Kartarpura – a popular food street for ‘sehri’

Rawalpindi: Outdoor tradition to go for ‘sehri ‘is gaining popularity as people especially visit Kartarpura, a food street in Rawalpindi, along with family and friends for eating a variety of foods like ‘sree paye’, ‘nihari’, ‘maghaz’, ‘cholley’ and ‘lassi’.

The staff at the two-kilometre long food street starts setting up tables for ‘sehri’ soon after dealing with ‘iIftar’ crowd, besides giving final touches to traditional food items especially ‘sree paye’ and ‘nihari’, which require hours to cook.

People start arriving right after midnight and you will not be able to find a place to sit after 01:00 a.m.,” said Tahir Iqbal, owner of a ‘sree paye’ and ‘nihari’ shop. He said all items at his restaurant were regularly sold out well before the time for ‘sehri’ because people also place takeout orders.

“We also offer special ‘naans’ in Ramazan including ‘kulcha’, mince filled ‘naan’, chicken ‘naan’ and traditional ‘roghani naan’ for ‘sehri’, he said. “Goat ‘sree paye’ is another popular dish,” he said adding that it is cooked on a slow flame with spices. Ours is a traditional recipe which they don’t share. He said that it also tastes better because of the selection of spices they use.

“We also cook it on a slow flame and it takes a whole day to prepare ‘nihari’ and ‘sree paye’. During Ramazan, tea shops are usually replaced with ‘lassi’ shops with milkmen busy preparing curd for lassi in their makeshift shops.

After having warm and oil laden food like ‘nihari’, people like having at least two or three glasses of sweet and ‘namkeen lassi’. Most people believe that having ‘lassi’ for ‘sehri’ eliminates thirst for the day, said Mohammad Afzal, a visitor at the Kartarpura Food Street.

It took me two hours to get a table, be served and to be done with my food because of the huge crowd on the weekend, he said. Unlike other places where waiters offer tables, customers at the food street have to grab a table for themselves as the street is always packed, even more so during Ramazan.

This food street does not have a parking, and customers have to park out in the streets or in the adjacent Kohati Bazaar. But it is all worth it because the food is so good here. The chefs are familiar with the tastes people prefer in the area. While other markets may offer better seating, it’s all about food in the Kartarpura food market, said a visitor, Numan.

‘Khajoor’: The dates (‘khajoor’) are the most selling item compared to any other fruit in Ramazan and mostly the fruit sellers offer dates exclusively on their stalls and carts. The demand of dates increases as dates are considered the most important item of ‘iftar’ according to religious perspective.

The tradition of breaking fast with dates is connected to the religious practices in Ramazan as Muslims across the globe prefer to eat dates in ‘iftar’ prior to anything else. Wonderfully delicious dates are one of the most popular fruits with a list of essential nutrients vitamins and minerals required for normal growth development and overall well-being.

According to a modern medical survey, it is now accepted that dates are useful in preventing abdominal cancer. Muslims break their fast by eating dates and water according to their cultural traditions.

Breaking fast by eating dates helps avoid overeating of food once the fast is over. When the body begins to absorb the high nutritional value of the dates, feelings of hunger are pacified.

Also, the nervous system can get a lot of help from consuming dates, since they have significant amounts of potassium. Mostly the kinds of dates being sold in Sukkur and Khairpur districts include Arabian dates, Sindhi Aseel, Karblain, Irani, Rabai and others, said a dates seller.

There are more than 130 varieties of dates produced in Pakistan. Out of these large numbers of varieties dates of Balochistan and Aseel of Sindh are the varieties which are much sought after the world over due to their exotic taste, he said.

According to Health experts dates are rich in natural fibres several vitamins minerals natural products contain oil calcium sulphur iron potassium phosphorous manganese copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health.

Picture: Shiraz Hassan