What doesn’t kill fattens!

It is a well known observation that expense on food goes up in Ramazan, probably because there are some items that most people feel are a ‘must have’ for Iftar - fruit chaat; ‘pakoras’ and ‘somosas’ being among the top favourites. Mind you, these and other items that get more popular during this month are as bad for the health as can be – they are greasy; heavy and full of calories – but they taste so good, it’s hard to resist them, especially when they are topped with one of the delicious chutneys that are given free with them. Hot and spicy, or sweet and sour they are the cherry on the cake, so to say!

Another item that is most popular these days is what is called in local parlance ‘pheenian’ - or something like that! Though they can be found in most sweetmeat shops at any time, during this month they are very ‘visible’ because even those in this business who do not make them regularly want to cash in on their popularity during this thirty day period. These round, flat and crispy, deep fried ‘pheenian’ are made from a kind of vermicelli and used as a cereal or even desert. You have to soak them in milk and let them ‘sit’ for a while, so the milk is absorbed and they become a little soft. It is generally believed that if you have one of them at sehri you will not feel hungry the whole day, they are so filling. 

In the picture you can see ‘pheenian’ being prepared and stocked for sale at ‘Sehr’ and ‘Iftar’ time. Those who fry these tasty tit-bits have no idea that it’s a health risk to use and reuse oil for deep frying – as soon as the level gets low in the huge wok they add more and get on with preparing whatever they are for the evening sales. Also the prepared items are left in the open so dust and flying bits of debris must be settling on them. Maybe it’s a good thing that the general populace is not so worried about these facts and figures, probably living with the belief which is the equivalent of the saying, ‘What doesn’t kill, fattens,’ otherwise businesses such as this would go bust and life would be just a little bit boring!