RAWALPINDI: The choices for meat lovers in the garrison city are endless – from tikka to shinwari, karahi gosht to palao, but one of the choices that stands out is hunter beef, which is unique in its taste and can be eaten for every meal, including breakfast.

Hunter beef is the Pakistani take on salted dried meat, or corned beef. The strips of meat are used in sandwiches eaten for breakfast, or with evening tea.

Though hunter beef is most popular after Eidul Azha, the item is available at bakeries from Saddar to Bahria Town, and elsewhere across the city.

Hunter beef came to Pakistan with the British invasion of the Indian subcontinent.

By now, however, several chefs have mastered the technique to cook the item.

Hunter beef is not cooked over coals or on a wood fire, but rather needs a week until it has been prepared. A large piece of beef is marinated in various spices, including crystallised salt (kalmi shora), black pepper, cinnamon, cane sugar and black cardamom for four to five days, and then boiled.

“Cooking hunter beef is a long process, and people prefer to leave the job to professional bakers rather than make it at home,” Mohammad Arshad, who owns a bakery in Saddar, said.

He said that about a decade ago, the item was available at every bakery, but was now only available at some shops. However, he added that the food has regained popularity over the last few years.

He said that in the past, families in the city who knew how to cook hunter beef used to supply it to shopkeepers to be sold. Now, chefs have been hired by bakeries to make the item perfectly.

Another shopkeeper, Abdul Rasheed, said that hunter beef is preferred at breakfast, or with tea or coffee, due to its unique taste and the fact that it is not cooked with a lot of oil or grease.

He added that hunter beef is expensive, due to the high price of beef and the time it takes to prepare the item.

“The taste of hunter beef is different. I usually use it in breakfast sandwiches or burgers. I even add it to my children’s lunch,” Fauzia Ahmed said, during a visit to a bakery to purchase the item.

She said that when she was a child, hunter beef was available at the well known Broadway bakery on Bank Road, but is now available at various shops.

She said the quality of the item can be seen from its colour and the tenderness or toughness of the meat.

Ali Malik, a resident of Westridge, said he has been having hunter beef for breakfast for several years, and said it was healthier than a rich, halwa puri breakfast.

“I fry shreds with a few drops of oil, and it changes the taste of the beef,” he said.

Dr Tahir Sharif, a physician and nutritionist, said hunter beef is a healthy option because it is not overcooked, but should be avoided by people with high blood pressure. “It’s good for youngsters and children,” he said.

He said hunter beef is a healthier alternative because it is cooked in water and steam rather than in oil.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2016