Top 10 Traditional Food of Hunza Valley

Located in the far northern side of Gilgit Baltistan, a mountainous region of Pakistan rich in ancient sites and breathtaking landscape is the captivating Hunza Valley.  The Hunza people, who reside at elevations of more than 2000 m, have distinctive customs, languages, and meals exclusively found in this region.  Particularly flavorful and diverse, Hunza food culture is unmatched by anything else available in the rest of the country.

In addition to its delicious cuisine, the Hunza Valley is blessed with a bounty of homegrown, organic fruits and vegetables that are nourished by streams from several local glaciers. These foods will taste authentically natural and pure to you. Only those who have tried Hunza cuisine can truly understand how these delectable delicacies taste. Seriously, you will only find tastier foods than Hunza’s. And by that, I don’t just mean worldwide; I also mean within Pakistan. Even basic aloo is extraordinary.

Hunza Valley meals, in contrast to traditional Pakistani cuisine, are frequently served without spices. Even though you may feel that you have to include them, make an effort to appreciate the unique flavors that each recipe brings to the table.

Go-Lee, also known as Giyaling, is a popular Hunza breakfast food. It is specially made for the celebration of Giani, which takes place in May and June each year following the harvesting of wheat crops. Giyaling, produced with whole grain flour, is a flatbread. Typically, this bread is prepared for special events. Butter is put on it before being served with tea.

One of Hunza’s mouthwatering delicacies is harissa. The mix of beef, rice, wheat, and green lentils is fantastic. This can be comparable to haleem, but because it is made with ghee specifically, it has a unique flavor all its own. The locals enjoy eating this dish since it is highly nutritional. It’s simple to produce harissa, which is a healthy source of protein. It can be offered with naan or served on its own.

This city considers Chapshuro to be pizza. It is a type of bread that has chopped beef, mutton, or chicken mixed with coriander, red and green chilies, onions, tomato, black pepper, and plain flour. At a specific temperature, this dish is roasted in the oven until it browns on all sides. Because it is easy to prepare and delicious, you may also attempt this recipe at home.

An excellent cuisine item from this area is shopan. The main components needed to make this dish include sheep/goat stomach, minced beef, flour, salt, red chili powder, coriander, onion, herbs, water, pepper, and oil. Typically, meat is marinated in vinegar or lemon juice to release its odor. Wheat bread or rice is offered alongside it.

It is made with animal intestines, wheat flour, buckwheat flour, salt, red chili powder, coriander, herbs, onion, water, and oil. It resembles sausages. To fill them with the mixture, the intestines are well cleansed. The typical cooking time is 45 minutes, and soup is served with it.

The meal is made of dough prepared from organic flour, that is combined with spinach and potato that are cultivated locally. In essence, it has the flavor of the alfredo pasta meal you never even knew you wanted. Hoilo Garma is particularly interesting to me since it is frequently topped with finely chopped apricot seeds, that impart a cheesy flavor without the use of any actual cheese. If you’re missing Western food when visiting Pakistan from outside the country, you must have Hoilo Garma!

Hunza residents need extremely energizing food to meet their bodily requirements because the majority of them work in the fields. One of the best meal options for these people is diram fitti. It’s hard to beat Diram Fitti for breakfast. The bread’s natural sweetness comes from the sprouted wheat flour used in its production. You can serve this dish with butter, almond, or apricot oil.

Traditional apricot soup known as “Buttering Daudo” is typically prepared in the winter. It is a very effective treatment for cold-related illnesses and is particularly effective for those with constipation problems. This soup is made with dried apricots and additional components including sugar, water, and lemon. Due to its many advantages, it is nearly always prepared during the colder months in every Hunza household.

A wild aromatic shrub called tumuro can be found in the upper mountains close to Nagar Valley. Boiling the tumoro in water under medium heat produces the tea. To extract the flavor from the leaves, it is cooked for a little while before being strained and served. This tea has several health benefits for people’s bodies, including the ability to relieve headaches, calm nerves, and relieve sore throats.

In Hunza, fenugreek soup is often referred to as Sikarkuch’e Dagowang. The dried and ground form of fenugreek is used to make it. This plant’s stem is broken up into a powder after being dried and powdered properly. Following that, it is thickened by cooking with wheat flour. It’s an extremely healthy soup that lowers cholesterol and soothes internal inflammation.