Winter’s sunny refuge, with kebabs

A stall that is best enjoyed in the cold season

That’s Salamudin Qureshi Meat Shop. Over there is Medina Halal Shop. The } scent of chai is naturally coming from Waris tea stall. And the gurgling sound? That is carpenter Mohtaz puffing on the hookah.

And here is the kebab stall, the epicentre of the plaza that faces the Jama Masjid in Sadar Bazar. This late morning in November the plaza is soaked in warm soothing sunlight. The sky is pitch blue. It is a wonder that nobody is sitting on the mosque’s stairs. Although a dog is snoozing in the shade.

Whatever, the kebab stall is perched under a yellow tarpaulin, and demands a return every winter. The stall consists of a small counter with a long coal-powered angeethi, and the tools include hundreds of metal skewers that are used to roast the kebabs on fire. The founder, Khurshid Ahmad, is not to be seen. “He is away from town for some work,” says his nephew Sabir. The superpolite young man is busy slicing the meat pieces and arranging them on the rods. His hands are stained red with spice mixture. Sabir’s colleague Sahil is sitting by the tea stall, chopping the meat into small kebab-sized morsels.

Exuding the solemnity of a rooted landmark., the kebab place was founded 40 years ago, a long time indeed in context of the Millennium City. In other words, when there was no South Point mall, and no Rapid Metro, this stall still existed. Its longevity is the work of its loyal patrons. They are mostly the area’s shopkeepers and labourers, students and shoppers, and random passersby, too. Very often a bunch of famished regulars, on arriving at the plaza, first quickly help themselves to the kebabs. After which they sit around the aforementioned hookah—a common property—and spend hours passing it around the circle, while chatting about politics, films, and work.

The stall serves two types of kebabs—-seekh and boti. And it is open from 11am to 10pm. Currently, it is one of the best places in the city to enjoy the winter. The sunlight lingers in the plaza almost the whole afternoon, directly falling upon the stall.

Lo, a plate of piping hot kebabs is ready.