Puri-sabzi sells like hot cakes amid nihari-kulcha scarcity
LUCKNOW : ‘Pasanda’ and ‘niharikulcha’ (dishes prepared from buffalo meat) have become ‘scarce commodities’ in Old City in wake of meat sellers’ strike that entered its fourth day on Tuesday. People who used to start their day with these delicacies can now be seen queuing up at ‘sabzi-puri’ shops.
The Akbari Gate area – having a good number of Awadhi cuisine eateries – is among the most affected ones in Old City. It has undergone a ‘food culture’ change of sorts.
People say this change began soon after the eateries here joined the meat traders’ strike to oppose UP government’s crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses. Iconic eateries like Tunday Kababi, Mubeens, New Mubeens, Rahims and New Rahims – famous for serving nihari and biryani from 8 am till late night – have downed shutters at the moment.
“After the closure, people who used to have nihari and biryani for breakfast are left with no other option than to switch to other options like puri-sabzi. The situation has changed the food habits of people here as there were many families that were not in a habit of preparing breakfast,” said Sahoor Shamim, a collegegoer from Akbari Gate.
However, the meat traders’ strike has turned the situation favourable for puri-sabzi sellers in the locality. The over 100-yearold ‘Raju Puri Sabzi’ outlet in Akbari gate area is one of the most benefited shop at the moment.
Anil Kumar, owner of the shop, admitted that the sale has gone up. His outlet is functional from 7 am onwards. One plate of puri-sabzi is sold at Rs 10 here.
Maulana Sweets, another eatery here, also witnessed a similar response. “We are functional from 8am onwards. The sale has gone up after the non-veg eateries here stopped selling their cuisines,” said Mohammed Shahbaz, owner of the shop.