PESHAWAR, Pakistan - The sweet aroma of mutton smoke drifts through a maze of crumbling alleyways, a barbecue tang that for decades has lured meat-eaters from across Pakistan to the frontier city of Peshawar.
The ancient city, capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has retained its reputation for some of Pakistan's tastiest cuisine.
University student Mohammad Fahad had long heard tales of Peshawar's famed mutton.
"We are here just to see what the secret to this barbecue is," he said, excitedly awaiting his aromatic portion in Namak Mandi - "Salt Market" - located in the heart of Peshawar.
The hearty cuisine comes from generations-old recipes emanating from the nearby Pashtun tribal lands along the border with Afghanistan.
It is feted for its simplicity compared with the intricate curries and spicy dishes from Pakistan's eastern plains and southern coast.
The famed Nisar Charsi Tikka in Namak Mandi chalks up its decades of success to using very little in the way of spices.
For its barbecue offerings, tikkas - cuts of meat - are generously salted and sandwiched on skewers between cubes of fat for tenderness and taste, and slow-cooked over a wood fire.
Its other famed dish, karahi - or curry stew - is made with slices of mutton pan-cooked in heaped chunks of white fat carved from the sheep's rump, along with sparing amounts of green chili and tomatoes.
Both plates are served with stacks of oven-fresh naan and bowls of fresh yogurt.
"It is the best food in the entire world," gushes co-owner Nasir Khan, adding that the restaurant sources some of the best meat in the country and serves customers from across Pakistan daily along with local regulars.
By Khan's calculations, the restaurant goes through hundreds of kilograms of meat a day - or about two dozen sheep - with hundreds if not thousands served.
Agence France-presse