Bun Kabab: The King of Street Food

You would think that a beef patty sandwiched between a bun with onions and tomatoes constitutes a burger, right? Wrong. The city of Karachi has one of the most diverse and multi-ethnic populations in the country, which of course translates into finding food gems such as the bun kabab (Urdu: بن کباب‎), which may look like a burger but tastes nothing like one.

Eggs are used to dip the kebabs before frying them for each bun kabab.

One thing the burger and bun kabab do have in common is that the origin of these two is lost in the sands of time - however, stories and legends abound. The burger, for example, is first identified as the Isicia Omentata all the way back to the first century AD, which contained pine nuts, pepper, wine and garum .

Eventually, over time, the burger evolved into what it is today; a grilled beef patty mixed with egg, breadcrumbs, minced onion, salt and pepper, sandwiched between two halves of a burger bun along with fresh lettuce, onion and tomatoes, and condiments such as mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup.

The bun kabab, on the other hand, is a more recent invention from the 1950s, primarily for moviegoers who first found the bun kabab at a small kiosk on wheels outside the popular Khayam Cinema in Pakistan’s erstwhile capital city, Karachi.

If you ask Karachiites currently in their 60s and 70s about their first memories of the bun kabab, they will often tell you this delicious street food evolved in front of their very eyes, first-served outside schools and cinemas on thelas, a small stall on wheels, with a filling of chickpeas cooked in a heavy gravy, garnished with onions, coriander and a spicy chutney (made with green chillies, coriander, mint and tamarind).

It then started including various other patties, such as fried egg and dal patty, a potato patty, and of course, the shami kabab patty, made with minced meat and lentils. Lettuce and onions along with the chutney are essential additions, and you will find that no two bun kabab vendors have the same chutney - it's a secret!

Unlike the traditional flame-grilled hamburger patty, the bun kabab patty is fried on a large tawa or skillet after it has been coated in a fluffy egg batter, with the buns fried alongside, and when plated, the bun is strong enough to hold the fried patty and the chutney.

Over the years while there have been many variations of the bun kabab, veering away from the traditional square bun, to a hotdog roll or even a burger bun, to some vendors getting inventive and replacing the quintessential chutney with coleslaw or even french fries, however, the traditional version definitely still stands out a mile.

If you too wish to enjoy a taste of Karachi’s staple street food, you can easily find them available at Pakistan Chowk, Nursery, Boat Basin, Saddar and many other streets and shops throughout the city.