Bangalore, Here’s Your Guide To A Proper Feast During Ramzan

The month of ‘Ramadan’ or ‘Ramzan’ as it is more commonly referred to, is one of the most exciting periods of the year for folks of good ‘ol Bengaluru. A time of the year where the vibrant resident Muslim community come together to celebrate their most pious and revered festival of the year hand in hand with patrons of the Mughlai cuisine. The fabrics of varied caste, creed and beliefs come together and weave themselves into a beautiful gastronomic tapestry of food for the soul. Albeit, tilted more toward the connoisseurs of the non-vegetarian kind, the sights, smells, colours and variety of food stalls that pop up at popular and lesser known pockets of the city are a sight to behold. From onion samosas to beef biryanis and everything in between we have the lowdown on where you need to be to get your Iftar fix this month!

Obviously, the first name that would come to mind is the infamous ‘Mosque road’ that originally was the holy grail of festive munchies around this time of the year. But thanks to Fraser’s towns traffic density and the metropoles traffic woes, permission for the setting up of food stalls has been denied again. Although one may find a few pop-up shops on bore-bunk road in Pottery town, where they are back in business. Onion samosas and seekh kebabs are a standard offering there and those on the prowl may also want to check out the ‘Chicaba Taj Hotel’ that’s in the vicinity. The hotel known for it’s delicious interpretation of pathar ka gosht. Historic and ever popular, ‘Albert Bakery’ also deserves a mention. The 100-year old nocturnal bake shop located on Mosque road, opens only in the evenings and dishes out mind-blowingly juicy mutton kheema samosas and puffs, seekh rolls, chicken cutlets, kova & coconut naans as well as bheja fry samosas for those with an adventurous appetite.

However, one street that is currently rivalling the legend of Mosque road is the one located in Tilaknagar. With a host of stalls having relocated to this part of town after the ban, the street near ‘Masjid-E-Islamia’ in Jayanagar 4th ‘T’ block, is a foodies wonderland. The atmosphere is peppered with a mixture of enticing aromas and flavours with palpable cheer and laughter as visitors can indulge in delicacies such as beef samosas, marinated and grilled beef pal (to die for) , colourful chicken kebabs in interesting flavours, mutton kheema rolls, fresh fruit salads, pulpy juices and traditional sweet desserts such as the Hyderabadi ‘Double ka meetha’.

The food carts are decked with flaming grills dishing out individually unique recipes of mouth-watering mutton and beef seekh kebabs that literally melt on your tongue. Restaurants such as ‘Madeena hotel’ and ‘Ghousia hotel’ are also well known names in Tilaknagar. Close by, the street in front of the ‘Masjid-E-Eidgah Bilal’ also hosts a mini-street food court of sorts, where one can indulge in Hot Jalebis to compliment Bangalore’s current seasonal chill.

Any resident of Bangalore would know where to look for sinful drool worthy biryanis. Shivajinagar, is one of the most well known spots in central Bangalore that specialises in chicken, mutton and beef biryanis that are seriously to die for. One such restaurant called the ‘Bismillah hotel’ serves the tastiest beef biriyani , beef seekh kebabs and beef pepper dry that money can buy. The hotel is also notorious for staying open until the wee hours of the morning. Mutton and Chicken lovers will have to look no further than the Taj Hotel, that dole out crave-inducing biryanis. Along with the swathes of stalls that have similar menu cards, one can also find great stops for juices, lassis and of course sulemani chai. The landmark ‘M.K. lassi stall boasts of yummy falooda sharbat, sweet lassis with or without malai and sweet dahi. The stall is although renown for its Hyderabadi ‘badam ka herrera’. No visit is complete without sulemani chai and those joints that are a recommended go-to are the Savera tea centre, standard tea agency, new lucky tea stall or royal restaurant.

Stand alone restaurants such as Lazzez, Rahaam’s, Savoury and Fanoos are notable mentions as well. So if you ever want to happy trip on ‘fast’ food (pun intended) or cure your meaty Iftar cravings this month, these food joints in Bangalore will have no qualms in welcoming you with a bucket load of traditional delicacies.