Delhi: No meat, yet a feast

It’s nearing sunset and the streets of south Delhi’s busy Jamia Nagar have turned into mini swimming pools after a brief spell of rains. We’re running a little late to join our hosts for iftar and luckily reach just minutes before the azaan sounds out from a nearby mosque.

“We can now ‘open’ the fast,” says our host Rakhshanda Jalil, noted author. She adds that it would be incorrect to say “break” in the context of roza since that would mean being unable to keep one.

The chef du jour is Rakhshanda’s mother, Mehjabeen Jalil, who informs us that she’s whipped up a light fare because the kids wanted to avoid eating fried food.
It’s also vegetarian since the family has been eating chicken and mutton for some days now and wants a break. The elaborate spread on the dining table, nonetheless, looks inviting.

We start with the traditional kachalu, a fruit-chaat of sorts with kala namak, lemon and sugar. The key ingredient in kachalu that lends it a pulpy texture is guava. Mehjabeen tells us she’s plucked a few from her kitchen garden to add to the chaat. Next, we try the dahi ki phulki. The gram flour dumplings in whisked yoghurt is a tastier and softer version of dahi vada. The trick here is put lots of crushed garlic in the curd.

There’s also kala chana seasoned with green chillies, bread pakora and fryums instead of the traditional onion or daal pakodas, sonth ki chatni (dry ginger powder chutney), suji ka halwa and good old kadak chai. The humble sandwich also makes an appearance, ensuring the iftaari doesn’t get too heavy.

Mehjabeen tells us that iftaar food has gone through a lot of change and less of a “feast” than what it used to be. “Among the things that people relished earlier but is seldom made today is kacche kheeme ki goliyan,” she says. Had we come on a day when there was non-veg food, there would be kababs (shammi, seekh or galauti), kheeme ke samose and kaleji (liver) added to the current spread.

For now, we’ve had our fill and sit around the dining table to discuss the importance of Ramzan. I accidentally drop a date and bend down to pick it up, looking a bit sheepish. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not sacred food,” says Rakhshanda. Typically, Muslims open their fast with dates, emulating the Prophet, who is believed to have done the same.

It’s not mandatory but considered good practice. “Busy schedules have led to people opening their rozas with a packet of biscuits or chips,” says Rakhshanda, who adds that Ramzan is about going inwards, and appreciating the little things we take for granted. For some it’s also about about sabr. “We start preparing for iftaar three of four hours before opening the roza,” says Mehjabeen. Preparing a feast while fasting is surely a test of patience but Mehjabeen says cutting, chopping and cooking gets her busy and helps the last few hours of roza move faster.