Mangalore: Kori rotti and mutton curry for sehri, iftar

TOI

Mangalore, 11 Aug 2012: The holy month of fasting for Muslims has just another 10 days to go. Sehri, the meal consumed early in the morning before sun rise, and iftar, the evening meal after sunset to break the fast, consist of a wide array of dishes.

 

Restaurateur Barkhat Ahmed says: Generally, sehri consists of meat dishes; he prefers rice gruel, which is prepared by boiling basmati rice with ghee. His home folk have rice rotis with either chicken curry, fish fry or dal fry. "I have conji (rice gruel) because it gives me stamina to stay throughout the day without feeling the hunger pangs." Another reason for him having conji is health-related. "The spicy curries or masalas usually cause acidity or other problems. Hence I avoid them for Sehri," he adds.

 

The iftar fare includes mutton/ chicken or vegetarian samosas, locally available dates, and variety of fruits. The fare changes every day. "Those who come from abroad get dates from Saudi Arabia, otherwise, we use what is locally available," adds Barkhat. Bombay Lucky’s Mohammed Iqbal says that they prepare spring rolls, rice roti, chicken curry, boiled rice, fish fry, dal curry, ghee rice, mutton curry, prawns puli munchi (sour variety). "These are the general dishes prepared. The fare changes every day. Today I had rice roti with chicken curry. Tomorrow it may be parathas with mutton curry and so on," he adds.

 

Large families have gatherings in one house and celebrate.

 

"We don’t do it every day. But on the last day, we see that all congregate at one house and share the festive meal," says former mayor K Ashraf.

 

On Thursday, it was a veritable feast for iftar, which included varieties of custards, kheer, spiced dahi vada, spiced chana, chicken samosa, chicken fritters, mutton cutlet, onion pakodas and varieties of fruit.

 

On Wednesday night, people from different communities came together for a feast of harmony at ’Souharda Ifthar Koota’ at the police station of Coastal Security Police in Kasaba Bengre. The iftar was hosted by Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Kasaba Bengre unit along with Coastal Security Police.