- Check it out guys, it's Trevor James,
hanging out with my good buddy, Ali,
and we're also with Eva Zu Beck here,
and we are deep in Northern Waziristan, in Pakistan,
near the Afghan border.
And today Ali is bringing us for exclusive access,
for an ultra-rare street food tour in Miran Shah.
- So yeah Trev, as you said that North Waziristan
is a former conflict zone,
but now the peace has been restored in this area.
And it's open.
This area is famous for the hospitality
and friendliness of its people.
Very rich culture and tons of great food.
- So check it out.
Today we're bringing you in for exclusive access
to a very rare area still fresh with memories of war
and terrorism from militants.
Luckily the peace has settled, and we were lucky enough
to spend the day driving up to Miran Shah,
exclusively to try the food and meet the people.
And first up, kebabs.
And look at this guys, we're just rolling in to Lachi,
on the journey up into Waziristan, Miran Shah.
- [Ali] So, look who's driving us to Miran Shah.
- [Trevor] Yeah.
- Hello.
- [Trevor] And Eva is driving us.
- Never thought I would be doing this.
- It's been a great journey.
And right up here, guys,
we've just stopped in a local little village
and we've found a kebab factory here.
So much smoke, oh yeah.
Let's see what we got.
- So, we haven't yet reached the land of kebabs,
but still, the vibes.
- As-salamu alaykum.
(men speak in a foreign language)
- We've got a lot here.
Kebabs?
Beef?
(speaks in a foreign language)
Chicken, beef?
(speaks in a foreign language)
Beef?
Mutton?
(speaks in a foreign language)
(Trevor speaks in a foreign language)
These must be the famous...
Patta tikka.
- [Ali] This is the patta tikka.
So you have chunk of beef inside
wrapped around with fat.
- [Trevor] The fat with the beef, oh yeah.
We're just putting them right on the grill here.
Wow!
As-salamu alaykum.
How are you?
So you've got the patta tikka and the beef kebab
and this is super famous, is this Waziri?
- [Ali] Yeah, this has it's origins in Waziristan.
- [Trevor] Wow, so we've got fat and beef.
- [Ali] We just don't put too much marination.
It's only salt and it cooks in its own fat.
- [Trevor] Wow, that's what it's all about,
and just look at how smokey that is.
Wow!
Look at the fat around it.
That is unreal.
It's just a fat layer of crispy, juiciness on the inside.
Wow, this is an unreal scene in Pakistan.
Only in Pakistan can you get meat this heavy.
- You see, when I tell you that these people have
the real skills in processing and making the meat.
This is roadside taba and you see how good
they make the meat.
- [Trevor] Yeah, just a normal stall.
- [Ali] Yeah, it's normal roadside and there's so many
of such stalls...
- [Trevor] Unbelievable.
- [Ali] On the way to Waziristan.
Trevor, as I was telling you that as you go
up North towards Waziristan and even up to Afghanistan,
the weather conditions and living conditions
become extremely harsh.
So in order to sustain, you need fat, you need protein.
- [Trevor] That's the energy.
- That's the energy right there for you
- [Trevor] Oh, and we're just going to get
a giant platter right here.
Look at this.
We are ready to serve.
Meat-heaven here in Pakistan
and I'm so pumped to try the patta tikka.
Look at those!
Wow!
It's just full.
That is a kebab platter,
for a king.
(laughter)
- There's still more to come.
- Oh, there's more to come? - Especially the patta tikka's
- The patta tikka, oh!
Thank you Bhai.
Those are true gems of Pakistan,
these are the treasures of Pakistan right here.
- [Ali] Yeah, these are the pearls we call patta tikka's.
- The patta tikka's, the fatty liver.
Oh yeah, thank you.
(speaks in foreign language)
Let's go try it out.
Thank you, wow
Thank you.
How does that look?
(speaks in foreign language)
- Handsome?
