Sindhi, a culture having its roots in Sindh (Now in Pakistan), proudly belongs to the ancient Indus valley civilization as discovered from the Mohenjodaro excavation. The culture is rich, the art unbeatable, the Sufi music unmatched and the Cuisine simply invincible, at least for true blooded Sindhis!

Sindhi Cuisine, apart from having unique flavours of its own, has the unmistakable mark of other dynasties like Mughals, Arabs, Turkhans, Soomras etc that influenced Sindhi cuisine while they ruled the Province. The mighty Koftas, the scrumptious Biryanis, amazing Gosht (meat) Curries, got infused in Sindhi cuisine during that era. Post partition in 1947, Hindu Sindhis got scattered around the world, and since then, a long battle to keep themselves rooted to their culture while simultaneously absorbing the culture of their surroundings, is being fought.

As various other cuisines of India, Sindhi cuisine is also a vibrant one, sizzling and dazzling with lots of flavours, a wonderful amalgamation of Delish sweets, perfectly tangy curries, mildly flavoured gravies, rich and wholesome biryanis, wide array of seasonal vegetables, awesome variety of Flatbreads, and not to forget the world famous Sindhi Papad and Sindhi Pickles.

To begin with, a royal breakfast preferred by Sindhis, ought to be The Dal Pakwan, the crisp fried Maida flatbreads, served with simple Chanadal, garnished with chutney and chopped onion. Apart from this,Bori (Kutti or crushed koki tempered with hot oil, and sweetened with sugar), Sindhi Koki, a whole wheat flour flatbread, kneaded with onion, chillies, dried pomegranate seeds, cumin and a generous amount of oil, double cooked on griddle ,or Lolo (sweet flatbread) Dodo (Flatbread with millet flour, jowar, bajra etc), stuffed parathas with Curd are most popular. Juar (jowar) or Bhaat (cracked wheat) porridge,  are favorites of elders of the family and bread dunked in chickpea curry called Chola dhabhala or the two lentils cooked together called Dal moong are still the most sought after breakfasts in many Sindhi families.

Sindhis love simple Dal chaawal- subzi -roti combo. They have some popular style of cooking like Daagh (curry with browned onions), Seyal (cooking food with onions or ginger garlic as base, with little or no water), Tamatey mein (In tomato gravy), saye masaley mein(with Green base, that of coriander leaves and fresh garlic) and  Dhaas vegetables (Stuffed vegetables like Okra, Apple gourds, Capsicum etc).Though seasonal vegetables, and plenty of lentils /pulses, are included in daily cooking, but when fresh vegetables are unavailable, Sindhis tend to make use of Besan, and hence Chilra (Gramflour savoury pancakes), Chilra kadhi, Aani ji bhaji (Besan dumplings in Onion tomato base) are immensely popular. Besides, not to forget is the Sindhi specialty called Sindhi Kadhi, which  is a tangy tamarind and gram flour based curry, flavoured with some spices and Vaghar like cluster beans, okra, drumsticks etc. This is again generally made for guests and served with hot plain boiled white rice and sweet boondi. Amritsari wadis cooked along with potatoes, is one spicy curry you cannot afford to miss, and so is Sindhi Saibahji, the yummiest concoction of spinach with fenugreek leaves, sorrel leaves, beans, potatoes, carrot, eggplant, okra and chana dal etc.

Though now paneer rules the menu of marriage buffets and festival food, there was a time when Bhee(Bhein) i.e Lotus stem used to hold the Numero Uno position. During marriage ceremonies decades back, relatives and neighbors were offered the Bheepatata and Degh Waara chaanwara. Huge Iron or aluminum pots or containers were kept in open spaces, on logs of wood, or coal (sighri) or stove and a generous quantity of rice and curry were cooked on it. It was called Degh. A spicy curry of   lotus stem, potato, peas, cooked in the base of onions, tomatoes and eggplants, when served with Simple pulav,will make you slave of Sindhi degh . Even today this curry is cooked and distributed at Langars in various temples on religious occasions.

Sindhi Sanna Pakoda (Double fried Gram flour fritters) are famous as most crispy snacks, while Alu tikki, Batan papdi(A Sindhi Chaat), Mirchi Pakora, Bhein Tikki, Spinach Pakoda , are other guilty pleasures.

Sindhi Papad has a unique taste, which is neither too spicy nor bland but just perfect. And so are the pickles be it the regular oil based as well as Mustard seeds and water based pickles called as Paarianh waari Khatairn have many loyal followers. Yet another typical Sindhi style pickle is Kadhookas (grated ), pickle made from raw shredded mangoes, seasoned with salt, turmeric, red chillies, nigella seeds, cloves of garlic, mixed and lumps of these mixture are tied in small white muslin cloth gathadis (like dumplings), pickled and enjoyed later. It's called Gathadi aka Bheendi.

Summers are spend pickling, Turnips, onions, carrots, chillies, lemons, raw mangoes etc. While Sweet pickles like Raw mango Muraba, Awran jo Murbo (Awla) and grated mango pickles are the hot favourites amongst Sindhis.

Festivals like Chetichand, Diwali, Holi, Akhand Teej,Thadree,etc are celebrated with typical Sindhi Sweets like, Tosha, Praghuree, Geear, Khuskhus Halwa , chabhu Halwo,etc. while Sherbet and Thaadal (Thandai) are most popular beverages.

And to wind up, Sindhis satisfy their "Sweet cravings" with Gaajar ka halwa, Mazoon, Mohanthal, Gulabjamun, Rabri, Dried grated coconut mithai(Narel ji mithai), Singhar (Sev) Mithai, Falooda icecream etc.

The only placeswhere you could still enjoy Sindhi food are few eateries like Kailash parbat and Bhagat Tarachand, or else on the streets of Sindhi dominated areas, like Ulhasnagar, Chembur, and Bhopal etc. The vendors selling dal pakwan, Sindhi Patties with chola and Dal moong are the common sights at such places during early mornings.

Sadly the trend of fast food and exposure to national and international cuisine is deviating many youngsters away from the lovely Sindhi cuisine. The 'Chips' and ' French fries' generation hardly cares for Sindhi Kheecha, papad. The biscuits and cookies overshadowed the humble Dal Nakul that was initially offered to the guests. Mocktails and canned juices have pushed the homemade Rose sherbet and chandan (sandalwood) sherbet into the corner. The artificially coloured, branded Mithai has killed the trend of sharing Mazoon, Khus khus jo seero, ladoo etc with near and dear ones. Packaged junk snacks have diverted kids from the good old, pabhoree (fresh lotus seeds), Jamun (berries), saawa phota (fresh green peas), Dhadhri (tiny fresh green pods) which used to be 'the after school time snacks' for the kids, eons ago.