but then refried on the hot plate,
it has this like crunch around it.
- Unbelievably good.
(laughing)
- That's just like a
fish, spice-full mashup.
Oh, look at that chutney, next bite.
It looks like coriander and chilis,
and you can smell the mint,
I believe, in there too.
It's like full of herbs, actually.
You think it's just pure chili,
but it's actually full of herbs.
We got a refill.
The ultimate bite, fish,
then scoop up some onions
on top of that, extra
onions, and finally that
unbelievable chutney.
That chutney, you could
drink it, it's so good.
(rhythmic music)
And one more shout out to the
salad man across the street,
so friendly, so genuine.
His cart is right in front.
He walked over here, and gave
us an entire plate of salad
just with a smile on his face,
and just dropped it on our table,
and he has such fresh vegetables.
(rhythmic music)
I could not be happier.
One of the greatest herb
chili sauces I've ever had.
(speaking in foreign language)
Chutney is amazing.
(laughing)
(speaking in foreign language)
That dish just blew my
taste buds away again,
and that chutney, paired
with that chutney,
you will not go wrong.
Karachi is just exceeding, blowing away
my culinary expectations.
Oh, first we're buying what?
- We are buying Sherwanis.
- Oh, yes.
Okay, we're buying some clothes first.
We're going shopping for clothes first,
and then Ali has set up
something very unique.
It's gonna involve some
livestock and some milk.
(rhythmic music)
(rhythmic music)
Nice to meet you.
- Pleasure to meet you.
- [Mark] Thank you.
- [Store Owner] Come again,
and again, and again.
- Start blogging, man.
Start blogging.
This may be one of the
greatest clothing investments
I have ever made in my life.
I just feel like I'm floating.
This has to be the most
comfortable outfit I've ever worn.
It's so breezy and airy, and
this is exactly the outfit,
the look we needed for the
next spot that we're going.
(rhythmic music)
Step outside of the car and
just immediately the aroma,
you can smell the buffaloes.
This is Asia's biggest
colony of buffaloes.
It's a colony because it's an entire city,
and basically, every house,
every home, every person here
deals in buffaloes, raises buffaloes,
then this is where a lot
of the dairy comes from,
and one of the reasons I
was so excited to come here
is because milk and dairy is so important.
It's essential in Pakistan
and Pakistani food cuisine.
Wow, I think we're gonna milk the buffalo.
Thank you for inviting us.
I just stepped in some poo.
Wow.
(laughing)
He just sprayed me in the face.
(laughing)
Wow, that is a new experience
I've never had before.
(laughing)
(rhythmic music)
In my ear.
That milk is actually really good.
That's as fresh as possible.
That is a totally new experience.
I have never had that kind
of culinary experience in my life.
The milk is so sweet, actually.
Thank you for that.
- You really have to squeeze.
- [Mark] Are you getting it?
- Yeah, but they're squeezing hard, man.
(laughing)
Dude, it's so sweet.
He's squeezing hard, and that's
such a technique.
- [Mark] I gotta try
squeezing it.
- [Shahrooz] But it's so sweet.
- [Mark] Oh, yeah.
- [Shahrooz] It's crazy.
- Wow, just get a little trickle.
It's really hard.
You gotta squeeze, your forearms.
That's the freshest milk mustache
you will ever have in your life.
- And the buffalo colony.
(rhythmic music)
- We're gonna sit down here now in front
of the buffalo colony,
kind of relax, and I
think we might try Mahal.
They're bringing out some fruit,
but I think we might try some butter.
A quick banana in the meantime.
I think that fresh milk was
even sweeter than the banana.
(speaking in foreign language)
This one is the fresh butter.
- [Man In Background] Butter.
- [Mark] Butter.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Men] Yogurt.
- Yogurt.
Hook up some of the butter
in the chapati right now.
That's just unprocessed, pure butter.
(rhythmic music)
Wow.
That is a mouthful of butter.
It's so rich, but so pure tasting.
Wow, wow.
That is the best yogurt you'll ever have.
It's sour, and that's it.