(speaks in foreign language)
And just look at those, very heavy, seasoned with light salt
and this is just so nice to be here in the local village
on our way to Miran Shah.
Let's try it out.
Oh!
- Wow.
- Oh, it just explodes
There's like a fat explosion
(laughter)
There's no liver flavor to it just a little bit.
It's more of a salty, fatty intense pop in your mouth.
(Laughter)
Really nice.
- I really love their beef tikka but the patta tikka
was maybe too fatty for me.
I'm glad you guys loved it
and I think I should have been the one
loving it even more (laughter).
But I think it was a little to fatty.
- Thank you very much
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you very much.
(speaks in foreign language)
Thanks you, thank you very much.
That was delicious, thank you.
That was amazing.
- We give thumbs up?
- [Trevor] Yeah, thumbs up
That's awesome.
Beautiful meat.
- Let's thumb's up forever
- Yeah
Next up, we're continuing the drive up to Miran Shah
and stopping on the side of the road for more snacks
and we're learning along the way
that every stop we're making
had a dark history to it, with numerous killings
of innocent civilians from militants.
Now, clean and safe.
- So it has been a long drive from Islamabad
an I'm craving some snacks.
- [Trevor] Awesome
As-salamu alaykum.
How are you?
Oh wow, look at this.
Pakora?
- Yes, pakora.
- They look like a local recipe,
quite different than the pakora's that we usually have.
(Ali speaks in a foreign language)
(Man responding in a foreign language)
It's like a mix of onions and potatoes.
- [Trevor] Aloo pyaz?
Oh, beautiful and we're making them right here in this oil.
So, we're gonna have pakora
and then I see there's some chicken
and there's some dates and then...
Oh wow, look at that.
Cooked right over the firewood.
Wow.
We've got a ton of food today,
we've been driving, we've been exploring
coming into Northern Waziristan here.
It's been a fantastic drive,
so much beauty and we're hungry
and we're gonna have a ton on this journey.
Aloo pyaz?
- Aloo pyaz
(Trevor speaks in a foreign language)
- Before we have tons of the food,
a course of the appetizers.
(Laughter)
Let's have some appetizers.
(speaks in foreign language)
- That's beautiful. - Yeah.
- Masala?
Salt?
Oh, masala.
That is beautiful, look at that.
Local pakoras and I just love all of these friendly children
hanging out here too.
So here we are, the pakora?
Aloo pyaz?
- Aloo pyaz.
- Aloo pyaz. - Masala.
- Masala?
Oh, yeah, look at that.
Miran Shah, oh yeah.
- [Ali] Very much needed snack I would say.
- [Trevor] Yeah.
(Eastern music)
- Cheers, buddy.
- Cheers.
(speaks in foreign language)
- Cheers.
(Laughter)
This is great, let's try it out.
Mmm, oh.
Masala?
- Masala.
- That actually tastes like chicken.
- Yeah
- That is so delicious, Pakistani masala?
- [Ali] Seriously, when you're craving food sometimes
as simple as pakora, it's so good.
So this beautiful little girl over here,
her name is Dilraj.
Dilraj means the one who rules on the hearts.
It's a very beautiful name.
- Beautiful.
- [Ali] Thank you very much.
Thank you so much.
(Trevor speaking in a foreign language)
(speaks in foreign language)
- Very good, thank you.
And we're making our way for more guys,
going to Miran Shah.
It's going to be a beautiful drive.
- And we're possessive about our pakoras,
we're not leaving them behind.
(Trevor laughing)
- [Trevor] And as we continue to drive up to Miran Shah
we stopped by at a local's home that Ali arranged for us
to have a huge traditional lunch feast.
And here we are.
(Ali speaking in a foreign language)
- [Trevor] As-salamu alaykum.
- This is Trevor, my friend.
- How are you?
Nice to meet you, we're so happy to be here.
Oh wow, we're going to have a nice home cooked meal.
Beautiful.
