The Hindu (Thiruvananthapuram)
Festival treats on the street
On a food trail and short eats in the city
e call this smiley,” says Mohammed Sanofar M, showing me a mini bun with a white filling in the middle. “There is a filling of egg masala and when you hold it like this, it looks like the smiley emoji!” explains Sanofar, before rushing to take orders from the swelling crowd at a makeshift counter in front of his Shajahan Bakery, on SM Lock Road, Puthenpally Jama’ath, Poonthura. Snacks and desserts have been spread out on the counter for Iftar, the food to break the fast during the month of Ramzan.
It is the time when the roads, especially those around mosques in the city, are dotted with vendors selling short eats for Iftar.
Besides Puthenpally, where there are at least 10 such vendors on both sides of SM Lock Road, there are several such hawkers around mosques in and around the city at Beemapally, Vallakkadavu, Manacaud, Paruthikuzhy, Kallattumukku, Karamana, Chala and Attakkulangara among others.
“WGourmet’s delight
A food trail around some of these mosques turned out to be a gourmet’s delight. Fried snacks are a constant everywhere — samosas and cutlets, both vegetable and meat, different types of vada, bajji, pazhampori (banana fritters) etc.
Sanofar takes me through a variety of Malabar snacks and desserts at his counter, such as kilikkoodu (bird’s nest, a crispy spicy snack with or without chicken, mashed potato, vermicelli and egg), chattipathiri (multiple layers of thin layers of flatbread with a sweet filling), elanchi (coconutstuffed pancake), kinnathappam (steamed rice cake), unnakkaya (stuffed plantain fritters).
Cut to the footpath near Palayam Juma Masjid where Sulfikar J, an autorickshaw driver, his family and friends have put up three stalls. Except for vada, all the other snacks are made by members of his family at his home near Poonthura, says Sulfikar.
On sale are egg kebab, chicken ada, irachi pathiri, chatti pathiri, chicken kizhi, semiya ada, mutta surka (deepfried snack made with rice and egg), ottada, kinnathappam in multiple flavours etc.
“Our specials include cup shawarma and chapathi shawarma,” says Sulfikar, adding that he also makes the savouries and sweets on order for mosques and shops.
Malabar connect
Homemade delicacies is the attraction at one among the many stalls on EenchakkalVallakkadavu road.
“I source these from three houses, with most of it made by a group of women at Paruthikuzhy,” says one of the vendors. Among the specials are kaipola (sweet dish with banana and egg), chicken pola (panfried chicken dish), chicken pathiri, mutta surkka and so on. (Clockwise from top left) Snacks at Vallakkadavu; vendors at SM Lock Road; chicken brisk sales at Chala and Beemapally.
Homemade goodies such as kinnathappam, elanji, and chattipathiri are being sold by a group of friends near Central Juma Masjid, Manacaud, as well. Mohammed Khalid Khan, a member of the fivemember group, says, “We are students of Muslim Association College of Engineering at Venjarammoodu, and this is the first time that we are selling Iftar snacks,” he adds.
At Beemapally, bakeries, small eateries and tea shops on the road behind the Dargah Shareef, have put up an extra counter to sell the fried snacks. Then there are solo vendors like Noufar Khan who has taken a break from his job as a porotta maker to sell snacks from a makeshift counter.
Besides snacks, different kinds of juice, sarbath, fruit salads and shakes are also sold at some stalls.
The number of vendors have come down over the years, says Sheikh Mohammed, the lone vendor in front the mosque inside Chala market. “There were five to six of them till a few years ago. I have been a regular for the last 20 years,” says Sheikh.
All these stalls start business between 4 and 4.30pm and close shop before the evening prayer to break the fast. “People from all religions turn up to buy the eats and we stock enough to meet the demand,” says one of the vendors at Palayam.