Pakistan's mountainous North West Frontier Province — the frontier is with Afghanistan, via the Khyber Pass — is home to the chapli kebab.
At bottom it's simply minced meat flavored by the likes of cumin, pepper, and onion, often shaped like a slipper, or "chapli," then fried or grilled till crisp at the edges. Most of the work is done with bare hands — the vendor shown above used one to shape and deposit the patties and the other to ask patience of the crowd — and that's how they're eaten, too, using flatbread or just your fingers.
The man at the center of the action was once connected to a place called the Frontier Kebab House, which seems to be long gone; here he sat barefoot on a plywood platform atop egg crates, working a single large fry pan, facing ranks of imploring festival-goers. Photos of a second chapli kebab vendor, from a festival several years later, show more details of the hands-on process.
Also: A sugar-cane juicer, even one driven by a gasoline-fueled motor, can do only so much. Cutting away the tough outer layer of the stalks makes the actual cane-pressing more productive, though when all your sales aren't squeezed into a single festival afternoon, you can take your time about it. Below, the proprietor feeds sugar cane, plus an occasional wedge of lemon or slice of ginger, into the press; his assistant attaches a bag to receive the pressed stalks.
Pakistan Day Parade and Festival
The parade proceeds from 38th St. south on Madison Ave. to the festival site, in the vicinity of Madison Square Park, Manhattan
www.Facebook.com/PakistanDayParade