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Weekend grub: Could these chapli kebabs from Peshawar be the best in Pakistan?

Weekend grub: Could these chapli kebabs from Peshawar be the best in Pakistan?

Rambil Kebab House, located in the remote town of Tharo Jabba, serves kebabs made from meat minced by hand
25 Mar, 2016

The story goes that it was in the mid-fifties that a lady named Ms Sultana started to sell homemade Chapli Kebabs from a small tuck shop built in her house in a remote town called Tharo Jabba.

In no time, she became a household name and became known as Sultana Aany, which means 'respected old woman' in Pashto. Today, after more than half a century, the legacy of Sultana Aany lives on.

Her gastronomical creation, famous by the name of Tharo Kebabs, are consumed all year round at the eatery, which is now spread over 150 marlas, including its kitchen and the original residence.

Where to go

Rambil Kebab House is located in Tharo Jabba town in the district of Nowshera, about 13km away from Peshawar city. The dilapidated marquee puts a shade over 25 plus charpoys, while the family hall accommodates 18 more.

The Rambil Kebab House offers a charpoy setting for its customers
The Rambil Kebab House offers a charpoy setting for its customers

When to go

The eatery is open from 10am to 9pm. However if they run out of food, which they often do, the customers return home with empty stomachs!

What to eat

Rambil Kabab House only offers Tharo Kebabs on the menu, so you won't be wasting any time trying to decide what to eat.

Sultana Aany's three great-grand children, Rawal Gul, Naseem Gul and Raheem Gul, along with their brother-in-law Pervaiz Khan, station themselves behind two big woks and fry umpteen kebabs from morning to night. Sultana Aany’s grandson and father of the Gul brothers, Rambel Kaka supervises the cooking and the 15 waiters for the smooth flow of the customers

Kambil Kebab House is a family-run restaurant with fourth generation descendants of the legendary Sultana Aany frying the kebabs themselves
Kambil Kebab House is a family-run restaurant with fourth generation descendants of the legendary Sultana Aany frying the kebabs themselves

“I don’t know the number of customers we serve per day but you can do the math yourself. We slaughter two buffalos daily and 1200-500kg minced meat is consumed in 12 hours,” shares Naseem Gul, putting my poor arithmetic skills to the test.

“During the winter season, the number of slaughtered buffalos occasionally move from 2 to 3 or even 4, as winter is a high season for kebabs and so are the rainy days. At times we run out of the meat earlier then 9pm and the shop needs to be closed,” adds the other brother Raheem Gul .

A single charpoy easily seats three to four foodies, and as we were a party of five, the adjacent charpoy was made available for the guest from the capital.

In the first round, three plates with two chapli kebabs each were placed on the charpoys, along with homemade yogurt chutney and a simple salad made from raw onion, tomatoes and lemon. A jute basket carried piping hot naan fresh from the wooden clay tandoor. Kebabs were served within 15 minutes of our seating and hands were up for the second round within 10 minutes.

The kebabs are served with yogurt chutney and salad
The kebabs are served with yogurt chutney and salad

“Our USP (unique selling point) lies in the recipe of the kebab. The meat used for the kebabs does not come out of the electric machines; it’s a tedious and time consuming job carried out by experienced hands in 12 hours shift every day. More than 20 women mince the meat on a stone silbata (a utensil for grinding spices, grain, etc.) Once the meat is rightly crushed and ready, tomatoes, onions, dry coriander and homemade secret masala go into its marinade. The kebabs are shallow fried in buffalo fat, which is also called lart," reveal the Gul brothers.

The kebabs are shallow-fried in buffalo fat called lart
The kebabs are shallow-fried in buffalo fat called lart

The Tharo Kebabs definitely carried a taste of its own. The edges were rightly charred, crispy and crunchy, whereas the rest of the meat patty was moist and tender. After the first bite, it was obvious that the beef morsels in the mouth were chopped and not minced, which confirmed their USP.

As I was putting chunks of lart on the side, my Pathan friend was magically wiping them off my plate. I have had chapli kebabs many times, but these Tharo Kebabs, were unbeatable, nothing short of heavenly. We rounded off the meal with Peshawari Kewah.

