Presenting a unique blend of taste and recipes to attract customers in the winter season, Peshawar’s famed Namak Mandi has become an exceptional food centre where most visitors can hardly resist the aroma of Tikka Karahi.
Located near Shuba Bazaar, Namak Mandi is a joyous place where people come for a few moments of respite from routine activities with the flavour of delicious and unique tikkas from the numerous restaurants.
The recent National Games in Peshawar gave further impetus to business activities as sports lovers visited this food centre in large numbers and enjoyed the traditional food.
“People often visit five star hotels to enjoy their favourite cuisine, but one taste of tikka karahi in Namak Mandi will change their opinions instantly,” said Khurshid Khan, who visited Namak Mandi on Sunday. “Whenever I come to Peshawar, I visit Namak Mandi because the mutton cooked here is tasty and cholesterol-free. However, he noted the rise in tikka karahi prices over the past few years, which needed monitoring.
Namak Mandi took 50 years to develop to its current status, and its delicious, traditional tikka karahi attracts both foreign and local tourists. Sitting at the carpeted floor or on charpoys at any restaurant, one can see fresh lamb hanging on racks, and black woks (karahi) set above burning charcoal.
The meat is prepared according to the customers taste and put in the wok, along with tomatoes, chillies and garlic. The fat-content and vegetables form thick gravy in which the meat is cooked. People then eat the tikka karahi with flat bread and several cups of green tea.
Whether fried in a wok or Barbequed on charcoal, the dish is rarely found in any other part of the province.
One of Namak Mandi’s most famous personalities Nisar, better known by his trade name Charsi, said he had started with a small outlet after his father’s death, and after 30 years of hard work and commitment to the business, Nisar has now established a restaurant named Sheesh Mahal.
He says the special cooking technique is one that he had inherited from his forefathers. “We don’t use ghee and excessive spices but instead cook the mutton in its own fat, making it uniquely delicious,” he said and claimed to sell 130 to 150 lambs a day.
Another restaurant owner recalls the days when his father started his business 50 years back. “My father, Muhammad Mashooq Qureshi, started Tikka Karahi in the 50s when there were only three shops, now there are 30,” said Haji Maqsood Qureshi.
There are some 30 tikka shops in Namak Mandi, the most famous of which are Charsi Tikka, Khan Tikka and Mehran Tikka. People throng the bazaar, especially the famous trio of shops at lunch and dinner.
Tikka Shops Association President Khan Baz said around 2,000 families are attached to the mutton selling business, which, he added, had earned international fame.
Baz said that despite local and foreign tourists’ arrival at Namak Mandi, the authorities concerned were not paying heed towards cleanliness of the bazaar. He stressed the need to highlight Namak Mandi at regional and international level “to promote a soft image of Pakistan.”
Published in The Express Tribune
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