The flavour of a nation

Take a walk down Gawalmandi's Food Street and enjoy the aromas and taste of Pakistan.

In billowing white trousers he waddled across the road — his body heaving under the weight of his medicine-ball tummy — bulging cheeks bright red. "You can tell a Lahori from a mile away," chuckled the woman in the shop.

Some Pakistanis consider Lahore the country's culinary
capital and, by extension, Lahoris are thought to have vociferous appetites. This was the stereotype, the woman in the shop had referred to. Lahore is a city that has lived through different historical phases. Over the centuries these influences have merged, as is reflected in the cuisine on offer at the famous 'Food Street' in Gawalmandi, Lahore.

Gawalmandi is an ancient area in central Lahore — it lies within the old walled city and was originally a small village that was famous for its trade in dairy products. After Partition this village metamorphosed into an urban area that eventually became a very busy street.

A traditional flavour

Over decades an increase in public movement in the area led to pollution and congestion. What is now Food Street originally looked like a typical third-world street until the local authorities decided to launch a pioneering project. The aim was to create a street where people would be able to enjoy the food and evening ambience minus the hassle of traffic, common to this area.

This project was executed by architect Hanif Daud who is
a specialist in Urban Preservation and it was funded by a leading corporate house. Thus was born Gawalmandi — The Food Street — which in the evening is transformed into a unified pedestrian zone.

One of the first design elements the visitor will notice is the entrance gate that gives the street a frame. As the architect of this project explains, "The design [of the gate] retains a flavour of the Mughal tradition, pertinent to the historic architecture of Lahore, and the creation of a gateway entrance is both functional, and compatible with the street configuration."

Light brackets and wrought iron poles lend the street an elegant touch — reminiscent of years gone by. The corporate sponsors of this project have also been given their due coverage but in a very subtle and engaging way.

Food Street exhibits a well-calculated architectural intervention that complements the history and culture of the area rather than competing with it. Suspended overhead telephone and electric cables, although they lend to the atmosphere, need also to eventually be placed in underground conduits.

The choice is yours

Gawalmandis' Food Street has a large variety of dishes on offer — all authentic desi food. They include:

Hareesa — made by combining two or more kinds of meat,
rice and lentils, cooking and mashing the mixture with the
addition of ghee.

Phajjey ke paaye — paaye are the hooves and leg bones of cattle that are cooked over a long period of time. The stew that collects is very gooey and after having a variety of strong spices added is quite palatable, although drenched in cholesterol.

Haleem — a derivative of hareesa except that it is
traditionally prepared using mutton, wheat, lentils, ginger and garlic. The mixture is pounded into a thick paste and is cooked for at least ten hours.

Taka Tak — a dish whose name originated from the sound made during the preparation. This dish utilises all the fleshy pieces of an animal's anatomy that would usually be thrown away (and I do mean ALL the pieces). The meat is prepared by tossing in spices and using two sharp vertically held knives that chop the meat into small pieces and are also used to toss the meat into the air and turn it to stop it from burning. As the knive edges hit the flat, metallic circular tava they make a very loud 'taka tak' sound. Quite literally music to the hungry visitor's ears.

These dishes are in addition to the well-known chicken-tikkah, biryani, seekh-kebab, fried-fish that is a part of Pakistani cuisine.

In fact some of the more famous shops you will find on the
street include 'Sardar di machi' and 'The Pak Tikka Shop'. The reader will no doubt have noticed the absence of vegetarian dishes in this round up — the reason being that most Pakistanis are devout carnivores!

No Lahori meal would be complete without dessert and there is quite a variety to choose from. Halwa Puri is a very heavy breakfast and is a very delicate traversal between salty and sweet. The Halwa is a sweetmeat and is served warm with just-out-of-the-frying-pan lightly crusted bread (puri).

Gajjar ka Halva (Carrot Halwa) and Gulab Jamuns are stacked in little mounds. Handmade ice-cream is available at 'Chamans' and is worth a try. Baraf ka Gola or Gola Gunda is the old subcontinental version of ice-cream — crushed ice in the shape of a ball is pushed onto a stick and dipped in very brightly coloured sugar syrup. One enterprising stall selling this sweet-dish has the words 'Gola.com' painted along the sides.

Then there is the divine Falooda, which is made by mixing rose syrup with vermicelli, tapioca seeds, sugar, ice-cream and milk. Different flavours are available with the addition of saffron, mango, chocolate and fig.

Magical night time

Drinks vary from lassi — a yogurt drink that can be thick and sweet or thin and salty to qahwah (traditional black Arabic coffee) to Sabz Chai (Green Tea).

Another interesting aspect of this magical night time world is that it is almost an egalitarian utopia — as cars are not allowed into the street rich and poor all share the same space. Then there is the juxtaposition of this world near that of the red light district and one of the oldest parts of Lahore. Tables that line the street are filled up during the evening and the sumptuous smells of cooking mingles with that of sheesha. The sounds interspersed with shouts from the shop owner to his 'chota' to serve a particular table.

One of the most popular restaurants in the Food Street is Cooco's Den, which is run by Iqbal Hussain — one of the country's foremost painters. He grew up in the red light district when it was a shunned locality — not for respectable people to be seen in. Although the area is still shrouded in darkness, the Food Street that borders it has become a place where people can easily enjoy the history of Lahore and its cuisine.

Too often architects consider only buildings and spend little thought on the surrounding streets. The Gawalmandi Food Street Project has been a resounding success in both preserving the past and also opening up a picturesque and historic part of Lahore to its public and tourists. This is a project that can, with some concerted effort from both government and local authorities, also be applied to other historical streets in the country.