Traditional Food

The Flavours of South Punjab

Saraiki food is simple, hearty and deeply tied to the land — wheat and maize from the fields along the Indus, milk and meat from village herds, and sugarcane from Multan's countryside. Meals are cooked slowly, shared generously and rarely eaten alone.

Multan is famous the world over for its sohan halwa, a dense, ghee-rich sweet stirred for hours in giant karahis. Villages across Multan, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rahim Yar Khan still gather around saag and makai di roti in winter, while the Cholistan desert has its own hardy cuisine built for a land of little water.

• Multan's iconic sohan halwa, sold in tins across Pakistan.
• Sajji — whole marinated meat slow-roasted over open coals.
• Saag with makai di roti, the classic winter village meal.
• Mehmaan-nawazi — hospitality expressed through shared food.

Hospitality Around the Table

In Saraiki culture, food is never just food — it is how a household honours its guests. Turning away a visitor without feeding them is considered deeply shameful, and even modest families will slaughter an animal or cook an extra dish when someone arrives unannounced.

This spirit of mehmaan-nawazi shapes weddings, urs festivals at Sufi shrines, and everyday village life, where langar (free community meals) are cooked in huge deghs and shared without distinction of wealth or status. Food traditions here connect closely with the wedding feasts of the region and the seasonal festivals celebrated across South Punjab.

Plan a trip to taste it all — explore South Punjab tourism or visit the city of Multan, the heartland of Saraiki cuisine.