Bun Kebab: The 'common man's burger' is the identity of Karachiites.

 Bun Kebab: The 'common man's burger' is the identity of Karachiites.

In Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, when most people are enjoying the dream rabbit, Abdul Amin wakes up every morning before sunrise and walks through a tunnel along an old railway track to reach a prosperous area of ​​the city, where his carriage is waiting for him near the mosque in the market.

In the light of a light bulb, they stand behind the glass mounted on the cart and start stacking the Syrian kebabs they brought from home.

After doing all this, Abdul Amin decorated the onion in a special way and scattered salad leaves on it and garnished thick tomato slices on it.

Abdul Amin has been doing this work with the same glory for the last three decades. At the time of Fajr call to prayer, he opens his 16 kg canola oil canister and in the process heats up his iron tongs.

Over the next few hours, Abdul Amin's hordes of donkey carts, housekeepers, sleepy office workers and armed bodyguards flock to Amin Burgers to receive their oil-filled orders in brown paper.

But contrary to the name of his stall, Amin is not selling burgers.

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Bun Kebabs are considered to be very popular street food in Pakistan. These thin Syrian kebabs or aloo murders are made in a milk-based bun and the crunchy vegetables and spicy chutney add to the flavor.

If you want to dip a fried egg into it, the protein increases even more.

It can also be meatless if you prefer, and the tangy South Asian flavors and chutney-laden buns make it even more unique than a burger. You will find its stalls, small shops and stalls everywhere in Karachi. Its price ranges from 50 to 120 rupees. The price depends on the region you are buying the bun kebab from.

Potato bun kebabs have long been a favorite at school canteens, and women in Pakistan can be seen eating them sitting on wooden benches in crowded bazaars. They are readily available for quick hunger pangs and are not too heavy on the stomach and pocket.

"Girl Gotta Eat" Rifaat Rashid, who writes for a food blog called Namie, says that there is no need to make any monthly savings or make a reservation to eat a good bun kebab.

Many Pakistanis have fond and familial memories with bun kebab, often reflecting their past connection with how they first ate it at a stall or took it home with them.

Osama Nasir, who founded the Karachi Food Guide in 2013, remembers that as a child, when he used to go to his grandmother's house, he and a dozen of his cousins ​​would eat bun kebabs together during load shedding.

He says that he used to eat his fill of these bun kebabs for less than a hundred rupees.

It is difficult to find out exactly when this bun kebab was founded. To some, it is Pakistan's cheap (and tasty) answer to burgers, especially because of the unique observation that bun kebab stalls are often seen in front of fast food franchises.

Haji Adnan runs an unnamed bun kebab stall on Burns Road, Karachi's food street. His family has been involved in this work for three generations. He believes the bun kebab gained popularity in the 1950s.

Haji Adnan believes that his grandfather, Haji Abdul Razzaq, introduced bun kebab in the year 1953 as a convenient option for busy people in the city center even before the spread of fast food business in different cities of Pakistan.

According to Fahad Bhatti, founder of the men's interest magazine 'A Lister Mr.'

’ It originated as vada pao (spicy potato dumplings with chutney in a bread bun). Since then, it has undergone changes, including a meat-like option for the carnivorous nation in addition to vegetables. '

Nowadays, bun kebab sellers are also introducing new variations based on their experiences, including hunter beef and beetroot. Some bun kebabs let you choose the ingredients yourself.

Spicy potatoes or Syrian kebabs are the most popular patties at this popular roadside eatery, but the patties are not the only staple of this meal.

Pakistan's first burger joint 'Mister Burger' started in the year 1980 when according to McDonald's and Burger King the people of this country were not yet ready for burgers.

In order to differentiate it from the bun kebab, the creators of this new burger considered unnecessary vegetables and spices and spent their time perfecting the taste of the beef patty and thus started using 'secret sauce' instead of chutney.

But for bun kebab sellers like Amin, these non-essentials are the essentials that provide flavor at a fraction of the cost.

Instead of meat juiciness herbs are usually flavored with a combination of coriander, cumin, green chillies in the patty or in a tamarind sauce.

It's proudly a poor man's burger.

Bun kebabs also serve to unite everyone, even people from the most disparate parts of the city.

Referring to the common Urdu idiom 'Pul ke apar, pul ke apar', Usama Nasir says that "Clifton Bridge in Karachi has long been seen as a stigmatizing symbol of a social and cultural divide."

It's probably one of the last local street foods that hasn't been adopted by a high-end brand. (Like 'artisanal' tea, Nutella-slathered parathas, or the insanely expensive Chana Chaat, all of which are more expensive and fancier versions of Pakistani street food