BENGALURU: The smell of kebabs, samosas, and cutlets waft through the streets of MM Road where several food stalls have been set up during the month of Ramzan. Finally, after two years, the streets are buzzing again as hundreds queue up to try the offerings. Even as crowds don’t seem as much as pre-pandemic days, stall owners are relieved to see some semblance of normalcy, enough to keep their spirits high.
On a Thursday evening, we head out to MM Road in Frazer Town, stopping by different stalls, trying different offerings, and attempting to catch the buzz of the season. Our first pick is Pathar-ka-Gosht, a lamb dish (`200) that’s prepared by heating the meat on a wide-stone. The spices are added while it’s being cooked on the heated surface and served with onion slices. We try the one available at Al Kareem which had a good number of people waiting to order as well. The meat is well-cooked but be warned that it’s a salty offering.
Hoping that the next dish will go easy on salt, we hopped over to The Deagh Taste of Hind for their Kheema Pav which we’ve heard much about. Unfortunately, it lets us down as we find meat in minimum in the stuffing and an overdose of onions. We pay `120 as we scan the other options at the same stall,
kheema balls, samosa, shawarma, and desserts like phirni and gulab jamun.
It’s Mutton Seekh Kebab (`120) at Savera Family Restaurant and we are in for a surprise when it comes with a generous dose of mayonnaise. No, thank you!
As we look around for some drinks to wash down this unusual combo, we find a stall offering Mohabbath Ka Sharbat (`84), a hot favourite at Karama, a unit of Hotel Empire. Made with watermelon, chilled milk and rose syrup, the drink is a perfect concoction in this sweltering heat. Refreshed, we figure we haven’t given the famous haleem (`185) a try. Going by the sharbat, we decide to buy the slow-cooked meat dish at the same place.
Karama also has brain fry, which we simply can’t get ourselves to try. But we find people in large numbers placing orders for this. Next time, we tell ourselves. “Where is vegetarian stuff?,” we hear many ask. Unfortunately, apart from juice, samosa and desserts, this is a haven for meat lovers.
No meal is complete without desserts, and so we walk to Bombay Chowpaty Kulfi to pick their seasonal offering. With options of strawberry, guava, muskmelon and chickoo for kulfi, we satisfy ourselves with a bowl of chickoo kulfi. Happy in the tummy, we call it an evening with the promise to return. And try some brain fry, maybe.
The Iftar fair will be on till May 3 and is open on all evenings.