Half-an-hour left for breaking the days fast in Kozhikode,a Muslim-dominated town in north Kerala. Calicut Kitchen,a restaurant which would otherwise have remained closed during the month of Ramzan,is bursting at the seams. Several families and youths move to occupy a few dozen tables on which the first course of iftaar,mainly snacks,is arranged. At the counter,iftaar kits are still being sold. The traditional iftaar is gradually moving out of homes and finding itself a place on restaurant menus. Until a few years ago,families would prepare meals at home. Changing lifestyles and a growth in the number of Muslim professionals have caused families to dine at iftaar-exclusive eateries or take home ready-made meal kits for breaking the daily fast. During Ramzan evenings,bakeries and outdoor catering units become active in north Kerala,serving a wide-range of snacks,from plain cutlet to chicken cakes to fish pathiri (pancake made of rice flour). A housewife would be able to make a maximum of five items for breaking the fast. Many of us in the iftaar business supply 25 to 40 snacks. There are customers who try 10 snacks. At home,it would be impossible to make such variety, says Zaina Noor Muhammed,an iftaar caterer in Kozhikode. Customers go to the restaurants before 6 p.m. Most break their fast with snacks,and have the main course of iftaar after performing the evening prayers at a nearby mosque. Others break with the snacks and pack the full meals for home. The iftaar kits prepared by restaurants and baking houses are a great relief for travellers. But families also come here to break the fast, says Muhammed. She seems to know her market well,as Muhammed Thareeque,who regularly breaks his fast at restaurants,says,It is convenient and economical for working people and travellers to have their iftaar at eateries. I go to the iftaar-catering restaurants after breaking the fast at home. Apart from family iftaars,friends conduct their iftaar get-togethers in the restaurants. With high demand and tough competition as more players enter the business restaurants are whipping up traditional Malabari food. Outlets lay out at least a dozen varieties of pathiri and two-dozen chicken varieties for the main meal. Equally,new dishes like ice cream fry (roasted ice cream served with honey),chicken/beef cakes and roasted banana filled with dry fruits are being offered. Calicut Kitchens PT Unoos,a Ramzan caterer,draws customers by offering novel dishes such as foam pathiri,which is made by Muslim families in Kannur. To make this soft delicacy,we use the foam of beaten egg and a paste of biryani rice. It would be difficult to make foam pathiri at home. Hence,we have stepped in to supply it, he says. Some of the most-sought after dishes include mutton nirachathu (masala-stuffed whole mutton),mutton leg (mutton stuffed with semi-gravy),mutton head (gravy-filled mutton head),mutton liver pepper,mutton brain fry and squid nirachathu (masala-stuffed squid). The prices of items range from as little as Rs 4 to Rs 300 across eateries. Inviting the bridegroom and his family members for iftaar after the marriage of a daughter is the most lavish part of Ramzan evenings in Malabar. For such dinners,the caterers are ready to serve roasted whole mutton, says Unoos. Ramzan is as much a time for fasting-feasting as it is for worship. Women,who would spend long hours preparing iftaar,can now divert that time to worship,say caterers. Muslim women are now spending more time reading the Quran and praying during Ramzan than they used to earlier. Cooking,they feel,takes away their time for worship. This too has created the demand for take-away Ramzan kits, says P V Faiz,manager with Ojin Bakes.
