Society

In photos: Return of peace brings flocks of visitors to Peshawar restaurants

Peace and stability have bolstered the restaurant business in Peshawar.

By Alamgir Khan

2019-10-03

Restaurants in Peshawar can be seen September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

A customer orders a dish at a restaurant in Peshawar on September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

A restaurant employee in Peshawar September 1 cuts meat to make tikka karahi. [Alamgir Khan]

A restaurant employee in Peshawar makes tikka karahi on September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

Tikka karahi can be seen at a restaurant in Peshawar on September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

Tikka on the grill can be seen in a restaurant in Peshawar September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

Tikka cooks on a charcoal grill in Peshawar September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

A restaurant employee puts tikka in a pot in Peshawar September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

Customers at a resturant in Peshawar enjoy tikka karahi September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

A traditional tikka restaurant can be seen in Peshawar September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

PESHAWAR -- The Namak Mandi food bazaar in Peshawar attracts not only local customers but also visitors from all over the country and abroad for its unique taste.

Its most popular dish is called tikka karahi, a dish made from lamb or goat.

With the return of peace and the defeat of militants, large numbers of patrons can now visit such restaurants, staying until late at night.

"The taste is unique; it is totally different from the spicy food elsewhere in the country," said Waqar Ahmad, a resident of Mardan, at a Peshawar restaurant on September 1.

A vendor in Peshawar prepares tikka karahi, a popular meat dish, on September 1. [Alamgir Khan]

Nasir Khan, owner of the Charsi Tikka restaurant in Peshawar, is very happy with the influx of visitors these days.

"It's a very profitable business," he said. "Every day we cook the meat of 40 to 45 lambs," he said. "We use only salt and lamb fat to cook the dish."

Hundreds of customers every night eat at the restaurant, Khan added.