When I asked if takeaway would taste the same, I was informed by my host that kilos of Tharo Kebabs are parceled every day to fly to UAE and Saudi Arabia for the expatriates craving for this Tharo delight.

Damage on the pocket:

Tharo Kebabs are priced Rs360 per kilo. Each plate serves two kebabs 250 grams each.

Comments

Abbas Ali Mar 25, 2016 01:12pm
Extremely Unhygienic conditions. Loaded with fat. Good for people who are doing physical work, but for city baboos bad for health.
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natey Mar 25, 2016 01:16pm
looks yummy
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Waseem Ahmad Mar 25, 2016 01:19pm
They are definitely one of the best, if not the best.
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Ahmar Qureshi Mar 25, 2016 01:21pm
Such a savory article! Thank God I just had lunch! otherwise I would've starved along with mouthwatering cravings! :-D
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Jaanaan Mar 25, 2016 01:33pm
Yum Yum, I have eaten Tharo Kebabs and can confirm they are the best in Pakistan. One other reason for these kebabs being special is that these are cooked on a mellow heat of wood burner, giving it a unique smokey taste.
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AERO Mar 25, 2016 01:38pm
Umm.....I really miss those Delicious kababs. Chapli Kababs have a wonderfully unique taste, found in no other foods. It's a specialty in KPK. Thanks Bilal Agha for sharing the story.
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kuka Mar 25, 2016 02:00pm
Seem very delicious. The chapli kabab of Takht Bhai are also very well known for their taste.
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zulu Mar 25, 2016 02:00pm
its a tradition, should have been evolved with time, could have been better franchised , but still stuck thats what writer perceived ( charpoyes ) i mean the late commers like Brazilian went to cabana there is thai , labanies ,turkish Wont see LUMS MBA working on this .they will be proud working for Malik riaz Bahria.Hahahh Ms sultana has entrepreneurial Charisma , she started exactly same time when Micdonalds and burger king started in US but look these male (GuLs) are still stuck within 1955s .
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Mohammad Yasin Mar 25, 2016 03:39pm
Interesting and creative article. When reading feeling that I am eating Tharo Kabab on a rainy day
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Mohammad Yasin Mar 25, 2016 03:41pm
@Abbas Ali Tasty and traditional foods always contains fat.
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Rahi milla Mar 25, 2016 03:46pm
Yummy. I hope they turn it into a proper business with industrial production and franchises.
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Jawad Pakistani Mar 25, 2016 03:50pm
Mouth watering. ..anything from peshawar is always best. I want to eat these kabobs so bad. Love peshawar!!
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asif Mar 25, 2016 03:52pm
@zulu You will be surprised at all that LUMS MBAs can do, are doing, and have already done, my friend... Where do you think the latest trend of "modern tandoors" serving the likes of "pizza naan" and "nutella nan" came from? It was no other than Maroo Tandoor in Lahore... started by LUMS grads... how about Char Grill Central (CGC) burgers that took Islamabad like a storm... also brought to you by the LUMS community..
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Abdul Khaliq Mar 25, 2016 04:16pm
No doubt, they must be great. There are many similar roaring business around in Pakistan. I wish if all of them paid their taxes then every time the government won't be squeezing those who already pay it. 500 kg of minced meat a day means around 1,000 kg of kebabs every day. @ Rs 360 per kg, you do the math. The sale is more than Rs. 10 Million per month.
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Thoroughthinker Mar 25, 2016 04:31pm
There was a famous place in Peshawar for Chapli Kabab known as "Karimu Kababia" in Nothiya area of the city, which was the best. His Charpoyes were very large that could accommodate up to 8 people each. It was rumored that, his secret recipe included something addictive that compelled people to go that place again and again, despite being located at a difficult to reach place.
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NWFP Mar 25, 2016 04:32pm
Chapli Kabobs are the best ever! Love our KPK food! @abbas Ali; Daal sounds like a good choice instead? Right?
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Zubeida Aapa Mar 25, 2016 05:59pm
@Abbas Ali You should not criticize the food if you are the one sitting all day and not exercising!
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Bhushan Parimoo Mar 25, 2016 06:05pm
