At its simplest, Pakistani cooking today consists of staple foods which are cheap and abundant. Wheat and other flour products are the mainstay of the diet, one familiar form being Chapatti, unleavened bread akin to a Mexican tortilla. This is made with dough prepared from whole wheat flour. Another basic food item is Lassi, milk from which curds and butterfat have been removed. Vegetables, usually seasonal, lentils are commonly used. From the earliest times, the imaginative and sometimes heavy use of spices, herbs, seeds, flavorings and seasonings have helped cooks transform rather ordinary staple foods into an exotic cuisine. Consider some of the most common of these in wide use in Pakistan today: chili powder, turmeric, garlic, paprika, black pepper, red pepper, cumin seed, bay leaf, coriander, cardamom, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, mace, nutmeg, poppy seeds, aniseed, almonds, pistachios, and yogurt. Their use in a wide range of pickles, chutneys, preserves, and sauces, together with curries of all descriptions and special treatment for meats, sea, food, vegetables and lentils, gives Pakistani cooking much of its distinctive character. Cultural influences, whether religious precepts, practices, and ceremonies or local traditions, or even esthetic preferences, have made their contribution towards the evolution of Pakistan Cuisine.

Cookery in Pakistan has always had a regional character, with each of the four provinces offering special dishes. In the Punjab, for example, The Moghlai' cuisine using tandoor ovens and elaborate preparations is important. In Baluchistan, cooks use the SAJJI method of barbecuing whole lambs and stick bread in a deep pit. Bunda Pala (fish) is a well known delicacy of Sindh. The fish is cleaned and stuffed with a paste made from a variety of spices and herbs, including red pepper, garlic, ginger, and dried pomegranate seeds. It is then wrapped in cloth and is buried three feet deep in hot sand under the sun. There it stays baking for four to five hours from late morning to early afternoon. Thandal, made from milk and a paste of fresh almonds, is a popular drink. Cooking in the Northwest Frontier Province is a great deal plainer and involves the heavy use of lamb.

Ceremonial occasions such as weddings have inspired a number of fancy dishes. A traditional dish at marriage feasts, for example, is chicken curry with either Pilau or Biryani. Firini, made from cream of rice and milk, is an equally traditional wedding dessert. It is served in clay saucers topped by silver foil.