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Patta Tikka: Khyber’s answer to takatak

Patta Tikka: Khyber’s answer to takatak

People want something different, said Murad Khan, the owner of another restaurant.
30 May, 2016

Patta tikka, which is a Shinwari dish and is common throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is gaining popularity in the garrison city with many food outlets now serving the small pieces of liver wrapped in a thin layer of fat.

Very different from takatak which is a spicy dish made from liver, the patta tikkas which translate into ‘hidden’ tikkas are milder and are only seasoned with salt and while takatak is cooked in a wok, the patta tikka is grilled on an open spit.

Rawalpindi City, from Saddar to Peshawar Road, is filled with restaurants serving various tikkas which all use fat in their dishes.

Though the recipes for most tikkas require the use of other spices, curd, tomatoes, green chillies and ginger, the patta tikka is a much simpler variant.

“Making patta tikka is simple. Wrap small pieces of liver lamb in a thin layer of fat, which is taken from the stomach of a lamb. Dust it with salt and grill it on an open fire for a few minutes on each side, till the fat is crisp and golden,” said Mohammad Bashir, a chef at a restaurant in Bahria Town.

“Usually, the meat for tikkas is marinated in spices, herbs and curd to make it tender, but there is no need to marinate liver for patta tikkas because it is already soft and only takes about 10 minutes to cook. It is done as soon as the fat melts,” he added.

Mr Bashir said that people were turning towards milder and simpler foods, which is why restaurants were adding items like patta tikka to their menus.

People want something different, said Murad Khan, the owner of another restaurant.

He said traditional items like biryanis and karhais were no longer in demand.

“That is why most restaurants have included dishes from foreign cuisines or those eaten in other parts of the country. Our chefs go to these areas and try to learn the original recipes so that we can offer our customers the original taste,” he said.

“After trying the patta tikka, some of our customers even asked us to try wrapping pieces of kidney in fat the same way,” he added.

Waseem Malik, who was waiting for his order of patta tikka on Kashmir Road, said that he had heard from his elders that to improve the functioning of the liver, one should eat a lamb’s liver.

“That is why I think patta tikka is the healthier option. The fat is easier to digest as well,” he said.

Raja Majid, who was visiting a local restaurant specialising in the tikkas with his family, said: “ Patta tikka is the better option because it is not spicy and does not upset the stomach.”

He said the Shinwari dish was now popular with his family and recommended having the tikkas with hot naan, followed by green tea as is tradition in order to help digest the fat.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2016

Comments

Ahmar Qureshi May 30, 2016 10:26am
"Pata" in Pashto language mean "Concealed / Hidden" & Tikka is Tikka (Bar-b-Q cuisine) wrapped in fat & you don't need any cooking oil or ghee! very savory! :-)
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Hamid shafiq May 30, 2016 10:40am
its an old dish serving in tribal area
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ptr May 30, 2016 10:45am
"Khyber’s answer to takatak" do you really need to compare two totally different dishes as if there is an animosity between two;
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nasr May 30, 2016 10:59am
On my quest to learn and do cooking when my parents used to be away to US and I being alone tried various modification on recipes learned from my mother who is still famous for her cooking. One of the modification was while bar be queing I used to put pcs of fat between beef and goat botis. This fat pcs used to come from around the Kidneys of the zabihah. On Eid ul Azha I will make sure to get the thin protective sheet of fat around the goat stomach. I will wrap the whole sheet of fat around the goat leg or shoulder and will roast it in a mughlai masala. Though not for everyone's liking cooking meat with fat enhances its taste to new heights. Coming Eid ul Adha I will definitely give a try to the fat wrapped liver.
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Rida May 30, 2016 11:11am
Is it takatak or katakat?
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Usman Khan May 30, 2016 11:30am
@nasr You never use the Fat that is around Kidneys !
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Mujahid May 30, 2016 11:48am
"PATTA TIKKA" combination of two Pashto word PATTA means wraped and TIKKA means piece of meat for BBQ. and it is not a shinwari DISH it is widely prepared by all pakhtuns and specially in tribal areas like AFRIDI people etc. the taste is far far rich and awesome than taka tak.
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Mujahid May 30, 2016 12:13pm
@nasr never use any masala or anything except salt for PATTA TIKKA and make sure the spleen doesn't rupture :) or the lever is useless.
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SAP May 30, 2016 01:24pm
@Rida In Karachi it is called TAKATAK and in Islamabad it is called KATAKAT or vice versa.
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Home Alone May 30, 2016 07:17pm
Nothing like a meat wrapped in lamb bacon and grilled. Yummy!!!!!!
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Ravi May 30, 2016 09:04pm
Anybody can eat Non vegetarian food only when they spent it by the mean of Calories. One should not eat any food for taste. Otherwise it's just inviting many health problems.
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nasr May 31, 2016 01:31am
@Usman Khan Well I came to know from someone to use the fat around the kidney area as it is densely thick very white and tastes good after cooking. I surely am not cooking the thick membrane around the kidney. Do you have any reason why they should not be used. Fat in the ribs area are good too.
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KABAELI MUNDA May 31, 2016 02:49am
I wonder why Pata Tikha is conceived or related to shinwari's tribe only, its rather the specialty of every house hold in all the Tribal areas.
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Ali R Haider May 31, 2016 10:45am
How can you compare the two dishes. Although dish it self is very unique and quite tasty but it is for an acquired taste. Not every ones cup of tea.
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sufyan May 31, 2016 03:07pm
What is takakat ???????? its katakat i guess..
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