Kozhi ada, erachi pathiri, bread roast, meen pathal, Thalaserry puff, mutta appam, elanji, pazham nirachathu, unakkaya, pazham pori…stalls vending nombuthura (breaking of the Ramadan fast) at Karukappily on Deshabhimani road are a feast for the foodie. The delicious smells of samosas being fried lead us in the direction of Thalasseri Bakery, one of the popular snack places.
A fresh batch goes into boiling oil with a sizzle and a row of people patiently await their samosas, pathiris and other snacks. ‘Samoosa’ is the preferred snack of choice – chicken, vegetable and beef. There is no time for niceties, only what and how many.
Every year come Ramadan fasting and these tiny one or two-man stalls pop up on the roadsides, mainly outside eateries and snack shops. Ramadan, as we all know, is a time for fasting and prayer. The fasting begins at sunrise and ends only after sundown. The fast is broken in the evening after the muezzin gives his call to prayer. This is called
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The snacks are arranged and ready for sale from 3.30 p.m., and therefore 5.30 p.m. is a bit late. There are only stacks of empty trays in some stalls. This is the first time for Khalid M.M. of Minna Caterers, Kalamasserry. Sweet samosa (referred to as Irani ‘samoosa’), vegetable and chicken cutlet, meen pathal, Thalassery puff, unakkaya and a few other snacks left.
He offers a sweet made of cashew nut and date as a sample. In a corner are stacked a few empty trays. “It is late. Sale starts early. We keep the menu varied. On weekends we make more numbers since we get more people from different parts of the city and from other communities too. On this side of town there is this area and on the other side there is Mattancherry.”
Most of the snacks are pre-made while some like samosas are prepared ‘live’. A number of caterers have set up shop in the area with an eye on orders. Thalaserri Bakery has a printed card with a menu and also namaaz timings.
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“In the old days you got only samosas, cutlets, bhajji and thari kanji here; today there is a huge variety because of the Thalasserry snacks. Today you will not find thari kanji in most places,” says Younus. He is the manning the Malabar Fast Food’s stall. Youngsters from Kasaragod have made the snacks – “six types of chatti pathiri, erachi cake, kayapols, elanji…” Abdul Aziz of the stall rattles off. Tajuddin from Kasaragod says he made the trip with his friends. Nazeer, a bystander chips in, “who has the time to make these at home? With prices going through the roof, this is the cheaper option.” The most expensive snack at these shops is Rs. 10.
There are usually no leftovers, but if there are any, Ajmal of Minna Caterers says, it is given to the needy.
Across the water in quaint Mattancherry, amid closely packed buildings, small junctions feature little tables with a variety of delicacies kept neatly covered with semi transparent sheets. One solitary stand of this sort is located at Kochangadi, run by Najeeb Khalid, an auto driver by profession. Samosas, ullivadas, and unnakayas serve as light eats to break the fast while irachi pathiris and kesari are on offer as well, eagerly distributed by a young lad, flitting about and interacting with the people gathered on the street. Najeeb started putting up the little stall for Ramadan two years ago, apart from his usual driving duties. “I have four people working for me to prepare the food, and it is usually served by 3.30 p.m., when people start buying. By late evening when it is time to break the fast, we are usually sold out.”
Najeeb proceeds to mention that the true spirit of preparation for breaking the daily fast is best seen at Lobo Junction nearby, where the scale is much larger. The small crossroad that forms the junction has small stalls on each street corner. Some sell pre-made items, arranged similarly to Najeeb’s stall while others add small marked
boards indicating the name and price of each item. Other stalls do brisk business, with piping hot cutlets coming straight out of oil and packed promptly for buyers. Siddique K.A, overseeing a stall put up by his friend Naufal, indicates the substantial spread laid out and explains that they have been providing food for iftar for around 20
years. “We have a catering company, so making the food is not a problem,” he says, indicating the table where a customer is placing an order for mutta kebab, a lightly fried egg filled with minty chutney. Some of the other items on offer include chicken and beef rolls, and mutta surka, though unakkaya is a popular favourite no matter which stall you visit. “The food is usually sold out by the time we break the fast, irrespective of quantity, though demand does slow toward the end of the month, when people go to Ernakulam to shop and eventually partake in iftar there,” Siddique says.
A little further down the street, Ismudheen is busy packing up some chicken cutlets for a passerby on a bicycle. Women and children go from stall to stall picking up different items while the men cluster around and have a chat in parallel with their purchases. Ismudheen’s stall is an extension of the small hotel he runs, and his current activity is a tradition dating back nearly half a century. “My father started doing this nearly 45 years ago, and I have continued in his footsteps,” he says, pointing to the older man seated behind the hotel counter. “We all have regulars who buy from us and even sell to each other and nearby mosques for their iftar feast.”
The spirit on the street is one of fraternity, and the fresh hot food is available on the cheap, with the most expensive item usually being only around Rs. 8. As the day grows darker and evening beckons, the stalls slowly empty, only to return the next day with fresh food and new stories.