It's so nice to be here in Waziristan.
Yeah, beautiful.
Beautiful.
Amazing.
It's beautiful, we've been driving down the highway,
witnessing the scenery.
As-salamu alaykum.
How are you?
- Fine. - Really nice to be here.
- Thank you.
- Yeah, thank you for having us, thank you.
Oh, and this is the... - Family.
- As-salamu alaykum.
Very nice, look at this.
Home cooked meal.
This a huge feast, thank you for having us.
- As I told you, the people from the Syria
are known for their hospitality and friendliness.
- Wow.
- And guests are considered a blessing in Syria.
- Really?
(Man talks in a foreign language)
- Thank you very much.
Oh and what's this here?
- Panda. - Panda?
- Panda. - Panda.
- [Ali] Not panda.
(laughter)
- [Trevor] Not panda?
Why is it called panda?
- [Ali] No, so, the word is pendah.
Pendah.
- P.I?
- Yeah, P.E.
- Oh, pendah.
- Pendah.
Pendah, okay.
- Chicken, potato, looks like pepper, onion, masala,
and is this roti or chapati?
- [Ali] It's chapati.
- [Trevor] Oh, wow.
- [Ali] This is called melt rice.
- [Trevor] Melt rice?
And this is the courgette here with tomato?
- With chicken I think. - Oh, chicken.
Chicken and courgette.
And this big bread here.
We got the pendah.
Cheers buddy.
- Cheers.
Hmm, hmm, very tasty. - You like it?
- We're so happy to be here.
- Thank you, you're welcome.
- This is just an amazing meal here
on our way to Miran Shah.
The rice, the chicken, really lightly seasoned,
everything is perfect
and this cornbread is feeling so healthy.
Thank you for having us, really nice.
- So Trev, what they're going to do is
they're going to make you wear the local, traditional dastar
which is the sign of giving honor to the guest.
- The dastar?
- Yeah.
- Oh great
- This is the traditional cap, hat,
from the Waziristan.
- Beautiful, thank you.
(Laughter and clapping)
- Now you look amazing.
- Dastar?
(Ali speaks foreign language)
Thank you for having us, that was a really nice meal.
- You are looking very nice in this.
(Laughter)
- [Trevor] Handsome?
- Yes, looking handsome.
- And I'm loving all of the friendly people
from the village here.
Thank you for having us here.
It was a fantastic meal.
Delicious, local food.
(Eastern Music)
- You're a Wazir now.
- I'm Wazir now? I'm a local?
- Yeah, local. - Local.
- So, basically I am the Ali Khan Wazir.
and you are the Trevor Khan Wazir.
- Trevor Khan Wazir!
(Laughter)
This is amazing.
- [Trevor] You're having fun Ali?
- Having great fun, looking forward to more food.
- [Trevor] Yeah.
- And after driving a couple more hours,
we made our way to a look-out point right before Miran Shah,
before going to the ultimate chapli kebabs and Afghani naan.
And this is just amazing guys, we made it to Miran Shah,
overlooking the point here and this all Miran Shah town?
- Yeah Trev, this is the whole Miran Shah valley
and the accompanying villages.
And furthest towards that side,
you see the mountains which are in Afghanistan.
- [Trevor] Wow.
- And Trev, this is a very rare success in a way that.
This area was a conflict zone a couple of years ago.
And the people of this area,
they're very friendly people that you meet,
very hospitable and very friendly people, trust me.
They have suffered a lot in the last couple of years.
It's great that the life is becoming normal again,
and it's business as usual now.
But being in this area, even for me, somebody from Pakistan.
A few years ago I would not even have imagined
that one day I would be standing here
looking over the Miran Shah valley.
- And here we are today. - Here we are today.
- And after a quick drive, we made our way into Miran Shah
to try local street food.
The chapli kebabs and a local samosa.
This is awesome.
- As-salamu alaykum.
This is such a unique opportunity coming here.
