Tweet
Tikka making is a family affair
CHARSADDA – If practise makes perfect, Wali Muhammad has reached the pinnacle of his craft. Now in his 60s, he has been selling tikka (traditional barbecue) at a small makeshift restaurant for more than 50 years.
Wali Muhammad – who goes by the name Hattey – runs a tikka shop known throughout Charsadda District.
Even well-off Islamabad families originally from Charsadda honour their roots by ordering tikka from Hattey’s small shop on Mardan-Charsadda road in this dusty, remote town to entertain special guests.
“A week earlier, Aimal ordered tikka and I prepared a dish for Rs 1,000. ... I sent (it) to Islamabad for him,” Hattey said of an order he filled for the son of Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan.
“Nobody knows my real name. ... Everybody calls me Hattey,” the tikka maker said.
Tikka business is 52 years old
The business started back in 1958, when Hattey was 12.
Like many vendors, Hattey stays open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, known as “meatless days,” because the government bans butchers from operating those days in accordance with a law meant to conserve meat in the country’s desperate early years.
“Sometimes there is leftover meat. ... To (get rid of it), we open shop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” Hattey said. He also stays open those days to help support his large, 28-member family.
Traditional tikka is cooked over coals. (Hasan Khan)
“I have five sons, and all are married with children,” Hattey said. “I put all members of the family including ladies and children on different chores.”
Those chores include cutting meat and making tikka (small pieces), removing fat from the meat and making spices. Every day, the restaurant goes through 130-150kg of boneless meat.
“If we closed the shop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and on weekends ... and continued to stay open only a half-day on Friday... we could barely support this large family,” Hattey Said, explaining why his shop stays open on ‘meatless days’ and all weekend.
Economy makes survival a challenge
Running the business is always a challenge, even more so with the economic downturn and inflation in food prices. Pakistani inflation exceeded 15% in 2010. A few years ago, he could save a decent amount, but today’s economic pressures prevent that, he said.
“Even tomatoes are (more than) ordinary persons can afford,” the old man said, adding the shop uses 50-60kg of tomatoes daily. Still, the business has allowed him to provide for his full family.
“I have lavishly spent on marriages of my five sons,” he said, adding proudly like most Pashtun fathers, “I married off three daughters with good dowries.”
In the old days, when he actively ran the shop, he and the district’s bigwigs would sit up late at night, he recalled.
“Sangeen Wali (Khan) was daily coming to my shop along with friends – mostly Khans from the different areas,” Hattey said.
Sangeen, his friend, would stay until late, Hattey said, remembering the son of Pashtun nationalist leader Abdul Wali Khan and grandson of social reformer and freedom fighter Bacha Khan.
All five of Hattey’s sons are skilled tikka makers, having grown up in the shop. “I have handed the business to my sons, and they are doing a good job,” said Hattey, who visits daily to collect the proceeds.
“I just help them in making tikka rods and stay with them for a while and then go,” he said. He always advises his sons to stay united and never to quarrel with customers.
“I tell them respect the customers – the guests of God – and never go for easy money,” he said.
Wali Muhammad – who goes by the name Hattey – runs a tikka shop known throughout Charsadda District.
Even well-off Islamabad families originally from Charsadda honour their roots by ordering tikka from Hattey’s small shop on Mardan-Charsadda road in this dusty, remote town to entertain special guests.
“A week earlier, Aimal ordered tikka and I prepared a dish for Rs 1,000. ... I sent (it) to Islamabad for him,” Hattey said of an order he filled for the son of Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan.
“Nobody knows my real name. ... Everybody calls me Hattey,” the tikka maker said.
Tikka business is 52 years old
The business started back in 1958, when Hattey was 12.
Like many vendors, Hattey stays open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, known as “meatless days,” because the government bans butchers from operating those days in accordance with a law meant to conserve meat in the country’s desperate early years.
“Sometimes there is leftover meat. ... To (get rid of it), we open shop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” Hattey said. He also stays open those days to help support his large, 28-member family.
Traditional tikka is cooked over coals. (Hasan Khan)“I have five sons, and all are married with children,” Hattey said. “I put all members of the family including ladies and children on different chores.”
Those chores include cutting meat and making tikka (small pieces), removing fat from the meat and making spices. Every day, the restaurant goes through 130-150kg of boneless meat.
“If we closed the shop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and on weekends ... and continued to stay open only a half-day on Friday... we could barely support this large family,” Hattey Said, explaining why his shop stays open on ‘meatless days’ and all weekend.
Economy makes survival a challenge
Running the business is always a challenge, even more so with the economic downturn and inflation in food prices. Pakistani inflation exceeded 15% in 2010. A few years ago, he could save a decent amount, but today’s economic pressures prevent that, he said.
“Even tomatoes are (more than) ordinary persons can afford,” the old man said, adding the shop uses 50-60kg of tomatoes daily. Still, the business has allowed him to provide for his full family.
“I have lavishly spent on marriages of my five sons,” he said, adding proudly like most Pashtun fathers, “I married off three daughters with good dowries.”
In the old days, when he actively ran the shop, he and the district’s bigwigs would sit up late at night, he recalled.
“Sangeen Wali (Khan) was daily coming to my shop along with friends – mostly Khans from the different areas,” Hattey said.
Sangeen, his friend, would stay until late, Hattey said, remembering the son of Pashtun nationalist leader Abdul Wali Khan and grandson of social reformer and freedom fighter Bacha Khan.
All five of Hattey’s sons are skilled tikka makers, having grown up in the shop. “I have handed the business to my sons, and they are doing a good job,” said Hattey, who visits daily to collect the proceeds.
“I just help them in making tikka rods and stay with them for a while and then go,” he said. He always advises his sons to stay united and never to quarrel with customers.
“I tell them respect the customers – the guests of God – and never go for easy money,” he said.
Comment