Its that time of the year again. A time, when myself, dad, and sis and a whole bunch of friends would make at least one (mostly more) trip to Zakaria Masjid on Mohammed Ali Road. We would get there around 8 pm and then navigate thru the pedestrian street choc a bloc with some of the most amazing food on planet earth.
If you are finicky about luxury comforts, do not go here. But if you love food for the sole reason that it is food, then you cannot miss being there. Bheja Masala, Gurda Masala, Kebabs, Khiri, Kaleji……damn, now I am drooling on my keyboard.
And of course finish it off with malpua and then firni. We would get firni home for my mom, who being the vegetarian that she is, would not enjoy the trip anyways.
Now in New York, I miss that. Every year, I just see pics and satiate my appetite with images. Hope my dad and sis go this year and do justice to the feast.
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hey man, i hear you! also add to that list: tandoori chicken, baida roti, sheekh kabab, boti kabab, mmmm…. 😉 -gg ,
Yes these would be added to. But somehow these are available year round. If you go to Chor Bazaar, there is a “sheekh-wala” that offers all this.
However the other more “exotic” stuff is not available year round
Hey brother, dunno about dad. But i’m surely gonna go. And not just once. Atleast 3 trips a year is my average. Addign to yours and The Great Ganesha’s list is something called nalli nihari. Its a brown meat gravy with juicy “gur” filled bones and some meat hanging from it. You have got to eat it to believe it. Its a pity youre never in India during Ramzan. This time, i will toast to you when i go feast..
arzan, you know, you are right. it’s just that i’ve not had some good ones for so long that it seems like they are specialties! and mnaaz, i second you on the nihari – it is excellent.
incidentally, you can get nihari (and haleem – another excellent delicacy) at handi or any other pakistani dive around lex in nyc. but be prepared to make some sacrifices the next morning! (worth it, in my opinion :)) -gg .
GG
lexington avenue does not even come close.
The food there, especially the Pakistani food is bad in terms of taste!!
I generally go to Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. There is a whole stretch of Pakistani restaurants there that are much better.
hey arzan,
now this is news to me. i always knew brooklyn had a strong pakistani presence, but have never ventured out there for that. thx for the tip. the next time i’m in nyc, i’m there!
btw, don’t know if you already know about this, but there’s also one place in oaktree rd in nj called ali baba that’s also not that bad. their quality has gone down over the last couple of years, though. it used to be better than lex, but not sure how it will compare to brooklyn.
-gg