Karahi, Handi, Qorma, Salan: Pakistani Curry Styles Explained

In English, almost everything Pakistani with a sauce gets called “curry”. In Urdu, there are many words, each describing a particular style of cooking with its own method, texture and taste. Learn the names and you’ll understand menus, recipes and what to expect on the plate.

Salan: the everyday curry

Salan is the general word for a curry with gravy, the everyday dish eaten at home with roti or rice. It starts with onions, tomatoes and basic spices, cooked down, then meat or vegetables and water. A chicken salan or aloo gosht is home food: comforting, medium-spiced, with plenty of shorba for dipping roti.

Karahi: fast, high heat, tomato-based

A karahi is named after the wok-like pan it’s cooked in. It’s cooked fast over high heat, with tomatoes as the main liquid and little or no water, so the result is thick and glossy rather than soupy. Ginger, green chilies and black pepper are typical; onions are often left out entirely. Chicken karahi is the classic, traditionally served in the pan it was cooked in.

White karahi is a variation: yogurt and cream replace tomatoes and red chili, giving a pale, creamy, peppery dish. Try our white karahi.

Handi: creamy and slow

A handi is a deep, narrow clay or metal pot, and dishes named after it are usually creamy, rich and gently cooked. Chicken handi uses yogurt and cream, often finished with butter, and is cooked more slowly than a karahi.

Qorma: the celebration curry

Qorma is the dish of weddings and Eid. It’s rich, aromatic and built on yogurt, ground fried onions (birista), whole spices and often a little kewra or saffron. It’s milder in chili than a karahi but deeper in flavour, and the oil glistens on the surface. Try our chicken qorma or the slower mutton qorma.

Bhuna: dry and intensely fried

Bhuna means fried, and a bhuna dish is cooked until almost all the liquid has gone and the masala clings to the meat. It’s a step beyond karahi, very concentrated and deep in flavour.

Achari: pickle-spiced

Achari dishes use the spices of Pakistani pickles: fennel, nigella, fenugreek and mustard seeds, often with lemon or vinegar. They’re tangy, pungent and distinctive. Achar gosht is the best-known example.

Others you’ll meet

• Do pyaza: “two onions”, with onions used twice, cooked into the masala and added again near the end for texture.
• Jalfrezi: a stir-fried, semi-dry dish with capsicum, onion and tomato, from the restaurant tradition. See our chicken jalfrezi.
• Makhani: buttery and tomato-based, as in butter chicken.
• Nihari: slow-cooked beef shank in a rich, spiced gravy thickened with flour.

At a glance

Style	Base	Texture	Heat	Typical meat
Salan	Onion, tomato, water	Thin gravy	Medium	Chicken, mutton, vegetables
Karahi	Tomato, little water	Thick, glossy	Medium–hot	Chicken, mutton
White karahi	Yogurt, cream	Creamy	Mild–medium	Chicken
Handi	Yogurt, cream, butter	Creamy	Mild	Chicken
Qorma	Yogurt, birista	Rich, oily	Mild–medium	Chicken, mutton
Bhuna	Masala only	Dry	Medium–hot	Mutton, beef
Achari	Pickling spices	Tangy	Medium–hot	Mutton, chicken

Once you know the styles, you’ll notice that most recipes are variations on these few methods, which makes learning new dishes much easier.