Iftar gets heavy on the pocket this year

Iftar is a meal that's come to be loved by several people, irrespective of faith. There are many of us who join our Muslim brethren at iftar stalls (and in their homes) while they break their day's fast with dates, fruits and protein-rich dishes that are staples during the month of Ramadan. In Pune, these delicacies include hearty meat patties and kebabs, fruit salads and the popular porridge of mutton and lentils -kichda.

But this year, as we went iftar hopping in the various hotspots of the city, we noticed that amid the bustle at stalls, there were several enquiries about prices having gone up.“This happens every year.But this year even some small stalls have hiked their prices by `10 per dish, while almost all stalls have increased by at least `5. This may not seem like much if you have iftar from stalls once or twice a week. But families where both spouses are working, depend on stalls for the entire month,” says Mohamed Ibrahim, who like us, was comparing prices at several stalls in Shivaji Market. Fazal Shaikh, who operates one of the busy stalls in the area, admitted that his prices have gone up by `20 this year. “We can't help it. Labour has gone up and so have the prices of meat,“ says Fazal, who still manages to sell around 25 kgs of buffalo and 20 kgs of chicken a day . “The hike is always according to the labour and raw materials and our customers know that. We are still seeing the same business that we witness every year,” he adds, as he packs a dozen piping hot chicken cutlets for a customer.
At Sahil Restaurant, where buffalo kadi gosh sells at `60 a plate, owner Abdul Gaffur says that irrespective of prices, the demand keeps increasing every year. Bufallo is their best-selling item, and they average at least 30 kilos a day. “Supply prices have gone up so we are forced to follow suit,” he says, confident that irrespective of what prices are, sales will not dip. But Raheela, who buys malpua, cutlets and samosas for her family from Sahil regularly, is not thrilled by the price hike. “I buy for a family of three adults and four children. This year it's costing me close to `450 a day, so I've already started switching to fruits and juices on alternate days. If there's another hike, we'll just have to start making iftar at home every day.”

Our next stop was one of camp's most popular iftar gatherings, Imdadi. Organised like a food festival of sorts, complete with seating and servers, this has been operated by the Imdadi Social Welfare Organisation for the past 32 years. Here prices have gone up by just five per cent this year. But Mustafa Shaikh, one of the co-owners, warns that there could be a further increase across the city, courtesy the centre's ban on sale of cattle for slaughter. This might reduce the supply of buffalo meat which is a best seller during iftar thereby making mutton and chicken dearer. “The real effects of this move will be known only in another week. If supply of buffalo reduces, the prices of all the meats will go up,” says Mustafa, assuring us that however, come what may, Imdadi will not revise their prices again this year. “Most of our customers have been coming here regularly for years. They buy from us every day. Increasing prices again will not be fair to them,” he shares.