Guide to Buying Pasta in Pakistan

"Ew! The water has turned neon yellow. Is that normal?" may be among the comments you will hear coming from your kitchen if you buy the wrong type of pasta in Pakistan. Since local dishes are usually eaten with wheat bread (roti) or rice, local brand pasta may not be what you're used to. Fresh and filled pasta is generally not available, but dry pasta is.

If you're willing to spend a bit more, you can get imported pasta from Italy or other countries at your local grocery stores. Stores like Pace, HKB, Al Fatah, Pot Purri, and Tes Mart all offer imported pasta as well as local pasta. It usually costs about twice as much or three times as much as local brand pasta. One brand that is consistently available in Lahore is Spigadoro. You can get tubes, rigatoni, shells, fettuccini, and spaghetti for about 90 ($1.12) to 120 ($1.50) rupees per package.

I have found the best and most reliable of the local brands to be Kolson. Kolson pasta costs between 35 ($0.43) and 50 ($0.62) rupees per package. They offer a variety of types, but you may not find the same variety every week at your local grocery store. You can usually get elbows, small shells, large shells, lasagna, tubes, ziti, rigatoni, tiny soup shells or rings, long macaroni, and spaghetti. All of these pastas, excluding the spaghetti, cook normally and do not result in a big pot of neon yellow starch at the end.

Kolson spaghetti, on the other hand, is just not consistent. Sometimes the spaghetti tastes normal, other times it is very sticky and has a strange texture. When this happens it does not cook normally. I have found that one of two times the spaghetti is strange and does not taste good. Other local brands also do not seem to have good luck with spaghetti. After trying several local brands, I have not found one that is good consistently. If you can make your meal with a different type of pasta, it's best to avoid buying spaghetti.

If you really want spaghetti for your meal, don't take any chances and buy Spigadoro or another more expensive imported brand. You will save yourself from embarrassment over yucky spaghetti if you are hosting guests. If you want to make your meal with elbows, shells, rigatoni or anything other than spaghetti, feel free to pick up Kolson pasta. As long as you cook it properly, it will come out the same every time. The same can not be said for the spaghetti!

For more info about where to grocery shop in Lahore, check out the following article:

Guide to Buying Western Food in Lahore