Karahi Qila — Y-block (original degh)

Same degh since 1984

In 1984, Haji Bashir put down a single degh behind the Y-block market and started cooking karahi the way his father did in Peshawar — meat, tomatoes, green chillies, and nothing that comes from a packet. Forty years on, his sons still grind the masala at dawn and still refuse to weigh the ghee. When the dollar broke two hundred and chicken crossed seven hundred a kilo, they took down the printed menu and started writing prices on a board by the tandoor, the way the old city always did.

The second generation — Sarwar and Naeem — run the counter now; Haji Bashir still tastes the first degh of every evening and still sends back any karahi he didn't season himself.

Karahi Qila — Y-block (original degh)

Y-block Market, Phase 4, DHA, Lahore

Lahore, Punjab 54000