Skip to content
Handiہانڈیاردو
BBQ & kababsKarachi recipes

Bihari Boti Recipe

بہاری بوٹی بنانے کا طریقہ

Karachi bihari boti: thin beef strips in a fried-onion, yogurt and mustard oil marinade overnight, skewered and smoked over coals until meltingly soft.
WhatsApp
Illustration of Bihari Boti

Prep

30 min

Cook

25 min

Marinate / soak

8 hr

Serves

5

Difficulty

Medium

Spice

Medium hot

Bihari boti arrived in Karachi with families from Bihar and became one of the city's signature BBQ dishes. Beef is sliced into thin, wide strips, beaten flat and soaked overnight in a dark marinade of fried onion, yogurt, poppy seeds and mustard oil. Threaded loosely on skewers and grilled fast over coals, it comes out smoky, spicy and soft enough to tear with a piece of paratha.

Ingredients

5 servings

For 5 servings

Measures

For the marinade

To finish

Method

  1. Slice the beef across the grain into strips about 5 mm thick and 3 cm wide. Lay them on a board and beat lightly with a meat mallet or the back of a heavy knife to flatten and tenderise.

  2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions on medium heat until evenly deep golden. Lift out, spread on paper to crisp, then grind with the yogurt into a smooth brown paste.

    ⏱ 12 min

  3. Mix the onion-yogurt paste with all the remaining marinade ingredients, including the mustard oil. Rub it into the beef strips thoroughly.

  4. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or overnight. Take it out 30 minutes before cooking.

    ⏱ 480 min

  5. Light the coals and let them burn down to glowing embers. Thread the strips onto flat skewers in a loose zig-zag, not packed tight, so the heat gets in.

    ⏱ 20 min

  6. Grill over the coals, turning every 2 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and charred at the edges. Fan the coals to keep them glowing.

    ⏱ 12 min

  7. Brush with melted ghee in the last couple of minutes and let it drip onto the coals for smoke. Slide off the skewers and serve with onion rings and lemon.

    ⏱ 2 min

Tips for the best result

  • Many Karachi cooks add a tablespoon of raw papaya paste to the marinade to make the meat extra soft. If you do, cut the marinating time to 4 hours or the meat turns mushy.
  • Partly freezing the beef for an hour makes it much easier to slice thin.
  • No grill? Cook the strips in a hot pan with a little oil until dry, then give them a coal smoke for 5 minutes.

Common mistakes

  • Cutting with the grain or too thick. The boti stays chewy no matter how long it marinates.
  • Under-frying the onions. Pale onions make the marinade sweet and raw-tasting instead of deep and smoky.

How to serve

Serve with paratha or naan, podina raita and sliced onion.

Storing and reheating

Cooked boti keeps 2 days in the fridge; reheat in a pan. Marinated raw meat freezes for up to 1 month.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
885kcal
Protein
41g
Fat
75g
Carbs
13g
Fibre
2.6g
Sodium
960mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 300

Whole dish ≈ Rs 1,490 · 93% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Bihari Boti: questions people ask

Which cut of beef is best for bihari boti?

Undercut (fillet) is the most tender. Topside or silverside from the leg also works if sliced thin across the grain and beaten well.

Why is mustard oil used in bihari boti?

It gives the sharp, slightly pungent flavour that defines Bihari cooking. If you find it too strong, use half mustard oil and half ordinary oil.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

All BBQ and kabab recipes

Read this recipe in Urdu: بہاری بوٹی بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/bihari-boti · Handi, DanixSoft