The calming silence of Jama Masjid is beautifully juxtaposed with the steady increase of commotion on the busy street adjacent to it. Thousands are walking in tandem towards the many shops thronging the narrow passage. The lure is beyond appealing and we’ve made our choice. It’s going to be Al Jawahar this time; a restaurant that’s stood solid since 1948.
The fragrance of meats simmering in the large handis (metal pots) beckons your attention. Upon closer look into what’s cooking, the whiff justifies its allure. It’s the restaurant’s signatures—Chicken Changezi and Istoo (a mutton dish with rich gravy)—that have come to be the most popular selling items on the menu, since the last few decades. The recipes are a secret, of course, and the owner, Mohammad Akhtar, prides in having been able to keep the golden formula within the family for generations. “These dishes are being served since the time of my grandfather. He developed the recipe, knowing little that they would result in this kind of culinary triumph,” he says.
Even though the menu at Al Jawahar is a reasonably extensive one with kebabs, biryani and mutton curries, most tables, you’ll see, will have plates of over-flowing gravies of either of the two specialities. “Every time we think we have enough, we run out of it. Often, guests dining at the restaurant ask for extra portions of the same to be packed. It tastes as good the next day too,” says the owner with a full smile.
Talking lesser than usual because of the Ramzan fasts, Akhtar tells us he wants to show us another treasure. He asks us to follow him to the terrace. In less than a minute, our eyes are feasting on another kind of treat, not food-related this time. Welcoming us is the surreal silhouette of the top of the mosque’s dome, now fading from our view in parts, due to half-light. Akhtar stands right in front, striking an imposing figure, as though to say, that this is his place, his pride and his pleasure. He’s right, since he’s succeeded in reaching to the souls of people through their stomachs, and that’s the surest way, they say, to reach one’s heart.
Good to know
Meal for two:
Approx. Rs 600
Address 8, Jama Masjid, opposite Gate No. 1