Before coming to Pakistan, I was doing some research and thought being vegan in Pakistan might be nigh on impossible.
But in reality, wasn’t that bad!
It takes a little bit of patience, and you might not always be perfect but you’ll be more or less okay. *Fortunately I don’t have any allergies if something was cross-contaminated etc.
Here are some of the random tips, tricks, and observations to being vegan in Pakistan.
TIPS FOR BEING VEGAN IN PAKISTAN
Buy a small blender!
Upon arriving in Lahore, the sight of all the fresh fruit (it was mango season) was epic.
And there were lots of vendors whipping up some fruit shakes, but the two times I attempted to buy one, they were absolutely confused by me saying no to milk.
So much so it was easier to pay for it with milk and give it away.
So I went to a supermarket and found a nifty little blender to make mango shakes (2000 rupees). Great success! And it meant I didn’t have to leave the room to get breakfast which saved some time (fruit purchased the day before).
Want your fancy coffee with your fancy plant based milk?
Good luck trying to buy plant based milk in Pakistan. Anyway, you’ll struggle to find a half decent coffee as it is.
If you really want to have milk, your best bet might be to go buy almonds and make it yourself. Good luck to ya.
p.s. You won’t be drinking chai (milk), but I was able to find a green tea and/or mountain tea pretty easy (especially in the north).
There are lots of vegan-friendly snacks in Pakistan!
In most places you’ll visit in Pakistan there are no large supermarkets. Instead you’ll find lots of small convenience stores of various sizes.
And I was always amazing at how much variety there was in the snacks. You won’t be limited to Oreo’s.
Most of the snacks have the ingredients written in English, so you’ll quickly learn to figure out which ones are likely to be vegan. Here’s a few of my favourite vegan snacks in Pakistan (I’m pretty sure these were all vegan, I was taking photos of all snacks at one point).
p.s. dried fruit and nuts are in available pretty much everywhere, including smaller towns.
Breakfast is the trickiest meal.
I’d often have rice and chickpeas/chana for breakfast.
The go to breakfast in Pakistan is paratha, egg, and chai. A lot of the time the paratha will be made with ghee, so that’s off the cards. But sometimes they’ll use oil, in which case, fair game!
I tended to just take a look at the chefs and see how they were making them from afar.
Invited into someones house for food but don’t want to be rude?
In all likelihood you’ll be invited to join locals for meals, often in their home.
You may find it rude to be demanding to make specific meals, but this never was an issue for me in Pakistan. Often they were some of the best meals I had on the whole trip!
I had lunch at a friends place in Islamabad which was epic. And then the dinner was as good, if not better later that day.
If they misunderstand you and bring out chicken or the like, just don’t eat it. This happened at a guest house one night, where we paid for the meal. I didn’t eat the chicken and just munched away on the chapati and rice…mmm dry.
That was by far and away the most expensive meal of my trip (3200 for two persons). At least my friend did his part and ate nearly all the chicken #value.
Use the Food Panda App
Walking from restaurant to restaurant is sometimes painful trying to spot things that are vegan, let alone trying to explain to some people with the language barrier.
In Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore, I’d often order food from Food Panda app. This made it easier to get a variety of meals, and be more confident in what you’re ordering. The delivery fees are never massive which is nice. It’s a win!
p.s. there’s not many places on HappyCow in Pakistan.
Keep A Supply Of Hydration Sachets With You
If you’re like me, you’ll either be sweating up a storm when you’re in Islamabad or further south, or the hydration of GB in the north will be dehydrating you. That said, I always made sure to have a supply of these with me. They’re available at most pharmacies and cost 25-40 rupees each. There are a couple of other brands the pharmacists may suggest.
This one isn’t so much a ‘vegan’ hack, but a useful tip in general I reckon.
And there you go, I hope this helps you feel more confident about being vegan in Pakistan.
If you’ve got any questions, tips, suggestions etc. email [email protected].