There's also a vegetable dish,
which I think this is just a bonus.
I don't think this includes dairy,
some kind of a local vegetable.
(speaking in foreign language)
Thank you.
(speaking in foreign language)
It's so good.
(group chattering)
It's rich and creamy, a little
bit of cardamon in there.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
(speaking in foreign language)
As we were leaving, they
informed us that within
this colony, there's 700 to 800
thousand cows and buffaloes.
That's a magnificent amount,
but what's amazing is that
it's right within Karachi.
It's an entire colony, and
that it's so decentralized
because every family just owns an amount,
and has a little dairy farm.
Huge thank you to Mr. Shakir
for showing us around,
and to Ali for setting it up.
(rhythmic music)
We experienced an ultimate
Karachi traffic jam.
It took three hours.
We were stuck in a traffic
jam for three hours
it took to drive here.
It's called Dua Restaurant.
It's like a football-field
sized seating area.
They have a massive barbecue section,
and a massive Karachi station,
but this entire restaurant
is going up in a billow of smoke and fire.
What an atmosphere.
There are just cooking meat
for the entire sports field in the front.
Wow, what a spot.
(speaking in foreign language)
This is one of the most
impressive assembly-line
cooking stations I have ever seen.
They are just flying on the Karachis,
just like bubbling like
a lava, curry sensation
in the Karachi, and that
goes straight to your table.
The mixed grill has just arrived,
and I just have to pick up
this platter for you
to fully appreciate it.
It is like the size of a baby carriage.
(laughing)
Look at this.
This one is the Fran
Karachi, so I'm gonna start
with this since it's right in front of me.
You can just see the little prawns,
the Desi Ghee on top of
the chilis, and the ginger.
(laughing)
Oh, wow.
Oh, it's so spice-ish.
You can taste all of the
dried spices in there,
the cumin, the chilis, the
little prawns, the ginger.
We were just talking, there's no recipes.
I mean, they have a
recipe, but no measurement.
He literally just takes that spatula,
and just like sprinkles in the spices,
and gets it perfect every single time.
That knowledge, that experience, wow.
That is masterful.
Okay, next I gotta try the mutton Karachi,
and the mutton Karachi
is very famous here.
Unbelievable tender.
You taste a little bit
of a tomato-y flavor,
but they mashed up those
tomatoes inside of it.
Again, the harmony of spices.
It looks like kingfish.
I believe it's kingfish grilled,
and they just grill it
over a raging hot fire.
That dry spice blend,
and just like grilled
until smoky perfection.
(rhythmic music)
(group chattering)
Oh, yeah.
Taste that with a tomato.
Wow.
The food here is just spectacular.
(rhythmic music)
That is sensational.
Again, I'm just blown away by Pakistan,
the food culture, the people, and Karachi.
Man, what a day it's been.
Now, once you finish your
meal, and if you look around,
there's people across the playing field
that are in the position,
but once you're finished
with your meal, I wouldn't
say it's mandatory,
but, yes, it is mandatory
to get into the position
where you elbow down on the pillow,
and this is my first time in the position
in the right clothes, in the right attire.
This is one of the most
comfortable positions
after you eat that you will
ever have in your life.
My good friend, Ali, knows that very well.
- That's my conditioned position.
(laughing)
That's my default position.
- [Mark] Default position.
- Yeah.
(laughing)
I don't even have to make an effort.
I actually automatically
go into this position.
- Yeah, I saw him just kind
of slide into that position
after he took his last bite.
(laughing)
And now you can actually
have a conversation, and just
socialize, and lay around
for the rest of the evening.
It's been an action-packed day.
It's already midnight right now.
We've been eating since 8:30 a.m.,
and an unbelievable day, incredible food.
Karachi, you have been
very, very good to us.
I wanna say a huge thank
you to Ali and Shahrooz
for showing me around Karachi,
and thank you to Ali from
Landmark Communications,
and Landmark Travel for
preparing everything,
for organizing everything
for this Pakistan trip.
It's been absolutely one of the most
rewarding trips of my entire life.
