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

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.