Rolling roomalis longer, more time spent on sigri: On their toes ahead of Eid

Mumbai: Mohammed Naseer rolls roomali roti and waits for the sigri, a charcoal-fired metal pan, to warm up. Unlike the multi-burner gas stove which heats up quickly and rapidly cooks food, it takes 10-15 minutes to heat and longer to cook."If I made 50 roomali rotis in 30 minutes on gas burner, now it takes 45 minutes to prepare as many," said Naseer, in between baking the thin, flatbread in the kitchen of the Shalimar restaurant at Mohammed Ali Road. At Hindustan Hotel opposite Minara Masjid, owner Abdul Aziz said work begins earlier now, around six in the morning, because it takes longer to cook on coal-fired ovens. "Our kheema and mughlai dishes are ready by 12 noon followed by preparation of iftar delicacies. We have stopped serving fried rice, paya and daal gosht (mutton)," said Aziz.Commercial LPG shortage has impacted supply and operations of eateries lining the streets of Mohammed Ali Road-Bhendi Bazaar amid the holy month of Ramzan. Close to Eid festivities, both restaurants and roadside stalls struggle to deliver on orders by switching to charcoal stoves and induction stoves. Some have trimmed the menu to leave out dishes which need cooking on high flame. At the Chinese N Grill near the iconic Minara Masjid, the most famous dish—Crispy Thread Chicken—is no longer served. Mercifully, other popular items like Chicken Shanghai Sizzler, Nalli Nihari and Bheja Fry are still around. "Somehow we are running the kitchen with sigdi (charcoal). But this is costlier. If commercial LPG supply is not restored soon, most of us will have to shut down," said Aquib, Chinese N Grill's supervisor.Chapatis and Chinese dishes have also taken a hit. "They are off the menu. We are cooking Mughlai dishes on sigri and frying malpuas on a diesel-fired stove," said Shalimar's owner Umair Shaikh.Many hoteliers complain against the govt's decision to prioritise domestic LPG consumers over users of commercial LPG. "If someone does not eat at home, he can eat at a restaurant. But if all restaurants are closed, where will those who have no homes eat?" asked Shashidhar Shetty of Govind Shree Durga Bhavani, a vegetarian eatery opposite J J Hospital. "Our AHAR (Indian Association of Hotels and Restaurants) president Vijay Shetty has written to the PMO and ministers Piyush Goel and Hardeep Puri. We are only getting assurances," said Shetty who dropped dosa and medu vada from his menu, but retained idli and misal pao. Khalid Hakim of the century-old Noor Mohammadi restaurant on Mohammed Ali Road said he has stopped preparing rabri. "The LPG shortage comes at a time when business is supposed to be booming. These are the last days of Ramzan and most of our customers are non-Muslims who come even from far-off suburbs. It looks bad to tell them some of our dishes are unavailable," said Hakim. Many said they are losing sleep and even if they catch a few winks after sehri (a light pre-dawn meal during Ramzan), they wake up worrying about insufficient fuel in their kitchens. "Every morning I wake up worrying. Gas cylinders are not available and induction stoves cannot cook tawa delicacies like baida roti, bhoona gosht and cutlets. Sigdi is slow," said Asif Shaikh of the Indian Hotel at Bhendi Bazar. At the famous Tawakkal Sweets (founded in 1945), Mustafa Mithaiwala said sweets like rasmalai and doodhi halwa are off his menu. "We are managing somehow. Tell the govt to make it better," he pleaded while attending to a bevy of Bohra Muslim customers. The Dawoodi Bohras celebrated Eid on Thursday as they follow the Egyptian calendar. Now with Eid festivities set to begin on Saturday, most hoteliers are taking stock of what they can offer over the weekend. Sounding a bit rueful, Hassan Jaffer Mansuri of Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar Catering Division said kapsa rice, mutton paya and mutton khichda have been dropped from the menu from the list of delicacies.