Name: Coal-smoked Bihari beef kebabs
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: Serves 10–12
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 1 lemon, cut into wedges; 1 kg/2¼ lb chuck steak, cut into bite-sized cubes; 1 tsp ground dry-roasted cumin seeds; 1 tsp red chilli powder; 1 tsp ground dry-roasted coriander (cilantro) seeds; 1 tsp ginger paste (traditionally Biharis don’t use garlic in this recipe, but you can if you like add ½ tsp puréed garlic); 1 tbsp raw papaya paste (if you cannot find that, substitute with either 1 tbsp papaya powder or 1 tsp meat tenderiser); salt, to taste; handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped; ½ red onion, cut into half moons and fried until medium brown; 1 red onion, ground into a paste; 200 g/7 oz/scant 1 cup whole plain yogurt; ½ red onion, thinly sliced; 1 tsp garam masala; 2–3 tbsp mustard seed oil

Preparation info

Serves
10–12

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
55 min

Appears in

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree

By Sumayya Usmani

Published 2016

About

Bihari kebabs found their way into Pakistani cuisine through the migration of Bihari Muslims from the north Indian state of Bihar when Pakistan formed in 1947. A firm favourite of mine, they can be made using the best beef fillet or chuck steak, tenderised using raw payaya, then infused with coal smoke using the method called ‘dhuni’. They’re eaten with rice and lentils by Biharis, and with paratha flatbreads by most other Pakistanis.