BENGALURU: Come Ramzan, and Syed Shaheed Ahmed (20) and Syed Muizz Ahmed (18) become very busy boys. Commonly known as Rahman and Farman, respectively, the brothers can be spotted setting up shop in the lane between Charminar Kabab Paradise and Savera Tea House near the Frazer Town mosque. Pictures of the brothers, who set up a sweet stall every year, are now making the rounds on the social media, after an online post was written about the enterprising duo.
The sales have gone up considerably after the social media posts. “We earlier managed to sell only 60 per cent of the stock, but now at least 90 per cent of the items are over at the end of the day,” said Rahman. The two have been running the business for five years now. Credit for their delicious matka firni, shahi tukda, shahi muzafer, qubaani, sweet curd and falooda pudding goes to their sister. “Before our mother passed away, she shared her recipes with my sisters and now we are make a living out of them,” said Rahman, who works as an electrician and plumber, while Farman does interiors work in Frazer Town. “We started working in 2015. That year we served only samosa,” Rahman added.
The brothers are proud recipients of many praises from customers. “Some of them question the price of the food but they don’t know how much we have to pay to the authorities and also grease palms to put up this stall here, which sometimes goes up to `400 per day,” he added, as his younger sibling doled out goodies to the customers.
Shahi tukda, the brothers say, is their fastest-selling item. Gagaan Chowdaiah is one of the customers who vouches for it. “I tried their shahi tukda for the first time now, but I’ve already made up my mind to come here every year,” Chowdaiah told CE.
“On Sundays, we get 100 portions of shahi tukda as opposed to the 50 we serve on other days,” said Rahman, talking about how they thought of expanding their menu from samosas when they noticed that visitors seemed to love shahi tukdas too. They now earn take home a profit of as much as `5,000 on weekends.
“Neither of us could write our 2nd PUC exams due to financial problems. But I learnt how to speak English by conversing with my non-Muslim friends,” said Rahman with a smile.
Bonding over biryani
Is it the month of Ramzan or their love for biryani that brought this group of people together at 4am? As many as 95 members of the Bangalore Biriyani Club met during the wee hours of Sunday to celebrate the festival, and the food they all love.
The group comprised a 14-month-old baby as well as a 65-year-old. “The pre-dawn meal is one of the main meals during Ramzan. It is an amazing experience to meet at that early hour and eat biryani,” Renukesh Bingeri, one of the founders of the club, said, adding that they met at Sharief Bhai in Frazer Town.
“Sharief Bhai’s biryani is the best. The restaurant was kept open for us exclusively at 4am,” Bingeri recalled. The menu for the meal included mutton biryani, chicken biryani, bheja samosa, mutton haleem, murg til kabab, mutton khichda, kaddu ki kheer and sharbath. “Some places at Mosque road in Frazer Town, Bilal Masjid in Bannerghatta and Tilak Nagar serve exclusive food that is available only during the month of Ramzan. We are planning to go to Mosque Road next,” he said.