Peshawar Specialty · Flat Spiced Patty

Chapli Kebab

Photo: Murcotipton / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

The kebab's flattened, sandal-sole shape may be exactly where its name comes from — some trace 'chapli' to the Pashto word for flat, others to 'chappal,' the Urdu and Dari word for sandal.

Ground beef or mutton is mixed with tomato, onion, egg, and crushed coriander seed, then pressed into wide, thin patties and shallow-fried in a cast-iron pan until deeply crisp at the edges. Peshawar's street vendors fry them fresh over open flame and hand them over wrapped in naan.

Why it's made this way: It's strongly tied to Pashtun cuisine and Peshawar specifically, where the flattened shape lets the patty fry quickly and evenly over a wood or charcoal fire for fast-moving street stalls.