BBQ Around the World: Pakistan

I found this in the Daily Times, A New Voice for Pakistan. I don't know much about Islam, but if eating barbeque is part of the religious holidays, I've got to get to know more!

The Eid mentioned in the article is Eidul Azha when the faithful slaughter a goat, sheep, cow, buffalo or camel to emulate the example of the Prophet Abraham and his son, Ismael or Ishmael. Affluent Muslims perform Hajj a day before Eidul Azha by traveling to Mecca for the annual pilgrimage.

Sharpening knives and barbeque grills, all set for Eid

By Imran Naeem Ahmad

ISLAMABAD: In a small shop, sparks fly off Tahir Mahmood Qureshi’s grinding wheel as he sharpens knives and choppers all day.

With Eidul Azha approaching, Qureshi is overworked in the busy Aabpara Market. Hundreds of knives of all shapes and sizes lie next to him on the floor, and after grinding each, he holds up the respective knife to see the end product. The knives he sharpens will soon be used to slaughter animals and chop meat.

The workload in the run up to Eidul Azha is such that Qureshi expects to sharpen between 3,000 to 4,000 different knives in the last two days before the event. “It is a lot of work but this is the time of year when we make good money,” he says as a meat shop attendant arrives with four big choppers. “I worked on 700 knives today and this number may increase to about 4,000 later on,” said Qureshi.

As he continues with his work, elsewhere in the market brand new knives, skewers, barbeque grills, coal and wood chopping blocks are up for sale. Qamar Zaman manages one such shop and says, “The business is good and knives and grills are selling well.”

With sacrificial meat being distributed and exchanged in abundance for Eid, there is barely a household without a surplus of mutton or beef. Hence people like Amir Raza and Iftikhar Khan, both government employees, opt for barbequed meals.

“We look forward to this every year. The children particularly enjoy it and it is good fun for them,” says Amir, while Iftikhar narrates how his family went to Simly Dam last year to grill the meat: “It was a day out my children still remember.”

However, for those wishing to avoid this hassle, some restaurants also offer to roast meat. This is a good bargain for those with a few hundred rupees to spare. “We have many people bringing in their meat,” says a restaurant manager.

Indeed Eidul Azha provides a good chance for many to earn quick money, be they cattle owners selling their animals at the H-11 Market, shopkeepers at centres like Aabpara, coal sellers or butchers.