Food of the Frontier: Why Indians love this cuisine of slow cooking

Food from Pakistan's mountainous province is tender and avoids spices

“Where the men are tough but the lamb is tender”. Fans say that about food from Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Large chunks of meat or vegetables are sparsely marinated and slow-cooked in a tandoor at high temperature. The use of spices is balanced to enhance the natural flavours of the ingredients. 

"What sets it apart is its distinctive cooking technique, characterised by minimal marination and slow-cooking at high temperatures, which brings out the inherent flavours of the ingredients,” says Zeeshan Ali, a food and hospitality consultant in Delhi.

“The judicious use of spices allows