Abaseen- A taste of Peshawar

Type: Pakistani Food

Hours: Early - Late (Guess) 

Location: 858 Leeds Rd, Bradford, BD3 8EZ.

Website: No Website

Overall Rating: 7.3/10

Review: 

Peshawar is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse cities in Asia. Peshawar's recorded history goes back at least 500 years BC, making it one of the oldest living cities in South Asia. But I’m not here to give you a history lesson, I’m here to talk about food. Peshawari food is quite distinctive, it incorporates Afghan, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern cuisines. Yum! To get the true essence of the Pashtun dishes you need to get down to Bradford, taste these Chapli Kebabs at Abaseen.

It’s a tiny place, barely enough for 10 people, but I can assure you this place won’t disappoint. It was my first time going to Abaseen and very quickly me and my friend were convinced to get the chapli kebabs. So I told the fella to give me 2 portions of 3 kebabs but he laughed at me. Apparently a portion of 2 kebabs was enough for both of us to start off with! So we put the order through. Was the food going to be enough? Will I starve? Is this guy feeling ok? I was ready to eat a cow that specific day so you can probably understand what went through my head. The workers quickly got to work, I could see one of the workers preparing the Nan bread for the tandoor oven; fluffy, fresh and warm Nan, couldn’t wait. But that wasn’t the highlight; it was the big massive karahi In the middle of the room. Kneading the kebab meat, the worker slammed the prepared mutton in the karahi, cracked an egg, threw in a few chillies, tomatoes and peppers and got to work frying and cooking them.

Within 5 minutes a warm Nan topped with 2 Chapli Kebabs layered with egg, tomatoes, chillies and peppers was served to us. The kebabs were surprisingly humongous! So we got tucked in, and within a few minutes I realised this was going to be more than enough for both of us. The kebabs were delicious; nice soft mutton mixed with spices and chillies hidden inside a crispy deep fried outer layer, served with spicy eggs; seemed like the perfect combination. I can say it wasn’t too rich in flavour like many indo subcontinent dishes and did need the mint sauce to substitute in for some of the missing flavours, however my taste buds were still amazed. I definitely enjoyed it. The freshness of the food was overwhelming. Just before we left we paid for the meal, £8. Yes £8 for both of us! That’s why the price to food ratio rating was 9/10.

We only managed to get the chapli kebabs, but this place has other items on the menu; fish, lamb and chicken curries with the choice of an Asian style breakfast in the mornings. Exciting! As we finished the worker quickly presented us with Cava, a green tea like warm drink freshly made within the store. This is one of the reasons why this place picked up a 10/10 for its customer service, for a small place, the workers had an amazing attitude towards providing fast and quality customer service. The place did need touching up but it was very clean so I gave it a decent 7/10 for hygiene. Likewise due to the lack of spices in the kebabs I'm normally used to in my curries this place got a 7/10 for flavour, however it’s good to note that my friend thought this place should get a 10/10.  The food wasn’t presented very well so it only managed to get a 6/10; I would changes the dishes and maybe add a few more sauces on the Nan.

 So what about the manliness? Did this place make me struggle to walk to the car? Did it have me craving more? Did it save me spending on an expensive meal? Did my beard and hands get dirty? The answer to most these questions except the last is YES! Abaseen; Peshawar in Bradford picks up an 8/10 for manliness. A perfect taste of the Peshawar markets, picture-perfect for them heavy Friday afternoon meals. 

Thanks

A manly man