- Guess what we have for you. Chapli kebabs.
- As-salamu alaykum (speaks in foreign language)
Chapli kebabs, wow.
This is amazing.
The Miran Shah chapli kebabs.
- This is some really hardcore, intense chapli Kebabs.
(Laughter)
- [Trevor] Here they are, look at those.
- So Trev, as I've told you
meat is at it's finest in Waziristan.
- Looks really good.
- And Trev, the sundor over here is very different
than the look that you generally see.
This is more like horizontal.
- [Trevor] It's a big clay oven with giant,
giant Afghani naan.
With firewood.
- [Ali] So this is actually like an oven.
- [Trevor] Yeah, a real oven
- [Ali] It looks like one.
- [Trevor] Oh, that's the pure,
pure Afghani naan.
- So, basically you are having chapli kebab
at the very source.
- Right here. - Right here in Waziristan.
- [Trevor] So we're going to make the Afghani naan,
which is classic, it's in a long paddle shape, right?
- [Ali] Exactly.
(Patting bread)
- [Trevor] Oh yeah, here we go.
So it goes right on that.
Oh me? - Yeah.
- [Ali] This is a real privilege.
- [Trevor] A rare... I'm a left handed.
Oh yeah, okay.
- [Ali] You've got to hold it from here.
- Hold it from here? - Yeah.
- Okay, quickly.
We're going in.
- [Ali] Wow, you're a pro.
(Laughter)
- Is it in? - Yeah.
- Is it in?
Afghani Nan, right there.
- [Ali] So Trev, if you ever have a mid-life crisis
you know you can take up this job.
- And the chapli?
Amazing.
And this is my naan right here.
The one I placed, thank you.
Wow.
- [Ali] We'll just put one on the naan.
Oh, so, so tender.
They're just breaking.
- So oily. - So oily, so rich.
- [Ali] Let's just put it all on.
- [Trevor] It's heavy and full of oil.
That right there is pure, pure intensity.
And you can actually see there's coriander seeds
and chili flakes and onions and tomato.
It's all in there.
Cheers buddy.
- Cheers.
(Indistinct chatter)
- Oh wow, very good.
That's the source right there.
(speaks foreign language)
The Waziristan chapli kebab.
He's not taking money?
- [Ali] He's not taking money, no.
- No money?
Oh, that's too much
- Because Trev, I told you Pakistani nation
has hospitality in general.
The people from Waziristan are Pashtun people
are really known for their hospitality and their kindness.
- Right here. - Right here.
- So, not only are you at the source of the chapli kebabs
we are also at the source of Pakistani hospitality.
- Wow, thank you.
Thank you very much.
To finish up our day before the long drive back to Islamabad
we had a jumbo samosa right next door to the chapli kebab.
- So, as we're going for the ultimate
jumbo Waziristani samosa's.
- Oh, jumbo, look at these.
- Fresh from the pan.
- [Trevor] Oh, look at that,
look at all that potato and chicken,
you can see the fibers of the chicken.
(dog barking)
- Oh it's so smooth
- Yeah
- It almost tastes cheesy, even though there's no cheese.
- I was about to say, you stole my line,
I was about to say that.
- That is so really good.
- [Ali] This is legitimately one of the five best
samosas that I have ever had.
- [Trevor] Really?
- Yeah, and the best part is the surprise
because you don't expect...
you can expect Waziristan to have the best chapli kebabs
but not samosa, so this is a surprise.
- That's it right there.
- [Ali] Thumbs up
- Thumbs up
Thumbs up.
- Thank you so much Ali for that amazing experience.
You guys can check out Ali's Instagram
in the description below.
Cool experience, really eye-opening,
friendly people, what a great time.
- It was amazing to have you here Trev with us
and I really believe that your channel, your viewers
could have the first-hand, very exclusive insight
into the hospitality and friendliness
of the people of Waziristan.
- Thanks buddy.