Muhammad Usman

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PESHAWAR: Muhammad Sakhi leans over a steaming counter, lifting fresh plates of Mantu as customers line up shoulder to shoulder in the narrow basement restaurant. The air is warm with the scent of yogurt, spices, and rising steam.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside, the busy market of Peshawar, in Pakistan&rsquo;s northwestern frontier near the border with Afghanistan, roars with traffic, fruit vendors and old tea stalls but inside Sakhi&rsquo;s shop, the world slows to the rhythm of his hands &mdash; steady, graceful, familiar.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He has been doing this almost his entire life.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now in his late 40s, Sakhi began working at the age of nine. &ldquo;I started this business in 1992,&rdquo; he tells Pakistan TV Digital, remembering the early days. &ldquo;I worked with someone else first and learned the craft from him.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The lessons stayed with him &mdash; how to knead dough the right way, how to balance spices, how to make food that feels like home. Today, his small kitchen is one of Peshawar&rsquo;s most well-known destinations for Afghani Mantu and the Afghani Burger, dishes tied to Afghan identity, memory and migration.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mantu steamer sits tall and gleaming, each tier filled with dumplings carefully stuffed with minced meat, onions and warm Afghan spices. When cooked, Sakhi plates them with a wide, practiced motion: first the &ldquo;chaka,&rdquo; a thick Afghan yogurt; then a spoonful of warm lentils; a sprinkle of fresh salad; and finally, French fries, which melt slightly into the yogurt and sauce below. The dish is soft, rich and comforting &mdash; more than a meal, it is memory on a plate.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Arshad Khan, a regular customer, it is the reason he keeps returning. &ldquo;Their specialty is the Afghani Burger and the Afghani Mantu,&rdquo; he says, watching Sakhi work.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;I personally love the Mantu because of the &lsquo;chaka&rsquo; they use. The taste... it&rsquo;s truly authentic Afghan flavor.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He explains that nothing about the dish is rushed. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s made very simply, steamed. We&rsquo;ve seen how they make it since we&rsquo;ve been coming here for a long time. The taste is excellent. It&rsquo;s really good. I love it!&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But if the Mantu is gentle, the Afghani Burger is bold. On the other side of the kitchen, naan warms on a hot griddle. Sakhi spreads it with fries, sliced meatloaf, sausages, smoked chicken, cheese, salad and a bright house-made tomato chutney.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;The Afghani Burger is the kind of food that... once someone tries it, they get hooked,&rdquo; he says with a smile. &ldquo;But only if the quality is good.&rdquo; Customization is part of the experience. &ldquo;We add sausages, meatloaf, smoked chicken, cheese... many items, brother.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If a customer asks for a special version, he adds more meat, more flavor, more heart.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People travel for this flavor.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naeem Ullah, holding a freshly wrapped burger, says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve traveled here from District Khyber. I&rsquo;ve been coming here for about three to four years. Their specialty, and what they&rsquo;re known for, is the Afghani Burger. I just had one, and it&rsquo;s incredibly tasty.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He glances around the room. &ldquo;Their staff and the whole place are very clean and very high quality.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Afghan families who crossed into Pakistan during difficult years, these dishes carry the taste of home. For Pakistanis, they have become beloved local favorites. For Sakhi, they are a life&rsquo;s work, served one plate at a time in the warmth of steam, spice and steady hands.

Afghan burgers from a shop in Peshawar (Muhammad Usman)

Culture

A crowded basement eatery fills with steam, spices, and conversation as customers line up for Mantu and Afghani burgers, foods carrying nostalgia, Afghan culinary tradition, and a devoted following built on flavor, memory, and generous hospitality.

Articles tagged with "food"

In Peshawar, Afghani burger and Mantu keep refugee traditions alive

In Peshawar, Afghani burger and Mantu keep refugee traditions alive