A time to feast

Ramzan is a holy month. It is a time to pray and to inculcate values of spirituality, piety and patience. It is, however, also an occasion to celebrate (after the fast, of course) with good food and good company. Geeta Doctor talks about the feast that follows the fast...
During a childhood spent in Karachi, that was then the capital of Pakistan, the most vivid memory I have is of being sent the nightly Ramzan or Ramadan meals by our neighbours.It was always beautifully presented in a round tray covered with a specially embroidered cloth.
Our neighbours were following a tradition that insists that good Muslims should reach out and share their good fortune with others, even if they might follow different beliefs. Many of our friends were from pre-Partition India, so they were conscious of some of our own dietary restrictions, so most often they would send us the snacks and puddings. It could be the tiny puffs of pastry called Lukmis, these had to be so delicate that they would melt in the mouth even as you tried to bite them. The milk based Seviyan, or fried vermicelli cooked in the thick milk of the Sindhi cows that are famous in the region would be another speciality, sprinkled with fresh cream, nuts, powdered cardamom and thin silver foil. The best items were the Phirni, luscious and creamy milk and rice rava puddings, served with pale slivers of pistachio, almonds and scattered with fresh rose petals. The Ramzan treats were meant to cater to both soul and body, so their presentation was as important a part as their preparation.
For the more adventurous, the routine was to go into the bazaars in search of Nihari - sheep trotters made into a thick oily curry. I was reminded of my Karachi childhood, when my son Vikram who is an ardent foodie took me to the amazing Ramzan dinners that are offered in Mumbai at Mohammed Ali Road. The entire area takes on a Medieval air, with lights strung across the streets where during the day, people go about their normal routine. Everyone is in a festive mood, the small children sport glittering clothes and the men are neatly groomed with embroidered skull caps, or those that have been crocheted with gold thread along their edges. There are equal amount of Ramzan memorabilia on sale, mirrored panels with images of Mecca, or words from the Koran, the head gear that different sects wear and for the women lavishly embellished burkhas in all the colours of the rainbow, not just black.
You are expected to break your fast (if that is, you have been observing the Ramzan fast that starts just before sunrise and lasts till after sunset) with a pinch of salt and a glass of warm water. You can then nibble at a date, or as is more common help yourself from a small platter of freshly cut fruits.
Tables, chairs and foldable metal shelves, or a combination of wooden tables, serve as both banquettes for people to hunker down as well as sideboards on which the freshly prepared dishes are stored in deep handis, or metal vessels that in some cases are still kept on portable stoves and clay ovens filled with coals. As the evening meal is in progress, others are preparing for the morning one; less elaborate, but equally rich and meant to quench the hunger pangs all through the day of fasting.
Different types of food are grouped together in separate corners or lanes. So, should you want a biryani, there are as many variants of this famous rice based dish as there are communities in the subcontinent. Each one of them will swear to you that theirs has to be the best, inspired by Persian traditions that create the most delicate of pillafs or the more robust recipes brought down by the Afghans. Whether these have chunks of meat, chicken, fish, kabuli channa, or small marbles of fried mince are matters of choice between you and your guide through this culinary maze.
There are wonderfully colourful sherbets, with names such as Rooh Afza and sweet drinks flavoured with almond and the attar of roses, or milky concoctions infused with the cream, or Faloodas that have a bit of everything, from milk, dry fruits, vermicelli, sabza, or basil seeds that swell up when soaked, with which to finish your meal at the Sherbet counter. Or kulfis and Phirnis that are made in clay pots that are served at the edges of this moveable feast that you can sample on your way out.
For us at Chennai, the nearest of the bounty of Ramzan that you can experience on the streets is on the busiest and most crowded of streets, in the middle of Casa Major Road. It may lack in many things, most particularly the elegance of my childhood memories, but they do make up with their joy of sharing.
(The writer is a city-based food critic)