Welcome to a brief but precise guide to five of the best food treasures of Dera Ismail Khan, for if and when you ever find yourself ever in this part of the globe.
These five places have been carefully selected for its unique taste that is incomparable to almost any in the region.
Though the popular Sobat aka Painda can be found on almost any roadside hotel, We’ll focus on other dishes.
Each numbered place name is a google map location of that delicacy. Click or tap to see it.
Naseer Cholay pulao just beside the historic Topanwala Chowk (junction) serve just one dish that they specialise in i.e. Cholay Pulao.
Pulao being the spicy brown beef rice served with a curry of chickpeas, green chili and onionized yogurt with a dash of lemon.
This addictive dish is on top of the list because of it’s addictive taste that one craves daily once you taste this delicacy. A whole lunch size serving only feels like a snack though it is a whole plateful.
Right on the Fuara (fountain) Chowk (junction) of the circular road that surrounds the whole old walled city is Al-Hafiz Pulao Gosht.
Pulao(brown rice) but served with beef. This is also an essential lunch that one can boast about to friends and acquaintances. Probably the most easy to find if one enters Dera Ismail Khan from Bannu Road.
The best dahi bhallay in my opinion ever, and one that has never upset my stomach ( salute to their attention to hygiene). They also serve one of the best Samosas in town, if you can grab a few before they run out in a daily basis.
I’ve had dahi bhallay all over Pakistan, but I always reminisce about Nafees, they make magic.
Lasaani Broast on the Northern Side of the circular road serve the best chicken roast, and some of the most splendid kebabs and bar-b-que items in town. If you don’t mind a bit of a hustle at their counter, you can find the best finger-lickin’ chicken and mouth watering Kebabs ever known.
On the same northern circular road one can find Prince Sohan Halwa.
Sohan halwa is a sweet delicacy that Dera Ismail Khan is well-known for, though this delicacy is found on almost every street of the town but the variety and taste that Prince Sohan Halwa delivers is head and shoulders above the rest.
*Honourable mentions are Sheen Khyber Restaurant and Tikka On Bannu road and Younas Samosay for breakfast puris, suji halwa and chanay near Naseer Cholay Pulao.
** Beef and Mutton are not served on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at commercial entities as their sale is prohibited according to law on these days of the week.