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Namak mandi tikka
نمک منڈی تکہ (namak mandi tikka): Peshawar's lamb and fat chunks seasoned only with salt and grilled over coals
Namak Mandi, the old salt market inside Peshawar's walled city, is now a street of smoke and sizzling skewers, and its tikka is famous because it needs almost nothing: chunks of lamb threaded between cubes of dumba tail fat, salted and grilled over charcoal until the fat melts and bastes the meat. You eat it at a long table off a sheet of hot naan, with raw tomato wedges, onion and green chilli, and pots of green tea afterwards. It tastes of lamb, salt and smoke and nothing else, which is the point. Over-marinating is what goes wrong, oddly enough: piling on spices or yogurt hides the meat, and salting too early draws out moisture, so salt just before grilling. Chef's tip: if your butcher has no tail fat, use well-marbled shoulder and thread a few pieces of the lamb's own fat between the cubes.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the tikka
- 1 ¾ lb lamb leg or shoulder, with some fatcut into 3 cm cubes
- 5 ½ oz lamb tail fat (dumba) or lamb fatcut into 2 cm cubes
- 2 tsp coarse salt
- 1 /2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
To serve
- 3 tomatoescut into wedges
- 1 onion (optional)sliced
- 4 green chillies (optional)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Light a charcoal grill and let the coals burn down to an even, glowing heat with a light coating of ash, or heat an overhead grill to its highest setting.
10 minStep 2: Thread 1 ¾ lb lamb leg or shoulder, with some fat onto metal skewers, putting a cube of 5 ½ oz lamb tail fat (dumba) or lamb fat between every two pieces of meat. Do not pack them tightly.
5 minStep 3: Sprinkle all over with 2 tsp coarse salt and 1 /2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper just before cooking.
1 minStep 4: Grill for 12–15 minutes, turning every 2–3 minutes, until the fat is crisp and golden, the meat is well browned outside and cooked through with no pink juices.
15 minStep 5: Warm the naan (or a gluten-free flatbread) on the edge of the grill for a minute.
2 minStep 6: Push the tikka off the skewers onto the warm bread so it soaks up the dripping fat, and serve with 3 tomatoes, 1 onion and 4 green chillies.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 40 g
- Carbs
- 2 g
- Fat
- 44 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does namak mandi tikka take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of coarsely ground black pepper?
- Black peppercorns, freshly ground, same amount.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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