Benazir Bhutto at the table

The dastarkhwan is the cloth (often spread on the floor or a long family table) around which the Pakistani meal unfolds: there is no starter or dessert in the Western sense, but an array of dishes served together. A fragrant rice, a lentil curry (salan/dal), a green vegetable, flatbread, tangy pickles (achaar) are placed side by side, and chai closes or punctuates the day. Each person serves themselves, mixing flavors on their plate. In the Bhutto family, originally from Larkana in Sindh, this dastarkhwan carried the fiery and tangy flavors of southern Pakistan.

Sindhi cuisine is recognized by its frank and bold character: plenty of garlic, red chili, and ginger, and above all that tangy signature of dried plums (aloo bukhara) slipped into the biryani. It is this sweet-and-sour note, married to the heat of the spices, that distinguishes the Larkana table from all other Pakistani tables.