Jama Masjid – The Food Beckons…

Contributed by Amit Uppal

Muslims all over the world eagerly await the Ramadan (mostly referred to as Ramzaan in India), which is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when they unite in tandem for worship, fasting and spiritual cleanliness. The fasting goes on for the entire month, and is considered to be one of the five “pillars” of Islam. The holy Quran was revealed in this month, and Muslims are encouraged to read and imbibe what it teaches. Those who do, must refrain from drinking, eating and smoking. Every day of the fasting month, believers get up before dawn to eat the pre-dawn meal, called Sahur or Sehri, after which the Fajhr prayer is performed. The fasting goes on the entire day, till the fourth prayer, Maghrib. Only after the sun has set, and until the next dawn, can believers eat and drink. This process continues the next day and goes on for the entire month.

We disembarked from our cars at the junction on the main road and took a rickshaw for Jama Masjid. As you move along the street, you find endless stalls selling grilled chicken, beef kebabs, seekh kebabs (beef and chicken); roadside dhabas selling Nihari, Kormas and an array of other dishes. The place is a myriad cornucopia of colors and the heavenly fragrance of hot oil, butter, grilling meats and roasting spices. The festivities start after 7:00 pm in the evening, and go on till the early hours of morning, with the bazaar open for business all the time. Our culinary experience began with a sampling of grilled Chicken, Chicken Seekh Kebabs and roomali rotis at Anmol Chicken Corner. A word of caution for those on a diet – the chicken was grilled on coal fire, taken off and mixed with oodles of butter and masala, then served with raw onion rings, lemon and rotis on the side. I can vouch for it; it was melt-in-the-mouth, in the real sense of the term, with butter dripping from each piece of chicken. We met a Muslim gentleman from NOIDA, who gave us valuable insights into the local food and told us about some more places around Jama Masjid worth exploring.

We moved on, and stopped at Lalu Kababee’s roadside stall, that sells mouth watering beef boti kebabs and beef seekh kebabs. I’m not a beef eater, everyone else thought it was delicious! We turned left into Matia Mahal Bazaar, which was a riot of colors, lights and all kinds of textures and fragrances. Despite the late hour, not a single shop was closed. We stopped at a sweet shop, and Sid sampled a beef samosa, which wasn’t too good because of the congealed fat within.

Two more members joined our group at this point, and we were now 24 people, including 4 children! We went into the Matia Mahal Bazaar we entered Karim’s. This is one of the oldest eateries around Jama Masjid and carries a legacy of Mughlai cuisine. Over the years however, Karim’s seems to have begun catering more to tourist (Indian and foreigners) palates and has diluted the authenticity of it’s recipes. The flavors have changed in accordance with the world, not restricting it to the recipes of the Muslim cuisine. We ordered chicken burra kebabs, mutton barra kebabs, brain curry and rotis. Chakraverti, the only vegetarian in our group, had his first and last mouthful of a vegetarian main course here – paneer tikka, which was unremarkable. The rotis here were larger in size, softer and much thicker and a perfect accompaniment to most non-vegetarian dishes. The chicken and mutton burra kebabs were good, especially the mutton ones. The meat was tender, with just the right spices. The brain curry was good too, though it could have had less oil and more spices.

Our next stop was Aslam’s Chicken. The measure of a good eatery anywhere is the number of people standing in line and Aslam’s was no exception. We literally had to beg for our food and when we did, what food it was! Tender grilled chicken, mixed with cream, butter and spices, and served with roomali rotis.

Many people confuse Biryani with Pulao. The difference is, in the cooking of the ingredients. In Pulao, all of them are cooked together, while in Biryani, they’re cooked separately, and served as layers.

We were now looking for an important part of Muslim cuisine – biryani. Haveli Azam Khan is the place for Biryanis, where you’ll find a small line of shops, all making some of best Biryani you’ve ever tasted. We could see degs of all shapes and sizes containing the delicious stuff and couldn’t wait to eat, even though we had eaten quite a lot already. The Biryani here is beef and the rice is of excellent quality – rupees 72 a kilo! The meat was tender and well flavored and the rice tasted of kesar (saffron), elaichi (cardamom) and laung (cloves) among other spices – you could smell the aroma from a mile!

Nihari is a very popular dish among Muslims worldwide. Nihar means morning in Urdu, and this dish is usually eaten just before the morning Fajhr prayer, usually with rotis. It is a thick stew made of beef or lamb, and plenty of spices. The spices and flavors of the dish become remarkably prominent because of the long cooking time, and the meat becomes extremely tender. It takes a night and a day to cook Nihari, and the vessels are at times buried underground whilst cooking. Probably the meatiest dish you’ve ever eaten, it is topped with coriander leaves, fried onions, green chilies, strips of ginger, lemons and sliced white radish, depending on individual tastes and preferences. Cooking methods may vary from place to place.

Referred to Bilal restaurant for their Nihari, we found it to be a small dhaba with people constantly going in and out. We ordered portions of Beef Ishtoo, Korma and Nihari and Rotis. The food here is good, but the level of spices can be iffy. Price: 60 rupees.

As we came out of Bilal’s, we saw Shahi Tukra, Rabri and Phirni neatly arranged outside a sweet shop – Cool Point / Kohinoor Ice Creams. We sampled each one of them, and I can say I haven’t had better Shahi Tukra, Lassi, Rabri and Phirni anywhere else.

Finally, it was 1 in the night, and we decided to call the visit off. All said and done, it was an exhilarating experience, and we had the best tastes, etched into our minds. A must-visit! By the way, our total expenditure for the entire escapade was less than rupees 200 per person!

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