Hanifia Hunter Beef Burgers. Four words that get me drooling. If you are from Karachi then you know the magic. The magic of their dry cured hunter beef, so good in the hunks that you buy. Even more special when they fry it up and pile on their special sauce. It's tangy, it's spicy, the kind of thing you want to swipe at and lick off your finger.
Never in a million years could I have reverse engineered that sauce without help. I once found a blog post that shared a variation of this recipe. I have tried searching for it by googling the ingredients but it seems to no longer be there. But to you who wrote the post with the 3tbsp of Vinegar, I want you to know that I owe you a great debt. As a word of caution this sauce on it's own isn't half as good as the sauce added into a pulled beef sandwich!
These Hanifia Sauce Sliders were part of my Eid Table last year and this year they have been part of my walk down memory lane. It is a nostalgic journey that has included Caramel Custard, my mother's cilantro chutney, her Bread Kheer, Deviled Eggs, Eclairs, Bakery Style Chicken Sandwiches and now these.
How to Make Hanifia Sauce Pulled Beef Sliders
As much as I love this sauce I do not love the prospect of making Hunter Beef. It is very time consuming and I much prefer quicker fixes. So instead of making Hunter Beef I use my Kid Friendly Pulled Beef . The sauce takes minutes to put together, the Pulled Beef mostly happens in the Instant Pot. A little shredded lettuce is optional, but such a nice counterpoint. The sandwich is delicious.
The amount of beef in the Pulled Beef recipe and the sauce provided makes enough for 4-6 burgers depending on how much meat you like. There will be extra sauce leftover and it is SO good with fries!
Hanifia Sauce (Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
- Small Pot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 ½ - 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp mustard powder
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a small pot, whisk well to break up lumps
- Bring to a boil, simmer till a thicker consistency - 5-10 minutes
- Cool then drizzle over your your pulled beef (or hunter beef) and serve.
Notes
Ahmed says
Hi can we used garlic bread instead of sliders
Sarah Mir says
what a delicious idea!
Sara says
Hi Sarah! Love your recipes! Wanted to ask do you bake the sliders? Or just assemble them and they are ready to eat? Thanks!
Sarah Mir says
Hi Sara! I don’t bake them but I know people who have used this recipe and done that and then brushed some melted butter on top!
Ambreen says
Hi Kiran, which flour do you use?
Sarah Mir says
all purpose works!
Kiran Kamran says
Assalamoalaikum
I love your slogan!
I just wanted to ask that you wrote 1 tbsp salt in the recipe?? Is that a typo or actually tbsp also If I have liquid mustard sauce instead of powder should I make any changes??
Thank you
Sarah Mir says
Hi kiran! That obscene amount of salt is actually correct - I tried it with less and while it tasted better on it's own, when mixed with the meat it didn't! Also I highly recommend powder for this one!
Kiran says
These were so so so so good!
Sarah Mir says
Yay! I am SO glad you enjoyed them!
RR says
so happy to see Hanifia being talked about in a food blog!
Sarah Mir says
I am a Karachiite so Hanifia is a forever favourite!
Ralph Croning says
I have been looking for this recipe for over 3 decades. What I would like to know is can I use whole yellow mustard seeds and grind them instead of using mustard powder? I seem to remember the Hanifia sauce to been slightly gritty.
Sarah Mir says
Hi Ralph! I can't say I have tried that, you're right that the sauce isn't entirely smooth
Uzma says
Hi Sara, could you ols tell me how long can this sauce last in fridge??
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi Uzma! I keep it for about a week or so. It packs a punch and if it sits too long then the vinegar flavour starts to get over the top for me!
Saarah says
Is it really 1 tbsp of salt?
Tehmina Khan says
Hii, which oil do you use?
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Olive, Corn or Vegetable! Also this is a very potent sauce on it's own but it works with the meat mix!
Afreen Asim says
Looks amazing! Can we use mustard sauce instead of mustard powder?
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi Afreen! I have not tried it, but mustard sauce is stronger tasting than powder! I'd recommend adding a little and adjusting to taste. Also this recipe is STRONG - like on it's own it's odd but with the meat it's YUM!
Eraj says
I finally made this (yeah that mustard powder was beginning to think it would never get called on). In all honesty I don't remember what the hanifia sauce tastes like anymore - it's been way too long, but this sauce was insanely good with the pulled beef burgers ☺️ Thank you for another great dinner a la Sarah 😀
Mehwish Anwar says
Very tasty and delicious recipe. I will try it. Thanks for sharing.
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Great! thank you!