Pakistan’s own fast-food style
Fast food in Pakistan has its own personality. American chains arrived in the 1990s, but local shops quickly made the food their own: spicier chicken, tikka pizza and fajita toppings, garlic mayo on everything, and the zinger burger as the national favourite. Food streets now add new trends every year, from Nashville hot tenders to Japanese-style sandos.
Why make it at home
Homemade fast food costs much less than takeaway. Every recipe here has a cost panel: enter your local prices and compare with your favourite shop. You also choose the chicken, the oil and how much salt goes in, and you can make lighter versions. Most recipes include an oven or air-fryer method, and many have freezer tips so a fast-food night takes minutes.
The fried chicken family
One technique runs through the fried chicken recipes: a seasoned for juicy meat, a rough of flour, egg and flour again for the craggy crust, and oil kept at a steady 170°C. Master it once and you can make crispy fried chicken, the zinger, nuggets, wraps and the Nashville sando. Double frying gives chips and chicken a crust that stays crunchy.
Pizza, pasta and sandwiches
Start with our pizza dough, or make a tawa pizza if you have no oven. For pasta there’s creamy white sauce pasta and spicy desi chicken macaroni. Sandwiches range from the café club sandwich to a lunch-box chicken mayo sandwich and the creamy Japanese egg sando.
Sauces make the meal
A few sauces turn plain food into fast food. Garlic mayo gives you zinger sauce, burger sauce and mint mayo from one base. The Nashville sauces page has fiery hot oil and creamy comeback sauce. Keep a tub of coleslaw in the fridge to add cool crunch.
Fast food, sensibly
Fast food is a treat. Serve it with salad or coleslaw, choose grilled options like the grilled chicken burger on ordinary days, and save deep-fried meals for weekends and parties. For quick desi street food, see our snacks section.