- Good morning, I hope
you're having an amazing day.
It's Mark Wiens, I'm in Lahore, Pakistan.
And the plan for today, we
are driving from Lahore,
to Gujranwala, which is a
city known for it's food.
We're gonna be taking the GT Highway,
which is also called
the Grand Trunk Highway,
which is a very famous
road, and along the way,
we're going to stop at
a couple places to eat.
But, before we leave Lahore today,
we have to stop for a breakfast.
It's a dish, it's a must.
You cannot leave Lahore
without trying this dish.
So we're gonna have breakfast first,
and then we're on our way to Gujranwala.
(upbeat music )
And we've just arrived
at a restaurant called Waris Nihari.
It's a stew, it's, it's,
I've had it before, it's
incredibly delicious.
We have a few different versions,
the one with brain as well,
and then one with meat.
He takes a piece of the meat,
then he grabs some of the actual stew,
which is like a nutty color,
he sticks that into your bowl,
then he reaches back into the meat,
and takes some of the oil,
and pours some of the red
oil on top to finish it off.
(music)
- Spilled milk, and spilled yogurt.
(sizzling food)
- He heated up a whole
pan full of desi ghee,
and infused it with some ginger
until that came to a boil.
Then he poured over a few
spoons on top of the nihari,
then he heated each bowl of nihari
over the open flame as well.
That's just finishing it off, okay.
It's ready to go eat.
We got a couple of different versions,
one is just with the beef,
one is with the beef and the brains.
It comes with the fresh ***,
and then you always have to season with
ginger, chilis, and lime.
And then we also got the lassis as well.
- I can't.
Dude, this load, this is beautiful.
So excited for this right now.
That meat is so tender you can just
run a piece of bread over it,
and it starts to just like tear apart.
- And some of that sauce
without seasoning yet.
- Oh wow.
- And all of that desi ghee.
- Dude, are you kidding?
- Wow.
- That's awesome.
- So good.
- Yes, one more bite!
Thank you!
One more bite!
- So good.
- We will take another bite, okay?
The meat is so tender.
- And you've got like,
the creamy, like stew of
the nihari underneath it.
Very fragrant, very infused, desi ghee.
- Yeah, its awesome,
but it does need to be
seasoned with the ginger
and the chiles and lime.
Making sure to grab
some of the chiles and,
oh that meat just flakes apart!
Oh, the drip!
That meat, that meat is insanely tender.
You actually don't need teeth to chew it.
Then, with that ginger,
with those thin slices of
chiles to bump up the heat,
this one includes the same beef,
but then also brains.
Oh, it just sorta like, it sunk.
- It's so gooey.
- The brains just kinda like,
collapsed into the desi ghee
and they become one with the
desi ghee when you pick it up.
The desi ghee just like, gives
it the lubrication factor.
Then you've got the meat which
is so unbelievably tender.
Then you've got the brains,
which sorta like slide right in there.
- Like, hard boiled egg yolk.
- Add some chillies just to top it off.
Hand squeeze on a little
lime for the finishing touch.
It's among the richest dishes,
I think I've ever had in my life.
This one is the nahli nihari,
and this one is actually
the most famous version.
With marrow inside.
Those little white nuggets
are all marrow chunks.
That probably is the best,
because that marrow is,
again, is just like,
disintegrating into the desi ghee.
Plus the meat.
Plus the ginger.
This is like, ultimate meatiness.
And after that, I need to lean
back and sip on the lassi.
Oh, the milk mustache!
Tastes kinda like melted ice cream.
So nihari is not a dish I
could eat too frequently
because there's so much
desi ghee, its so heavy,
it's so rich.
But that was, it was a treat.
What a way to begin this day.
(music )
On our way, heading towards,
in the direction towards Gujranwala.
And we're taking the GT Road,
that's the abbreviation
for the Grand Trunk Road.
Which connects central Asia to south Asia,
so it runs all the way
from Kabul, in Afghanistan,
to Chittagong in Bangladesh,
passing through northern Pakistan.
There's lots of traffic,
and people take this road
going short distances,
from town to town.
This is a very significant road,
and we are traveling it today.
(upbeat music)
It was only like an hour and half drive.
We didn't actually end up
stopping along the way.
But we made it to the city.
