Pakistan's beloved 'poor man's burger'

[Jilly_in_VA]

Every morning before sunrise in Karachi, Pakistan, while the city is largely asleep, Abdul Ameen ducks through a tunnel and crosses dilapidated railway tracks to the more affluent side of town. Here, parked strategically between a mosque and a marketplace, his pushcart awaits him.

An incandescent bulb illuminates him as he stacks shami kebab (ground beef-and-lentil patties) brought from home in columns behind glass panes. Next, he forms cascading towers of onion rings, lettuce and thickly sliced tomatoes. Working with almost flamboyant grace, it’s evident his routine has been perfected over the past 30 years.

By the time the first call to prayer, Fajr, is made (traditionally, when there’s enough daylight to distinguish between white and black thread), he’s already dipping into his 16kg canola oil dabba (a rectangular tin bucket) and warming up his giant cast-iron griddle. Over the next few hours, a donkey cart owner, sleepy office workers, domestic helpers and an armed entourage of personal guards all stop by Ameen Burgers to purchase their greasy bounty wrapped in brown paper.

But despite the name of his stall, Ameen is not selling burgers.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210309-pakistans-beloved-poor-mans-burger

[jimfields33]

1. Not sure we'd be able to do this in the United States

But good for this person to be able to sell his burger to customers.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. Street food is street food

Wherever you sell it.

[hunter]

3. I want recipes!

[GoCubsGo]

5. Just search "bun-kebab."

(Or "kabab".) Several recipes will come up, many on YouTube. You'll find even more if you search the various "-waala" versions that are mentioned late in the article. They sure do sound good!

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. I used to sit in

on an Indian cooking message board. It was in English but it was mostly Indian women posting. (By then, having worked with lots of Indian nurses, I was pretty fluent in Indian English.) It was great. That was where I learned the term "splutter the mustard". Who else knows what that means?

[GoCubsGo]

7. I had to look up "splutter the mustard."

It's exactly what I thought it would be. I do it every time I make Mahdur Jaffrey's masoor dal.

I don't visit the message boards, but am glad that there are a number of Indian women who are sharing their recipes and techniques on their own web pages. One of my favorites is Manjula's Kitchen, which is a vegetarian site. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a bun-kebab recipe posted.

[Jilly_in_VA]

8. Indian English

is worthy of its own thread. I have a lot of quotes from my fellow nurses that I treasure. They are funny but expressive.

[Chellee]

9. Thank you.

I really appreciate you pointing me toward Manjula's Kitchen. I have been pinning recipes and looking up ingredients like crazy. I didn't find a recipe called bun-kebab, but the Pav Vada sounds remarkably like what is described in the article.

https://www.manjulaskitchen.com/pav-vada-potato-patty-with-bun/

[GoCubsGo]

10. You are welcome.

I think it was someone else on DU who turned me onto it. Probably someone in the Cooking & Baking group. Yeah, lots of good-sounding recipes there.

[localroger]

4. Now I'm hungry. /nt

[electric_blue68]

11. Ahhhhh, Indian cooking...

Indian food is probably my favorite cuisine after my Greek (American) heritage, and American (including Soul Food) cuisine.

When I haven't had a ton of regional dishes per se, and I don't like spicy (heat) in any cuisine I've eaten; I do love savory.

Meat, Meat and Vegetables, Vegetarian, and full Vegan (usually South Indian) for like 45+ years. Actually Vegan probably closer to 35 yrs. But I and a friend ate in the ?first Vegan restaurant outside of "Curry Hill" (near Lex Av ?16th - ?20th St) right near The UN in the '80s.
💖 🍴Good times!

[Jilly_in_VA]

12. Love me some Indian food!

My first experience with it was when a friend home from a year in the Peace Corps fixed a bunch of us a whole batch of dal. Lentil curry was how he explained it. I took one taste and thought, "Where has this been all my life?" The late ex hated it. I would fix dal for lunch and feed it to my kids, who liked it. Expanded my horizons on my own. When I became a travel nurse I went all out since I was cooking for meeeee! Or eating out. And when I moved to Richmond, oh boy. Two South Asian restaurants and an Indian grocery within spittin' distance! And Indian co-workers who shared their lunches. My last night the two I worked with had their husbands bring in takeout from a local Indian spot. Fortunately my spousal unit loves it too.

[electric_blue68]

15. Nice! If I hadn't cancelled plans to visit my sis tonight...

I'd come home with left over Lamb Kurma, Tandoori Chicken, Nan, Tamarind sauce from a very north situated restaurant.
We're reworking out our playdate.

There maybe an Indian restaurant that I can get delivery from in the Bronx that I have to recheck (a Jan 22 treat?)

I did go down to an Indian foods shop for flour to make
Chapati bread decades back.

I should try some recipes in 22!

[Celerity]

13. Bun plaster, a variant that comes from Lahore, is sooo jummi

Damn I miss travelling.



https://www.dawn.com/news/1640728/bun-plaster-with-an-aroma-all-its-own

[tishaLA]

14. I learned about this from a vlogger

who travels around and eats street/everyday food. His visit to Pakistan was amazing and undid a lot of my preconceptions about the country. And it's the same guy making the "bun kebabs"