Top Karahi dishes in Toronto

The restaurant's namesake and defining dish — bone-in chicken simmered in a fiery tomato-ginger gravy until the fat separates and pools in glossy rings around the edges of the wok

The restaurant's defining dish: bone-in chicken simmered down in a blackened wok with tomatoes, ginger, and green chilies until the sauce clings to every piece

Bone-in mutton slow-cooked in a blackened wok with tomatoes, ginger, and green chilies until the oil separates and the gravy deepens into something almost jammy

The house signature — bone-in chicken cooked down in a wok with tomatoes, ginger, and green chilies until the oil separates and the gravy is thick and fragrant

The house centerpiece — charred tomato base with fresh ginger batons, green chili, and no cream, letting the heat and smoke do the talking

Wok-fired chicken in a tight, intensely reduced tomato-ginger-chili gravy — the signature dish and the reason this place exists

The restaurant's namesake dish — wok-fired chicken in a reduced tomato-ginger gravy, arriving bubbling hot with a slick of spiced oil and a hit of fresh ginger on top

Slow-cooked bone-in mutton with deep, unctuous flavor from the marrow — richer and more complex than the chicken version

Slow-cooked goat in the same bone-dry, concentrated karahi base — richer and more complex than the chicken, favoured by regulars who know to order it

The house centrepiece: bone-in chicken in a dense, reduced tomato-ginger sauce with visible char from the open flame and a slick of clarified butter pooling on top

Bone-in chicken cooked to order in a blackened wok with tomatoes, ginger, and green chili — the sauce is thick, oily in the right way, and builds heat slowly

The house namesake: bone-in chicken in a fiery, reduced tomato gravy loaded with ginger, green chili, and whole spices that coat every piece

The defining dish — slow-cooked bone-in mutton in a thick, charred tomato-chili gravy with fresh ginger and a knob of butter finishing it off

Slow-cooked goat in the same wok-fired style, with a deeper, fattier richness that many regulars consider the superior order over the chicken

The karahi format applied to chicken — slightly lighter than the mutton but same aromatic tomato-ginger base, best ordered when you want the namesake dish at a lower price point

Tender slow-cooked mutton in a thick, charred tomato-ginger base with ghee pooling at the edges — the dish the restaurant is built around

Bone-in chicken cooked down in a cast-iron wok with tomatoes, green chilies, and fresh ginger until the oil separates — deeply spiced and built for scooping with naan

Bone-in goat cooked the same high-heat way as the chicken version but with a deeper, gamier richness that regulars swear by

The restaurant's namesake dish: bone-in chicken cooked down in a wok with tomatoes, ginger, green chilies, and whole spices until the oil separates and the sauce clings

Bone-in chicken cooked down in a cast-iron wok with tomatoes, green chillies, ginger, and a heavy hand of spice — the defining dish of any serious Lahori kitchen

Bone-in chicken cooked in the same wok-fired tomato base — slightly lighter than mutton but still punchy and well-spiced

Bone-in lamb pieces cooked in the same wok-fired style as the chicken but with a richer, gamier depth that pairs well with the fresh naan

Bone-in chicken cooked down in a wok with tomatoes, ginger, and green chilies until the sauce is thick and glossy — the restaurant's defining dish

A classic Karachi-style wok curry cooked down until the oil floats and the tomato-ginger masala is nearly dry — intensely aromatic and best scooped with fresh naan

The restaurant's namesake-adjacent signature: a thick, oil-slicked tomato and ginger reduction with bone-in chicken that picks up deep char notes from the wok-cooking technique

Wok-cooked in a thick tomato-chili gravy with whole spices and finished with ginger julienne — the dish the restaurant is named for

Tomato-forward, high-heat wok curry with separated oil on top — the benchmark by which Pakistani restaurants are judged, and Zauq does it right

Bone-in chicken cooked down in a tomato-onion base with charred green chilies and fresh ginger, served sizzling in the wok — the single best reason to visit

Bone-in chicken stir-fried in a karahi pan with tomatoes, green chillies, and ginger — oily in the best way, meant to be scooped with naan

Slower-cooking version of the signature dish with richer, deeper flavour from the bone marrow — worth the slight premium over chicken

Slow-cooked goat in the same karahi style — deeper, gamier, and more complex than the chicken version, with tender fall-off-the-bone meat

Slow-cooked chicken or mutton in a cast-iron wok with whole spices, tomato, and ginger — sauce reduced until rich and glossy

Bone-in chicken cooked in a cast-iron karahi with tomatoes, green chilis, and ginger over high heat — bright, juicy, and the dish that defines the menu.

Slow-cooked goat in the same Karachi-style wok preparation — richer and more complex than the chicken version, with fall-off-the-bone tenderness

Slower, richer, and more complex than the chicken version — tender mutton pieces in a concentrated tomato-based masala with charred edges

Slow-cooked goat with a darker, richer sauce than the chicken version — worth the extra wait and the slight price premium

Richer and more intense than the chicken version, slow-cooked until the meat falls off the bone in the spiced tomato gravy

Tomato-forward, deeply reduced gravy finished with ginger julienne and green chili in a blazing iron pan

Slow-cooked goat in the same rich tomato-chili base as the chicken version, but with deeper, gamier flavor that rewards the extra patience