CHENNAI: To a curious group of eight members who are eagerly waiting to explore the nooks and corners of the city to taste the best of the iftar offerings during the month of Ramadan, chef Ashutosh Arun Nerlekar’s assurance came as an apt start to the evening. “It is a good day to be hungry,” says the executive chef of The Park, Chennai. It’s a motley group — a family from Germany experiencing their first time in Chennai, a bunch of veterans of this food walk that has been happening for six editions, the staff from The Park, and then debutantes like me. The goal is to experience street food in the right way.
The Ramadan experience
“This is a one-of-a-kind event that happens in Chennai. We missed three editions due to the pandemic. This is the first event after all the Covid restrictions have been lifted. Ramadan is also synonymous with food and we wanted to give you the experience to indulge in the food history and culture of Chennai. We curated the walk-through research and went on a recce to understand the popular dishes,” says the chef, at the first stop, Walajah Big Mosque. Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali, Dewan to the Prince of Arcot has helped in organising the fast-break for participants of the walk, he adds, as we hear the prayers and chants reverberate in the festive air.
Arrangements are made for men and women to pray separately and participate in fasting. Sitting cross-legged on the mats we wait for the fast-break. Two glasses are offered — one filled with cold, refreshing rose milk, and the other with lukewarm water. A bowl of mini samosas and masala vadas are served along with a plate of vegetable biryani, pickle and banana. The crispy golden brown snacks are polished off in no time.
A spoonful of flavoursome biryani instantly changes my dislike towards vegetable biryani and the supremacy of non-vegetarian biryani over it. The much-awaited nombu kanji — a medley of flavours and textures, with lentils and mutton, is the promise of a perfect Ramadan meal. Feeling full and filled, we walk around the mosque and click pictures of the rituals, before slowly moving to our next stop, Firdouse Chennai, Triplicane.
Stores serving legacy
A walk into the more than 50-year-old restaurant presents a mix of vintage and contemporary charm. After an understandable wait of almost 20 minutes, we are greeted with a plate of shawarmas and grilled chicken along with pickle and garlic dip. “Eat consciously,” is our mantra considering the list of dishes we had to sample throughout the walk. Tender chicken slices with vegetables like lettuce, onion and carrot mixed are almost drenched in the creamy garlic dip inside the shawarma. Sabrina Rajan, a journalist and fellow participant, introduces her way of having grilled chicken. She says, “You have to mix a strip of chicken with the pickle and then dip them together in the garlic dip.” Applauding the method, we dive into the succulent and tangy dish. Restricting ourselves to consuming only small bites of the juicy chicken was a bit of a task.
For the next stop, Haleemwala, we take the assistance of the hotel cars. The roads which were already teeming with people are now swamped because of the IPL season. “A few people dropped out of the event at the last minute because of the IPL,” informs Darshini Ashok, director, public relations, at The Park, on the way to the kebab shop. The current participants are food lovers who are excited to try out new things more than anything, she informs. The staff at Haleemwala greets us with a smile while they are busy stirring the chicken shami kebab in a vessel of hot oil. Small crispy kebab, straight from the pan is dropped on our plates.
The deep-fried outer layers invite us to the minced meat interiors which are well-balanced in terms of spiciness. Mutton haleem, cooked for almost six hours, resembles the nombu kanji in appearance, but it was thicker in consistency. A mix of spices, lentils, and beef cooked slowly is served with fried onions and a squeeze of lemon on top. The mutton is soft and sticky, slow-cooked for hours until the small pieces crumble to bits. As we declare that the dish is rich in every possible way and it cannot be defined as a starter, the chef reminds us that the main dish — biryani awaits our attention.
Finding a spot to sit at Charminar Biryani was tricky business after watching the crowd at the main counter. The plates of steaming hot biryani cooked on woodfire in huge vessels are directly served to the customers. Packaging and delivery happen in microseconds. The amicable staff guides us to a table and serves biryani with brinjal curry and salad. Even though eating with hands seems challenging for the German family, gradually they adapt. There’s only so much meat I could partake in, and yet the aroma entices me to have another mouthful. The biryani lentils are low on the spice meter, slightly disappointing, but the mutton pieces, not too greasy, elevate the taste.
The walk after this heavy meal feels like a blessing. The surprisingly not-too-humid weather befriends us. Basha Halwawalah, the green building with the board ‘no branches’ (probably indicating the authenticity of the brand to avoid confusion with a few other Basha Halwawalahs on the same street) is our next stop. Tasting the shop’s famous Dum Ka Roat, Gudrun, a participant from Germany says, “This has become my favourite sweet dish.” She continues to share her experience, “In Germany, we don’t have anything like a food walk. So this was all new to me. The shawarma became an instant favourite especially because of the garlic dip. Sometimes Indian spices might be too spicy for me, as I am used to a certain type of food but overall the walk was a delicious ride.”
Exiting the street, the chef points to the huge vessels of yellow almond milk in front of the Mani Lassi Shop. Assuring us that it is the last stop, the chef encourages us to order almond milk and lassi. The warm almond milk with less sugar is the perfect end to a Middle-Eastern feast. Lassi is an addition but the slightly sour taste makes a few of us try more of it before the final goodbye. Long walks, conversations about food and culture and finding comfort in bites of food — the chef and the team assure us that they will curate a walk hopefully in the upcoming years.