Baloch people who love to eat roasted and juicy meat are lucky in the regard that they get to eat the best meat dish of the world.
The Balochi Sajji is not only popular among Baloch in Balochistan, but its popularity has also spread all over the country.
The meaty and juicy delicious Baloch Sajji is one ideal dish for all seasons throughout the year.
It has become a high-on-demand dish in restaurants all over the country.
Balochi Sajji Recipe (Traditional)
This is the traditional decades-old recipe for cooking Balochi Sajji.
Ingredients:
- Lamb or mutton or chicken meat (whole or cut into large pieces)
- Salt (to taste)
- Hardwood/metal rod
- Coals
Instructions:
- Cut or slash the lamb or mutton with a knife in multiple spots (helps in cooking inner parts of meat).
- Spread salt over the meat to ensure it penetrates evenly in the meat for taste.
- Stab the hardwood/metal rod into the meat and place it upright between lit coals from both sides (not too close and not too far).
- Allow the meat to cook gently for hours until it becomes tender and juicy.
- Remove the meat from the rod and serve hot with roti, naan, chapati, or ”Kaak”.
Note: Balochi Sajji (the traditional recipe) does not require any additional oil, spices, or peppers, making it a healthier option compared to other grilled and roasted meats. The traditional method of cooking meat on an open fire/coal provides a unique and delicious taste that cannot be replicated with other cooking methods.
The Origin of Balochi Sajji
Baloch Sajji is cooked and loved in all places where Baloch resides. Generally, it is identified with Baloch and Balochistan, however, it has become immensely popular all over Pakistan and parts of the world. Balochi Sajji has become so famous and yet it is shocking that there is little real data on how and when it started first.
One thing is for sure the dish originated from tribal parts of Balochistan in a time when spices were limited and meats of lambs were the popular celebration dish of Baloch.
Other Popular Meat Dishes in Balochistan
Baloch people have many popular traditional dishes such as ”Khaddi Kebabs”, which is stuffed lamb cooked underneath the upper ground, and “Landhi“, completely dry cooked meat.
The meat is eaten with roti, naan, or chapati or with the unique bread version called ”Kaak” which is prepared by frying dough over specific stones to keep the bread solid and yet so tasty.
The Original Recipe of Balochi Sajji
The Balochi Sajji is commonly cooked with lamb or mutton. The meat is typically cut or slashed with a knife in multiple spots to spread salt so that meat is cooked evenly. Hardwood rod is stabbed in and placed upright in between coals from sides and allowed to cook gently for hours.
The final cooked meat is a delicious, delicate, heavenly piece of meat that can make you fall in love with Balochi Sajji.
The uniqueness of Baloch Sajji lies also in the fact that there is no addition of oil or spices or peppers making it more healthy to eat than other grilled and roasted meat.
The Balochi Sajji made on an open fire provides the real essence of the meat. The taste of Sajji cooked traditionally is different and unique because the slow and gentle cooked meat of Sajji would become tender, tasty, and balanced compared with roasted chicken or ”Chargha”.
The Famous Lehri Sajji House Quetta
In Quetta, the best spot to get the most delicious Balochi Sajji is the Lehri Sajji House.
The restaurant was started by Haji Aman Ullah in 1967 and the owners proudly announce to have popularized Balochi Sajji in the food scene in restaurants and eating places all over the country.
The Popularity of Balochi Sajji in Other Areas
Nowadays, Balochi Sajji is not only popular in Balochistan but is loved and demanded all over the country and in many parts of the world. However, the Sajji offered in most places like in Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad is mostly entire chicken cooked with spices and offered with raita and salad and it places, served with rice.
To Sum Up
The Balochi Sajji attraction and popularity also lie in the fact that seeing the sight of meat gently gets roasted, the smell of the heated meat, and the crackling sound of burning wood is spectacular in itself.
The best way to enjoy Balcohi Sajji lies in cooking the meat in the traditional way following the generation-old recipe of the Baloch people.