Ramzan: On a food trail exploring iftar spreads in Thiruvananthapuram

Mosques in and around Thiruvananthapuram see brisk sale of snacks and short eats to break the fast during the month of Ramzan

“We call this smiley,” says Mohammed Sanofar M, showing me what looks like 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 with a smile, before rushing to take orders from the swelling crowd at a make-shift counter in front of his bakery, Shajahan Bakery, on SM Lock Road, Puthenpally Jama’ath, Poonthura. An array of snacks and desserts have been spread out on the counter for iftar, the food to break the fast during the month of fasting.

It is the month of Ramzan, 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 were at least 10 such vendors on both sides of SM Lock Road, there are several such vendors around mosques in and around Thiruvananthapuram at Beemapally, Vallakkadavu, Manacaud, Paruthikuzhy, Kallattumukku, Karamana, Chala and Attakkulangara among others.

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 vegetarian and non-vegetarian, different types of vada (ullivada, uzhunnuvada, parippuvada), bajji (onion, brinjal, raw banana), pazhampori (banana fritters) etc.

“I have been selling these deep-fried snacks for five years now. In addition to samosa, I make different kinds of baji also,” says Shahul Hameed, a vendor on SM Lock Road, who has set up the stall near his vegetable and grocery shop.

Meanwhile Sanofar takes me through a variety of Malabar snacks and desserts at his counter. “Our bakery is almost six decades old and for nine years we have been making iftar snacks. All delicacies are made at our unit and every year we try to make something new,” says Sanofar, as he shows 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), elanji (coconut-stuffed pancake), kinnathappam (steamed rice cake), unnakkaya (stuffed plantain fritters).

Cut to the footpath near Palayam Juma Masjid where Sulfikar J, an autorickshaw driver and his family and friends have put up three stalls. Except for vada, all the other items are made by his family members at his home near Poonthura, says Sulfikar. “When I started this some 10 years ago, we sold only samosas. Gradually we added more eats and now we make around 40 of them during the month of Ramzan. My wife, sisters and relatives prepare them with the help of labourers,” says Sulfikar.