Bisi Bengaluru: Iftar The universal brotherhood of feasting!

Iftar
A walk down Shivajinagar’s Iftar lane, or MM Road’s bustling foodie district  and their many wannabes in Indiranagar, JP Nagar, Ulsoor and Kamanahalli’s fascinating foodie streets gives you a taste of the delectable Iftar on offer this season and the incredible range of food on offer as the whiff of meats and condiments float by.

Not so long ago, this was a time of families cooking together, ammi and aggi creating fresh and delicious fare from scratch in their kitchens. Altaf M of the famed Shezan has seen the city transform to the foodie hub it is today and recalls those bygone days with warmth, “Nobody used to go out before as there were not many options around. We would make delicacies at home, and even send to friends and family. As it was the holy month, it was a simpler time. From the fried delicacies, dates, rice kanji or aash and sherbet, it was old school, all about families sitting together, praying and breaking the fast together.”

Asif and Kaneez Mohamed of Elements on Nandidurg Road also reminisce over the olden day Cantonment that seems to have disappeared, they recall family camaraderie during Ramadan which they try to follow even today, though at their restaurant now, instead of at home.

“Bengaluru has grown so much, but back then it was not so commercial, the Iftar preparations were home cooked, and the family even cooked together. The best part today, though, is that there is food from all over, new dishes and cuisines from Awadh, Hyderabad, Malabar.. You can have 10 items on the table faster than labouring on a few in the kitchen as we did in the olden days. That is wonderful,” says Asif Mohamed who feels Iftar has also been decentralised with each suburb having its own motley bustle of stalls —  Shivajinagar, Indiranagar, JP Nagar, Bannerghatta, having their street food that sees not just the breaking of the fast, but people who want to join in the feasting.

  Altaf and Asif drool as they recall the Haleem from Pista House in Hyderabad. “Albert Bakery is among the oldest that is dishing out delicious fare even today. Their samosas are legendary. In fact, I recall this small place called Bilal on Broadway Street that used to serve the puff pastry which was not the typical coconut and sweet one, but a meat puff pastry or naan bread, and they are still dishing it out. Of course, places like Hilal in Shivajinagar, Taj Hotel and Savoury are also very popular,” adds Asif.

But if there's one fare that is common to all the streets it is this — biryani, kebabs, fried meats, haleem, fried chicken and kheer.

Our jaunt on MM Road and Kamanahalli started with the less congested Chichabas Taj that has been dishing out traditional fare in Shivajinagar since the 1930s, and opened on MM Road in Frazer town a few years ago. Their paya and jigri are fast sellers. The Iftar distributing team has different counters for their favourite and most popular — mutton biryani, which was delicious. The baingan ka salan, to die for! The sheekh rolls were alright, a bit dry, the samosas,  were   crunchy, oil-filled but hit the spot with its onion and masala. We also tucked into fare at Charminar Kebab Paradise which sees full house through from 4.30 pmto 11 pm. It is famous for its chicken kari, gosht roll and its keema and parantha apart from a slew of chicken bites that looked like a cross between Chinese and Indian that seemed to be doing very well much to our surprise. We bit into the kheema anda parantha, that is a strict no-no for weight watchers, as it's dunked in oil. Didn’t stop the hordes, though. The phirni and kheer was light and tasty, though the rice kheer was a bit too thick and gooey.

 The bevy of dishes, cuisines and tastes is quite astounding, and there are also additions to the fare which Elements has added for its own customised taste -  Khataif, mutton chops, puri stuffed with chicken, Irani samosa, peri peri rolls, chicken calzones and so much more. We were told that over 20 lakh of those crunchy onion infused samosas are sold this season, but many stalls refused to give out such details. It's a feast alright, and what's most heartening is the universal brotherhood of foodies that come together, a true picture of harmony needed in the world today.

Meal for two: Rs 300 onwards
Must haves: 
Mutton biryani, hyderabadi biryani, the vegetarain and non-vegetarian samosas, sheekh roles, Baida roti and kebabs and sweets like Muzaffer, kheer, seviyan, etc.
The others: Gosht haleem and sehri nihari at Courtyard by Marriot
                    Dawaat-e-Iftar at Terracotta, Vivanta by Taj, Whitefield