Dhaka’s Traditional Iftar gone Awry

Dhaka’s Traditional Iftar gone Awry

Faizul Khan Tanim takes a stroll down Chawkbazar and realises that the spirit of Iftaar still remains although the Iftarii got skewed

Inflation, diminishing food taste and worth and even less variation than last time were amongst the prime reasons why I could not indulge in the spirit of Iftarii this time.

Since one of the cardinal activities of Ramadan is to break the fast at the Iftari capital, Chawkbazar of Old Dhaka, no Dhaka foodies want to miss this opportunity. Loud thumping of spoons on aluminium dishes and lids, Indiscriminate screams - Boro baap er polay khay, thonga bhoira loiya jay... - these lines rhyme and literally means this item is consumed by the sons of the rich fathers’, filling up brown-paper bags to take back home.

According to the thousands of Iftari connoisseurs, this is supposed to be the sweetest lines or catch phrases one listens and experiences with pleasure while at Chawkbazar Iftaar market but this year, the ardent rhyme was not scrumptious enough. Of what is supposed to be a grand mixture of all the top items – piyaju, chhola boot, six to seven types of kababs and roasts, Boro Baap er Polay Khay (BBPK)  this time was filled with stale ingredients and too much meat bones.

This famed item BBPK is said to have started from the pre-Liberation period and now a registered item of the City Corporation as sported on drop-down banners by the two opposing groups of makers who are in a conflict on deciding who the real maker is - Selim Baburchi and followers VS Mohammad Salekin, who is said to have inherited it from his grandfather Kalam Mohajon. And therefore a big question remains – which is the real BBKP?

Most food connoisseurs believe this is one of the primary reasons for the quality to have fallen in a much more rapid rate.

And most connoisseurs who cannot afford all the particular items individually like the kababs and roasts, opts for this BBKP mix to get the taste of all the well-known ingredients and get their money worth of savour.

Despite who the real inheritor of this traditional Iftari item BBKP, this muri bhorta (rice puff mix) is a heavy dosage of all the well-known kebabs – shutli, jali, tikia, shami, gurda, nargis and mixing ingredients like chhola (chickpeas); roast of chicken, duck, koyel, pigeon, beef and mutton; local fries like potatoes, eggs, lentil and onion paste mix (piyaju), aubergine (beguni) and more with 12 to 13 different kinds of spices and of course pure butter oil. But if the food standard is not fixed right away, BBKP might lose its charm and Chawk Bazar might lose its grandiose to the extinction of this most flavour able item.

One of the major attractions – Haleem, from a renowned shop, as well failed to quench our iftaar thirst with overpowering addition of spices, less meat, more bones and missing that whole ‘Holy Haleem’ character.

Albeit the abating aura of Iftaar, this place usually throbs with noises of banging spoon on steel plates, many different colours and the aroma in the air of names of the most popular items like shahi jilapi, koyel pakhir roast, sherbets and more. This is where Eid-Ul-Fitr festivity starts for many.

This year, BBKP is almost Tk 400 per Kg from Tk 300 last year and they say that this price hike is due to the inflation and they are also producing in less quantity than last year since not everyone can afford bulk amounts of this tasty yet pricey product.

The stretch of Iftari market at Chawkbazar also has a large array of items but nothing unusual from the previous years and hence the food admirers believe that this place is more of a traditional venue than a place where chefs experiments or incorporates new items.

The food aficionados strongly believe that to experience Chawkbazar to the fullest, one has to be present there, see and then buy the items themselves. For them, the spirit of Iftar is breaking the fast with all the other people inside the mosque adjacent to the strip of Iftar market or on in the streets in front of the makeshift food stands.

As soon as the Maghrib Azan is recited from the local mosque during sunset, the ever bustling and busy Chawkbazar Iftar market quiets down to the most peaceful strip of land. Fruit juices, lemon sorbet or yoghurt based drinks like lassi and labang are prepared to break the fast and one would see 10 to 12 people is groups surrounding large dishes of rice puff mixes, exchanging smiling conversations and eating their heart out.

The rice puff mix is the most exciting, easy and affordable dish and the contents vary and is not limited to puffed rice, chhola boot (fried and spiced chickpeas), ghoogni, egg, beguni, aloor chop (potato mash fry), piyaju, jilapi (sweet) - mashed into a single preparation with addition of mustard oil, green chillies, large dash of lemon squeeze, shredded coriander leaves up to the different types of kebabs – and the best thing happens when both flavors - hot (chili) and sweet (jilapi), meshed together, - burst into a unique zest in your mouth. Those 10 to 12 hungry men will decently share from that large bowl and this is what sets this place apart in its unique and traditional way from other parts of Dhaka during Ramadan.

This is the time no one is refused food and from a prince to a pauper, every single man or woman is asked to join the congregation. The streets become free of any traffic jams once Iftari starts and you are free to wander around close vicinity to experience the decorated Eid market as well.

An array of makeshift shops can be seen in Chawkbazar where popular Iftari items are sold. While the shutli kabab is the king of hot items, the different types of Shahi jilapis are the reigning sweet dishes.

If crunchy and munchy items are not what you want, the biriyani stalls are nearby. Nanna Miya’s Morog Polao, Star’s Kachhi Biriyani are some of the ever popular names where the Muslims throng to break their fast and it costs between  Tk 80 to 120 for a lovely meal.

This article was first published in The Independent's Weekend Magazine - http://www.theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=31&date=2012-08-03