There is many a believer in Kozhikode, who wants to end the holy fast during the month of Ramadan with a sumptuous Ifthar of exclusive Malabari dishes. And the Zain’s Hotel in Kozhikode is one such place which offers the customers lip-smacking traditional Malabari dishes for the Ifthar dinner. Zain’s is run by Zainabi Noor, affectionately called as Zainatha, and her husband Noor Mohammed. The couple started the hotel some 23 years ago. "It was my husband’s trust in my cooking skills that encouraged me to start a small business,’’ says Zainatha. As their fame grew, the couple converted a couple of rooms of their house into a hotel. "We brought in a small glass top counter to display the day’s special snacks such as chatti pathiri and unnakkaya.” And that glass-top counter is still there at the Zain’s Hotel, exhibiting hot varieties of snacks. "We have no menu card here. People who come can place an order from the live display,’’ adds Zainatha. As for the holy fast breaks, Zainatha has arranged a huge variety of more than 35 Moplah dishes for her clients at the Zain’s Hotel. "Till some years back I used to handle the cooking chores myself. My husband and daughter assisted me. But today, it has become too tedious to handle the growing crowd, hence we hired some help,’’ she says. Now Zainatha supervises the cooking and sees to it that every simple dish has reached up the mark. From flavoured biriyanis to a potpourri of pathiris served with mouth-watering non-vegetarian dishes, the list just goes on. The muttamala, muttasurka, madukkapathiri, chatti pathiri, pazham nirachathu, unnakkaya, arikkadukka, kozhiada etc. are just a few of the hot delicacies. The restaurant also provides a ‘niskaramuri’ (a prayer room) for the believers. As Zainatha says, “For each Ramadan we bring in some new varieties. My daughter Sherin is equally an expert cook. For the fasting season, she will also bring in some of her exclusives too.” The usual business hours of the hotel starts at 12 pm and goes till 11 in the night. But during the Ramadan days, the hotel is open only during the dusk hours.