kabas are not normally fried beside buffalo fat was to in use pre 1047 i feel, any way hand minced meat good but fried must loose its taste and flaour both essential
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Ali Shah Mar 25, 2016 08:11pm
@Abbas Ali , I hope that you do realize that this food is not for daily consumption. Even if city baboos have it once in a while it is alright.
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Agha Ata Mar 25, 2016 08:41pm
Do they have separate places for women customers??
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Azhar jamil Mar 25, 2016 09:26pm
Very deliciously written article. But in a real sense buffalo meat and fat are difficult to digest.
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Asim Sagheer Mar 26, 2016 12:27am
Mouth watering
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Riaz Mar 26, 2016 12:41am
@zulu And your point is??
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Syed Waqar Ali Mar 26, 2016 12:48am
After reading the script I am sure the kabab must be very tasty. The most important thing to note here is that the price is affordable even to a common man. The price Rs.360 per kilo is unimagineable. Please confirm that this is the real price.
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US CENTCOM Mar 26, 2016 01:00am
Nothing can beat Pakistani cuisine. After reading about these mouth-watering Kebabs , I sure wish to visit Peshawar one day just for the food! Abdul Quddus DET - U.S. Central Command
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ROO JAVED Mar 26, 2016 02:15am
Interesting! Could you tell us why is it called "Chapali" kebab?
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Jalil Yousaf Mar 26, 2016 02:45am
When Mufti Mehmood sahib was Chief Minister in NWFP, a helicopter would go to Takht Bhai to buy kebabs for Chief Minister and his special guests. Taroo Jabba sells same quality. There is one more Kebab shop in Nowshera Cantt called Pehlawan Kebabi, I personally prefer their taste far better than the other mentioned above.
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Syed Waqar Ali Mar 26, 2016 03:06am
Mouth watering. Frying with beef fat will only increase cholestrol level.
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Fawad Mar 26, 2016 07:25am
@Agha Ata not a totally separate place but some thing of a make shift arrangement, a partition /parda by a sheet of a cloth separates woman's eating place from man in that main hall..
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Fawad Mar 26, 2016 07:28am
@Abbas Ali eat them occasionally(twice a month) and go for that exercise is best way of enjoying your self and not harming your health either.. If you stop living..then where is the fun..in this routine boring life..
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Ishaq Khan Mar 26, 2016 07:32am
I really miss them and whenever I go on vacations to Pakistan Taru kabab is must on my menu .The best thing I heard from Rambail was the employment and support for local women as mentioned in the article who are mostly from downtrodden families or widows
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Abdul Hakeem Mohmand Mar 26, 2016 09:46am
Its nice write up...realy informative...
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Sarwar, USA. Mar 26, 2016 10:47am
Rs 360 per Kg is quite cheap. When the beef cost around Rs 400 per Kg. I wonder what they are using ... as its mostly meat?
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Tim Mar 26, 2016 11:01am
@zulu Sometimes a bottle of Coke is just fine, and it has been the same for 150 years.
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Your Name Mar 26, 2016 10:02pm
thank you bhai 4 sharing this post ...i am also frm tarujabba we welcom all of u...
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Abdul samad khan Mar 27, 2016 05:13pm
mighty facts about tharo kebab, must have one time experience by everyone on a rainy evening.
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Sulman Mar 27, 2016 07:34pm
That's the best kebab I ever tasted. All our childhood we have been eating them and in our teen years. I wish I get sometime and visit Pakistan again. It's not far from my home in Pakistan. There are couple of more famous kebab houses in Peshawar too such as Jalil Kebab and some more. Every kebab house as his own particular taste.
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Jawaid Islam Mar 28, 2016 12:49pm
@zulu Let them be there doing traditional marketing. Commercialism spoils.
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Jawaid Islam Mar 28, 2016 12:50pm
I love Chapali kebabs; make them for myself often. BUT one thing is never cooked them in fat, Prefer vegetable oil.
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Ayaz Hussnain Mar 31, 2016 03:17pm
From where do you get best chappli kababs in karachi /????
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