Multan's food is built around slow-cooked meat, dense dairy sweets and a street-food scene centred on the old city, and sohan halwa is only the most famous export of it. Sajji, whole chicken or lamb roasted slowly over an open fire, and Multani karahi are the city's savoury signatures, while the old city's dairy shops around Hussain Agahi and Chowk Fuwara turn out lassi, dodha barfi and pera that locals rate as highly as any sweet from the halwa shops.
This guide goes through the savoury dishes, the street food, the dairy sweets and where in the city locals actually eat, so you can plan a day of eating around more than the one dish Multan is best known for.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Signature savoury dish | Multani sajji: whole roasted chicken or lamb |
| Signature street food | Multani chaat: fried chips or puris with chickpeas, chutneys and yoghurt |
| Signature sweets | Dodha barfi, pera, gajrela, rabri falooda |
| Signature drink | Lassi, including heavily topped "Badshahi" lassi |
| Where locals eat | Hussain Agahi, Chowk Fuwara, Kotla Tolay Khan |
| Best season for fruit | Mango season, roughly June to August, for Multan's Chaunsa and other local varieties |
Sajji and slow-roasted meat
Sajji is Multan's best-known savoury dish: a whole chicken or a leg of lamb, salted and left to marinate, then skewered and roasted slowly over an open charcoal or wood fire until the meat pulls apart easily and carries a strong smoky flavour. It is usually served with plain rice rather than bread, and it is meant to be eaten with your hands, torn from the bone rather than cut. Sajji originated further west, in Balochistan, but it has become a fixture of Multan's restaurant scene, sold by weight or by portion at dedicated sajji houses across the city.
Alongside sajji, look for Multani karahi, cooked with the region's own blend of spices rather than the tomato-heavy karahi more common in Lahore, and tawa-cooked chicken, pan-fried in a wide flat pan with a thick, spiced coating, both of which turn up on the same menus as sajji at Multan's better-known meat restaurants.
Street food and snacks
The old city's lanes are where Multan's street food is best, particularly through the afternoon and evening:
- Multani chaat — crisp fried chips or puris piled with chickpeas, chopped onion and tomato, and finished with tamarind chutney, green chutney, yoghurt and chaat masala.
- Chana chaat — a simpler, cheaper version built around spiced chickpeas.
- Samosas and pakoras, sold hot from stalls through the afternoon, much as in any Punjabi city, but a reliable, inexpensive way to snack between sights.
- Seekh kebabs, grilled over charcoal and wrapped in naan with mint chutney and raw onion, sold from street-side grills especially in the evening.
Dairy sweets and drinks
Multan's dairy shops are as much a local institution as its halwa makers, and several long-running ones cluster around the old city's main bazaars. Dilmeer Pera House, in the main bazaar of Multan Cantt, has been trading since before independence and is known locally for its lassi, barfi, pera and gajrela, a sweet carrot pudding. Other established dairy shops around Chowk Fuwara turn out fresh barfi, yoghurt and rabri falooda.
Lassi is Multan's signature drink, and it ranges from a plain, thin, salted or sweet glass to elaborately topped versions layered with khoya, cream, malai and dried fruit, sold under names like "Badshahi lassi" at specialist stalls. It is worth trying both ends of that range: the plain version is a genuine everyday drink, while the loaded version is closer to dessert.
Multan is, of course, also the home of sohan halwa, the dense wheat-and-ghee sweet sold by weight from shops around Hussain Agahi; our separate guide to buying Multani sohan halwa covers the varieties, prices and how to pack it for travel, so it isn't repeated here.
Where locals actually eat
For a first-time visitor, three areas cover most of what matters:
- Hussain Agahi, in the old city, for sohan halwa, dairy sweets and a dense concentration of long-established shops.
- Chowk Fuwara and the surrounding bazaars, for fresh barfi, milk and lassi from shops that have been in the same families for generations.
- Kotla Tolay Khan, known locally for fish, tikka and sajji at some of the city's older meat restaurants.
Away from these areas, Multan's newer restaurant strips carry the same dishes in more conventional, air-conditioned settings, which suits some travellers better, particularly in the hot months, even if the atmosphere is less distinctive than the old city. If you are short on time, a rickshaw or taxi between these three areas is the easiest way to sample a proper cross-section of the city's food without losing an afternoon to traffic.
Mango season
Multan's orchards are a major source of Pakistan's mango crop, and the city is closely associated with varieties such as Chaunsa, grown across the wider region through the summer. Mango season generally runs from around June into August, overlapping with Multan's hottest and least comfortable weather for sightseeing, so if fruit is the priority, plan around the heat rather than avoiding the season altogether.
A day of eating in Multan
If you only have one day, a simple order gets you through most of what matters without much backtracking. Start with a plain glass of lassi and a look at the dairy shops around Chowk Fuwara in the morning, before the heat sets in. Move to Hussain Agahi through the middle of the day for sohan halwa and dodha barfi, alongside whatever savoury food the nearby stalls are serving. In the evening, head towards Kotla Tolay Khan or one of Multan's dedicated sajji houses for a proper sit-down meal of sajji, karahi or tawa chicken, and finish, if you still have room, with a loaded "Badshahi" lassi or a plate of shahi tukray.
This works equally well split across two days if you are also seeing the shrines and the fort mound, since the eating spots and the main sights sit close together in the old city.
Frequently asked questions
What is Multan's most famous dish besides sohan halwa?
Multani sajji, a whole chicken or leg of lamb marinated and slow-roasted over an open fire, is generally considered the city's signature savoury dish.
What should I try for street food in Multan?
Multani chaat, built from fried chips or puris with chickpeas and chutneys, is the classic choice, alongside chana chaat, samosas and charcoal-grilled seekh kebabs.
Where do locals go for sweets and dairy in Multan?
The old city around Hussain Agahi and Chowk Fuwara has the longest-established dairy shops and halwa makers, including Dilmeer Pera House, which has been trading in Multan Cantt's main bazaar since before independence.
Is Multani food very spicy?
Multani cooking uses its own regional spice blends and can be spicier than food further north in Punjab, but most restaurants will tone down the heat on request, particularly for meat dishes ordered as a full plate rather than street food.
When is mango season in Multan?
Roughly June to August, when Multan's orchards, known for varieties like Chaunsa, are at their peak. This is also the hottest, most uncomfortable period for general sightseeing in the city.