This is where we are going
to do some more eating,
and walk around and explore for the day,
for most of the day.
And behind me right here,
this is the watch tower,
built by the British.
(upbeat music)
We just walked down the
street a little bit,
and we're going to stop
somewhere to eat a massive,
like, some massive
production of fried-ness.
Mainly what they're serving is pakoras,
which are little fried fritters.
There's a potato in it,
there's some vegetables,
there's herbs, there's spices.
The cauldron of oil is bubbling away,
but they do have, like an entire,
I think they have a
few different versions,
but we're gonna a plate of
the pakoras freshly fried.
He just grabs like fist fulls
of the batter mixture potato.
Just like, squeezes it into the oil,
and then just like, when
they're done frying,
they're just fish.
He just fishes it out.
We gotta try some of
the hot, fresh, pakoras.
Oh nice.
Thank you!
You take a chunk, you
dip it into that little,
I think its yogurt sauce.
Oh, oh that's hot.
Yeah that's great.
That's freshly fried.
There's potato in there.
The green is actually spinach.
It does have a little
bit of spiciness to it.
A dream deep fried snack.
(upbeat music)
Ali said we need to try it with the rhoti.
It's actually common, I didn't
know it was a thing ever
to eat pakora with the roti.
Yeah, it does kinda work.
Because you have the soft puffy roti,
and then the really crispy
pakora.
The textures, its a textures thing.
That's nice.
- That's really nice
That's my comfort snack at home.
- As-Salaam-Alaikum.
As-Salaam-Alaikum.
Thank you, very good.
So Gujranwala is known for their food,
and also known for their wrestlers.
For having big guys that wrestle.
So we have a surprise.
I had no idea we were going
to have this opportunity.
But we met up with one of Ali's friends,
who has arranged for us to see
some of the local, traditional wrestling.
That's where we're on our way to next.
(upbeat music)
(car horns honking)
Quite the fork lift.
Quite the bustling area.
And we're gonna go...
Oh, I forgot to mention that the wrestling
doesn't start for about 15 or 20 minutes,
so we're going to stop
quickly to eat something,
before we go to the wrestling.
We're just going to walk around
this area for a little bit.
This is quite a street as well.
That looks great.
We're just walking down the road,
and we saw a man who's just
making these little patties.
Actually, we saw the sign over there.
They're made from camel.
They smell so good.
They're sizzling in this like,
fatty liquid that's just bubbling.
He grabs a handful of the meat mixture,
he just kinda flattens it on the hot plate
to create the burger patty shape,
and then directly into that
bubbling oil as it fries.
I'm pretty sure it's
frying in its own fat.
Oh.
Oh wow.
That is so good.
It's so rich.
Oh it's really nicely spiced.
It has this like, citrusy taste to it.
Actually, you know what I really taste
is the coriander seed.
It gives off that almost citrusy taste.
That is flavorful.
Camel sliders.
That coriander seed.
Oh man, above and beyond tasty.
- The smell, from across the
street, we couldn't resist.
And this guy's just making it so properly.
- (mumbles)
- I would speak, but my mouth
is full of camel right now.
- That is a line.
- Dude, that was a treat.
That was a treat.
Proper street meat treat, right there.
- I'm loving this city already.
Its kinda relaxed, but like, bustling.
So like, overly bustling at the same time.
It's not an official game,
but it's gonna be a practice.
Practice wrestling,
and wrestling is a big part
of the culture in Gujranwala.
This is gonna be a real honor that they
have invited us to watch them practice.
(mumbles)
- Hello
- Hello, Nice to meet you,
very nice to meet you.
- Thank you so much, thank you.
- He said that he just
returned from Istanbul.
- Yes.
- Two days ago, where he won
one of the championships there.
And it looks like they are
just now preparing the sand pit
for the wrestling.
- Yes, for the wrestling.
- Okay great.
They just finished their warm ups,
now they are gonna have the fights.
(upbeat music)
- Back on sand, and will finish, okay?
- Okay. For three seconds?
Or just...
- No, just touch.
- Okay.
- Just touch and it will be done.
He is finished.
- Ah, okay.
- He is the winner.
(upbeat music)
(clapping)
- We're gonna take a
quick photo with everyone.
