Ethnic Cuisine: Afghan Kebab

Juicy BBQ Kebab, Dh10

I happen to go to downtown Deira quite often lately. There're lots of souqs in this neghbourhood and it's always crowded. Despite the heavy traffic I actually quite enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of the street.

The area is filled with people from all walks of life and every corner of the world – south Asians such as Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Sri Lankans; Africans from Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, coupled with Arabs from various countries, Iranians, Chinese and so forth. It seems the influx of Chinese expats to Dubai has grown drastically over the past 4-5 years.

Multi-ethnic neighbourhoods come with multi-ethnic restaurants and eateries. One such restaurant that has always caught my attention sets the grill on fire and starts BBQing late afternoon and that distinct smoky smell of charcoal grilled meats is simply irresistible! Charcoal certainly gives a more smoky taste and authentic flavour that permeates through grilled food – I love charcoal grills!

Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside..., never forget to squeeze fresh lemon over it!

Years ago when I was based in Pakistan and other South Asian cities, I used to see those casual eateries in the open garden right off the road and each one of them had smoky juicy BBQ on the grill. I haven't been back in years so it does bring back all the tasty memories! I would savour freshly prepared authentic kebab sitting outside under a clear sky full of shining stars, feeling the humid and warm breeze from the Indian Ocean, and suffering from itchy mozzie bites on my legs and ankles!

This time I couldn't resist any more. I jumped inside and helped myself to the authentic Afghan-style smoky shish kebab, squeezing lots of fresh lemon juice over it - ah, heavenly! The naan, fresh from the tandoor oven was fluffy to the perfection.

In the neighbourhood that is full of labourers, there were certainly no groups of women, not even women accompanied by male family members, when I walked into this restaurant. I was the only one but it was definitely worth it (am used to this sort of situation anyway lol)!