Bhopal Ramzan Walk: Family IFTAR + IFTARI Market Visit - YouTube

Anubhav: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be upon you)

It is the month of Ramzan and we are here at Bhopal

Presently we are at Taj ul Masajid

which is India's largest mosque.

Now we will go to Hashim Bhai's house and have Iftar with him.

Please come with me.

[ Adhan or call to prayer was playing in the background ]

Anubhav: Asallam walekum Hashim: Walekum asallam.

Hasheem: You are so welcomed to our house.

Hasheem: Since its a day long Roza(fasting) hence there is excitement,

and

there is hunger and thirst.

so, for Iftar different varieties of snacks are consumed.

Mostly we have snacks and fruits

that are prepared at home only

So at home, the ladies of our families

show lots of excitement in preparing

different varieties of snacks

So let's see what are being prepared today.

Anubhav: So Iftar is the time when people break their Roza or fast

Anubhav: It (Iftar) happens in the evening. Hashee: Right!

Anubhav: And does the time varies daily?

Hashim: Gradually everyday the time moves

ahead by 1 to 2 mins

It depends on the season. Like as of now since it is summers

the days are eventually getting longer.

according to the season, so the time span of Roza

also increases. Roza (fasting) is of longer duration

But if the days get shorter

like as in winters, then the Roza is

of smaller duration

Hence it all depends on seasons

Hashim: Early morning 4 o' clock is the timing for Sehri

and approximately by 7 pm for Iftar

So you can make out the long duration of the Roza (fast)

Anubhav: Yes it's a long duration indeed.

Anubhav: Let's go and check out the Iftar preparation

Hashim: Kebabs are being made

So these are the kebabs, the mutton kebabs. Here the mutton and Channa dal or bengal gram dal are boiled

together and it is blended in the grinder mixture

so as to get a Keema or ground meat

to which we add the spices, onions

and

other elements like green

chilies, all of these are added and

then small flattened portions are taken and they are not deep fried but pan fried. Anubhav: Its pan fried

over the girdle. Hashim: Like this the mutton kebabs will be ready

These are very soft in texture and while you eat them they just melt in your mouth

Hashim: So this is the preparation for Anubhav: Bhajia

Hashim: Yes bhajia or besan pakodas will be made out of this batter

So sometimes its made with potato slices, sometimes spinach.

Anubhav: These are of onions

Hashim: Yes these are of onions

Sometimes the Pakodas are made with spinach sometimes like yesterday we had of chilies

Anubhav: So everyday the variety of Pakoda changes

Hassim: Yes the key ingredient

that goes into the batter varies.

Hashim: This is the lassi

Hashim: So by the time the preparation here is on

let's go to the market and fetch something

During this time we fetch certain things from the market on a daily basis like

Keema samosa (minced meat samosa), then Nukhti Khara

Nukhti means sweet Boondi and Khara is

savoury snacks mixture. Anubhav: Sev Boondi

Hassim: Sev Boondi. Its very tasty and

is available at different places. and we will also see

if we like anything. We can buy it.

Hashim: shall we go? Anubhav: Let's go.

Hashim: So Anubhav Ji, we have now arrived at the Emami gate

so ahead there is the Pir Gate. Here at this market place

all Iftar related stuffs are available

means all the Iftari snacks

that we buy for home

are available here

like the Nukhti Khara or Keema samosa

Khajur or dates, fruits and many other things.

Anubhav: Hence all Iftar related things are available right here.

Hashim: Yes Anubhav: Let's get something for the Iftar then

Hashim: Let's check out.

Hashim: This is Nukhti, the sweet one. anubhav: Okay the sweet one.

Hashim: This is the Khara one Anubhav: You mean the mixture, the savoury mixture

or the khara as its called. Hashim: When you mix little bit of all of these

you get a Khatta (sour) meetha (sweet) combination (Background chatter)

Anubhav: I really like the combination of Boondi and Sev

The good thing is that you can add other savoury things also as per your preference.

Anubhav : Thank you

(background chatter)

Anubhav: The Pavs here are quite huge.

Hashim: And they are different in taste also.

Anubhav: What is this brother?

Seller: Paratha.

Anubhav: What is this? Hashim: Sheermal or Paratha

Anubhav: Is it called sheermal?

Seller: Paratha.

Hashim : This is Naan.

Anubhav: This is slightly firm.

Seller: It is sweeter in taste

Anubhav: And that one?

Seller: This one is bland.

Anubhav: What is it eaten with?

Seller: One can have it with Salan/gravy, milk or tea.

Hashim: It tastes very good with Salan/gravy

Anubhav: This Hashim: Mutton gravy.

Anubhav: So here is our Nukhti Khara and Hashim: Sheermal

Anubhav: So, fresh samosas are being prepared here.

Anubhav: I can see that the samosa filling is

made of boiled chickpeas

mixture with onions and spices that is stuffed into the thin pastry sheets and its deep fried.

Anubhav: So he told us that the outer covering of the samosa

is similar to Roomali roti (Thin Indian flatbread).

The lentil filling is that of boiled chickpeas with onions.

Anubhav: So it has a very thin crust and hence its crispy

Hashim: And its eaten with buttermilk

Anubhav: With buttermilk

Seller: I have given you the buttermilk.

Anubhav: Okay.

Great.

Anubhav: Okay bhaiya thank you.

Anubhav: At what time is the Iftar today?

Hashim: 6.57 pm

Hashim: This is the most effective time

to seek something from Allah.

Its like,

the person is hungry

throughout the day, his lips are dried (dehydration), the throat is also dry

the stomach has shriveled due to hunger

still then

Inspite of the food that's laid out in front of him

he waits for the right time to begin

and in the meanwhile he prays.

This state of sincerity and devotion

of an individual

is highly appreciated by Allah.

So you pray during this time.

Anubhav: When I had come to your place, only Keema tikki was being prepared

But within such a small span of time so many things have been prepared.

so many varieties

We have the sugarcane juice

lassi and sherbet so what shall we start with?

Hashim: We start by having khajur(dates) and water.

as nothing can replace the benefits of water.

Khajur is the advisable way to start

though its not the mandate

the characteristics of khajur is quite good.

So we start with khajur

water

and then

move on to other things as per our liking.

Anubhav: Eventually we eat the rest of the things.

Hashim: You can see how, with such small quantity we could lay out such an elaborate spread.

Anubhav: Wow the kebabs are very delicious.

Anubhav: Nukhti Khara. This combination

is eaten in many other places like Bihar and UP They call it Sev Boondi

or Sev Boondia

and here we call it Nukhti Khara

But they have mixed many different savoury things to it too.

Hashim : They have also added peanuts.

Anubhav: Now let's have the onion pakodas(fritters)

Hashim: Pakodas are prepared everyday.

Anubhav: The dal (lentil) ke samose

Its quite a unique dish here

Boiled dal and onion mix is stuffed into the pastry sheet and deep fried.

These samoses comes in two varieties

one is of Dal and other one is of Keema

Hashim: Yes we have brought both.

Hashim: So here we have

some time in between Iftar and Namaz

at many places the Namaz happens right after the Iftar

so we would just have some Khajur, water or one samosa

and would rush for the Namaz

and on returning we would peacefully sit down to eat

Anubhav: But here we have some time

Hashim: Here we have some time in between like 10 min.

Anubhav: I express my gratitude to you all

for inviting us to our house to have Iftar with you all

Thank you so much