Well done man, thank you.
Thank you so much for inviting us today.
It was an honor to be here.
(upbeat music)
(cheering)
(upbeat music)
Let me just tell you,
what the new definition
of meat dreams are.
(upbeat music)
It is a massive bus length grill,
that is just going up in a fire of smoke.
You can smell the meat in the air.
We've got a whole group with us.
Look at that grill!
It's like the aftermath
of a fireworks display.
The meaty, smokiness, it is unbelievable.
Oh, and here is where they're
skewering up the meat.
- They start from 6pm and go to 3am.
- They have their own farm,
their own source of goats,
and they sell 35-40 goats per night.
Goats of meat.
Entire goats.
Thank you.
We just moved on to the karahi station,
where he's making the
pans full of the curry.
Oh wow.
(pan sizzling)
And next station, to
see the naan being made.
Or is it time to riroti?
I think maybe time to riroti.
As-Salaam-Alaikum.
They have a really nice,
large indoor section,
but they are so nice
to put out some tables
on the street for us.
We got the mutton karahi, we
got an assorted mutton plate,
we got multiple kabobs.
Time to eat.
We gotta begin with the golakabaob,
which is this round like, meatball kabob.
It's so like, flaky.
You can taste the meatiness of it.
The umami of the fat that's
burnt, from the charcoal fire.
That is just...
That is meat at its finest.
- These are the mutton chops.
(mumbles)
- Okay time for the mutton chops.
It's so soft and tender.
The marinade of spices is almost sticky.
It's caramelized onto the meat.
The most meaty, dreamy
thing you have ever tasted.
This is the karahi this is what
he made over that just massive fire.
Oh man, you just kinda mop it up.
Mop up that ghee, that desi ghee,
and that sauce, and that mutton.
Oh, that is...
That is stunning.
You've got like, that, sour richness
of that yogurt in there.
The richness of the desi ghee.
Then just the tender mutton.
The slight ginger aroma.
- How do you pack that
much flavor into a sauce?
Dude, it's like, spicy yogurt.
Yeah,
it's like cheese.
That's insane.
- I can safely say that's
one of the greatest
grilled meat dinners I've ever had.
Unbelievably delicious.
Thank you.
Feels like I just took a bath in smoke.
I actually did.
Oh, that was stunning.
(upbeat music)
We're stopping off at one
more place this evening.
I think just one more place.
Oh, nice.
Oh, nice.
- (mumbles)
- I had no idea we were
getting this but it's paan.
- So this is called paan.
It's common in India, Pakistan, Nepal.
- Oh, thank you.
That's delicious though.
That is a mouthful of many, many things.
It's so sweet and so juicy,
with so many textures.
Then you've got the main leaf
which has like a chalkiness to it.
There's so much going on, it's amazing.
Thank you!
- Thank you, thank you, thank you!
- That was delicious.
That was a mouthful of just excitement.
(upbeat music)
Jalebi is like a fried,
batter, which is then submerged in syrup,
so it's like a sweet crispy donut.
He just kept swirling the batter,
swirling the batter,
until its like a massive frisbee.
That's a giant jalebi.
That's really good.
It's like,
- Wow.
- Deep fried crispiness just
saturated with florally syrup.
We're on our way to this village for,
we're gonna spend the
night in this village.
I think we might make one
more little snack stop,
I'm not totally sure, but we'll see.
And we're on our way again.
(music)
I think its kulfi, a type of ice cream.
And he must be the one who invented it.
Who has the recipe.
The secret recipe.
Thank you.
So cold.
And it has that kinda, slightly,
to me, its almost like
a starchy texture to it.
Very very milky.
Again you can taste that
boiled down condensed milk.
I think that's called khoya.
It's been a fantastic day
traveling from Lahore to Gujranwala.
Gujranwala, I've been
so impressed with it.
It's such a friendly city.
Such a hectic, busy city,
but so much character, so much good food.
Also, I want to say a huge
thank you to Ali and Sayem,
for bringing us around Gujranwala today.
I'll have all the links
and the information
in the description box
of everything we did.
Tomorrow we have another big day,
so I'm gonna end this video now.
Thank you very much for
watching this video.
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Good night from Gujranwala,
see you on the next video.
Thanks again for watching.
