Local Dishes

1. برياني

   biriyānī

   Biryani (spiced rice with meat)

   Usage

   Rice cooked with saffron, meat and ghee. sd.wikipedia names Sindhi biryani as a local speciality, and it is the easiest dish to find in eateries.

   Grammar Note

   A Persian-origin word; the SLA Jamai Lughat defines it as a saffron pulao rich in meat and ghee.

2. سائي ڀاڄي

   sāī bhājjī

   Sai bhaji (Sindhi green vegetable dish)

   Usage

   Green-vegetable dish listed on sd.wikipedia as typical Sindhi food; eaten with rice or bread.

   Grammar Note

   ڀاڄي is feminine and its ڄ (U+0684) is the implosive jj; spelling it with plain ج gives another word.

3. دال چانور

   dāli chānvaru

   Dal chawal (lentils with rice)

   Usage

   A plain staple of boiled pulses with rice, also named on sd.wikipedia among Sindhi dishes.

   Grammar Note

   The SLA Jamai Lughat describes it as a plain dish of boiled rice and pulses.

4. ڀاڄي

   bhājjī

   Vegetables, vegetable side dish

   Usage

   Vegetables or any side dish eaten with rice or bread (Stack also glosses it "anything eaten with rice or bread").

   Grammar Note

   The ڄ (U+0684) is implosive; the noun is feminine.

5. ڪڙهائي

   kaṛhāī

   Karahi (curry cooked in a wok-like pan)

   Usage

   sd.wikipedia lists mutton karahi among Sindhi dishes; confirm the meat when ordering.

   Grammar Note

   ⚠ Not an SLA headword; spelling confirmed from sd.wikipedia body text. ڙ (U+0699) is the retroflex flap.

6. ڪباب

   kabābu

   Kebab (roasted meat)

   Usage

   Roasted meat; the SLA Stack entry glosses it "roasted meat".

   Grammar Note

   A Perso-Arabic loan; masculine noun.

7. ڪوڪي

   kokī

   Koki (small flat baked bread)

   Usage

   Traditional Sindhi flatbread, often eaten at breakfast.

   Grammar Note

   The SLA Stack entry says "a kind of small cake cooked on a coal"; feminine noun.

8. ساڳ

   sāggu

   Saag (leafy greens)

   Usage

   Leafy greens; sd.wikipedia names mustard-greens saag (سرنهن جو ساڳ) among much-loved Sindhi dishes.

   Grammar Note

   ڳ (U+06B3) is the implosive gg; the SLA Stack entry says "vegetable leaves, greens"; masculine noun.

9. بهه

   bihu

   Lotus root

   Usage

   Lotus root, eaten along the Indus; sd.wikipedia lists it beside greens and fish among favourite foods.

   Grammar Note

   The SLA Stack entry says "the roots of a kind of lotus used for food". The h is U+0647.

10. پلو مڇي

    palo machhī

    Palla (Indus hilsa fish)

    Usage

    Hilsa-type fish caught in the Indus and prized in Sindh; served both at home and in restaurants.

    Grammar Note

    پلو is "hilsa" in the SLA Stack entry; the phrase «پلو مڇي» occurs five times in sd.wikipedia.

11. مڇي

    machhī

    Fish

    Usage

    Fish; both river and sea fish feature in Sindhi cooking.

    Grammar Note

    ڇ (U+0687) is the aspirated chh; feminine noun.

12. چانور

    chānvaru

    Rice

    Usage

    Rice, one of the daily staples in Sindh.

    Grammar Note

    The SLA Stack entry says "a grain of rice cleansed from the husk"; masculine noun.

13. ماني

    mānī

    Bread, meal

    Usage

    A flatbread, and also "a meal"; the SLA lists bread, food and dinner.

    Grammar Note

    Feminine noun; the final ي is a long ī.

14. اچار

    achāru

    Pickle

    Usage

    Pickle served with rice and bread; sd.wikipedia mentions it as an accompaniment to Sindhi biryani.

    Grammar Note

    ⚠ In the SLA dictionary the first sense of اچار is اُچار "pronunciation"; use it for pickle only in a food context. Vowels inferred.

15. دهي

    dahī

    Yogurt, curd

    Usage

    Curd, like yogurt; a side with biryani and other dishes.

    Grammar Note

    The SLA Jamai Lughat entry defines دَهِي as curdled milk. The h is U+0647, not the Urdu ھ.

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