PESHAWAR: People in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata in general and Pakhtuns in particular have a good taste for traditional foods and beverages. The traditional barbecue ‘wreeta’ (grilled meat) is one of the most popular traditional tribal foods. It has, in recent years, gained a widespread popularity. Its recipe is very simple; all that one needs is fresh ram meat and salt.

“I am from Attock, and have come along with my family to Namak Mandi, Peshawar, only to enjoy the grilled meat which I found very delicious. Although it is available in our city too, the taste of this one is quite different,” Ramzan Niazi told Dawn.

Interestingly, no spices are added to it. However, lemon water if sprinkled could enhance its taste. Hardly a friend or family’s trip completes without enjoying ‘wreeta’ barbecue in open air. Tribal people offer ram as gift to their guests and on most occasions rams are slaughtered and grilled over simmering charcoals.

“Special arrangements are made for ‘wreeta’ barbecues on Eidul Azha as fresh meat is available almost everywhere. Casual visitors and people in general during Eid holidays store enough fresh meat for ‘wreeta’ in their deep freezers and most young people take a big chunk of it along to picnic resorts where they relish the barbecue. The smell and taste are two things that make ‘wreeta’ so unique,” Mohammad Ilyas, a foodie, said.

“Meat is roasted, cooked, grilled and enjoyed in different ways. The traditional tribal ‘wreeta’ has gained a widespread popularity as dining out without it remains not only incomplete but also tasteless,” a foodie, Sadaqat Hussain, opined. He said that he liked the very smell of ‘wreeta’ barbecue attracting people from a distance.

Abdur Razaq, a ‘wreeta’ barbecue expert from Mohmand Agency in Namak Mandi told Dawn, “Three decades ago, I had introduced ‘wreeta’ barbecues in a Dubai five-star restaurant. Now it is available everywhere in the world. It does not involve any great technique. But preparing a tasty traditional wreeta barbecue still needs an expert’s hand,” he added. He said that one steel bar needed a half kg of meat and could be sufficient for a not so foodie person.

He said that most people called it ‘Da Shinwaru tikkay’ (Shinwari’s barbecues). He said that the best ‘wreeta’ restaurants in Peshawar were located on the Ring road, University Road, Tehkal Bala, University Town, Arbab Road, Hayatabad Chowk and Karkhano Market. The ‘wreeta’, he said, was served with raita, salad, and tandoori roti and it was followed by green tea. He said that patty tikkay ‘wrapped pieces of grilled liver’ was another specialty of tribal food.

“The uncut liver of ram is wrapped round a bar and put on charcoals for about 30 minutes. After removing it from charcoals, it is cut into pieces of suitable round size and then each piece is wrapped by strap of dried fat and is again put on the burning charcoals for around 10 minutes. The water is soaked out and patty tikkyay are ready,” he explained.

Shiraz Shah, another ‘wreeta’ expert in Namak Mandi, Peshawar Food Street, told this scribe that this tasty food had its origin somewhere in tribal areas centuries ago and gradually travelled to other areas and people. He said that Shinwari, Afridi and Mohmand Pakhtun tribes in Fata had expertise in making tasty ‘wreeta’ barbecues. He said that it normally took 40 minutes to get it grilled on a steel fire grate with burning charcoals.

“When I was young, there were only five ‘wreeta’ barbecue restaurants in Namak Mandi. Now there are 35 open roadside restaurants and their number is increasing since it has become the most frequented food street of Peshawar city. Visitors not only enjoy eating ‘wreeta’ barbecue here but also place orders for their home packing. Barbecues could be made of meat of calf, goat, cow, chicken and buffalo, but meat of the one-year-old ram is considered ideal for typical tribal ‘wreeta’ barbecues,” Mr Shah elaborated.

He said that the meat of ram especially those reared in the plain areas of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tasted more delicious than the ones reared in mountainous regions. He said that the meat of ram of plain areas was soft and had a natural taste.

Rajuddin Khan Shinwari, 65, a resident of Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency, runs his own ‘wreeta’ barbecue restaurant on the Ring Road. He, while explaining the process of preparing the barbecue, said that a three-foot long steel bar was required to wrap pieces of ram meat around it. He said that one bar should have 10 to 15 pieces of meat. He added that care should be taken that a steel bar should carry pieces of pure red meat and the greasy ones in adequate number.

“ Now, the bars laden with meat pieces should be put on burning charcoals for 6 to 10 minutes and after turning reddish, these should be sprinkled with light salt. There should be a space of at least two inches between the charcoals and bars to avoid over-grilling. Eating over-grilled ‘wreeta’ may cause heartburn. The grate should be occasionally fanned with a hand fan and also bars should be removed time and again from burning charcoals to check them for over-grilling at some points. Pieces of meat should be reshuffled to ensure perfect grilling,” the master wreeta-maker stated.

He said that after meat pieces on bars turned reddish and the moister soaked, the bars should be unwrapped and the grilled meat pieces kept in an empty cauldron. The cauldron should be put on charcoals for a brief time to get the remaining moister soaked out of it. And, finally the tasty wreeta barbecue is ready to be served, he said.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play