The Hindu Business Line : Avadhi flavours of Eid

In its long journey from flea markets to swanky malls, when it comes to food, Lucknow, the city of Nawabs, has retained the flavours of the past even as it welcomes the modern spread. Which means that Ramzan, the month of fasting has not yet lost the whiff of traditional aromas.

But with more Muslim women working these days than even a few years ago, the tedious but loving care with which the women made every roza (fast) worth cherishing is a thing of past. Yet, there has been no major digression from tradition. “There can be a pitcher of Tang or some fancy confectionery thrown in but the layout of sehri and iftar (meals taken before and to break the fast, respectively) is much the same over the years,” says Tamanna Khan, a school teacher. “Phulki (fritters made of gram flour, onions), chana, fruit chaat, and so on remain the staple menu. And yes, Rooh Afza sherbet is still everyone’s toast.”

WFS

Heady mix: During Ramzan, Lucknow’s streets come alive with a mix of religious fervour, festive shopping and the aromas of traditional delicacies.

Eid-ul-Fitr is a festival to all, but the devout who fast through the month, see Ramzan as a 30-day festival and Eid as only a finale. They bid alvida (adieu) to Ramzan with a tinge of sadness.

During the month while the men take a break from work and go to the mosque for evening prayers and recital of the Quran by the Imam, for the women, the welcome break from everyday kitchen chores transforms into myriad activities, ranging from cooking festive specialties to stitching, embroidering, sprucing up the home and rustling up anything that could enhance the celebratory mood.

In an era bygone, resplendent with customs born in the times of the Nawabs of Awadh, grandeur marked every tradition. Kitchens were redolent with the aromas of exotic delicacies made with the rarest of ingredients such as saffron and musk. “A dish like muzaafar may find neither makers nor takers in the present day and age,” says Shabahat Husain of Hotel Taj Residency, Lucknow. This particular variety of sweet seviyan (vermicelli) required eight times the sugar used in making the ordinary seviyan today. Obviously, nobody will spare such time and effort, and, more important, the calories, in making this exotic specialty. “It is the age of the readymade and when wholesome goodies are stacked on the shelves in a store near you, you are bound to have second thoughts about making elaborate preparations at home,” says Khadija Fatima, a freelance designer of clothes and upholstery. “Besides, the family size is not even half of what it used to be earlier. Just for four or five members, two of them kids, it’s not that much fun whipping up delicious delights that just might end up in the fridge or go waste,” she sighs. Talking about readymade stuff, couture too doesn’t call for the flurry of activities like in days gone by. “I used to spend weeks designing my Eid kd joda (set of clothes), sourcing material like laces, buttons and frills, giving instructions to the tailor and then waiting for him to make it to order.

But now I find something in the show window of a store that costs marginally more but is smarter, more practical and with a better cut,” says Shazia Fatima, 29, who has cut down the time and money she spent on tailor-made clothes a few Eids back.

Hailing from a family of Talukdars (landlords) of Barabanki, Rumi Wilayet, 56, has a twinkle in her eye as she recalls the good old days. “We had a naaun (female counterpart of nai, the barber, who did odd jobs like dyeing, starching and stitching clothes) to dye and give wrinkles to the dupatta. My mother was such a stickler for light hues that she would scold the naaun if she dyed it a shade darker. And my father would tease her with a sher of Mirza Ghalib: Dosh-e-nazuk par na thehra yun dupatta bojh se/ Kal jo rangne mein zara gehra gulaabi ho gaya. (The delicate shoulder couldn’t bear the weight of the scarf, for the pink of the dye was a tad too deep!). Where are those fabrics we cut our lehengas and gharas from ... the kimkhwab, the atalas,” she rues in nostalgia.

“We hardly get to taste items like khajoori in sehri or iftar. It was our indigenous variety of snack and it was so delicious,” says Rumi, recalling other savoury delights and unforgettable delicacies prepared for Ramzan dinners. “There was also qaliya, a meat dish cooked with potatoes, and there was saundha gosht in which all preparations were sealed in a pot and left to simmer for hours, before being roasted and seasoned with herbs before serving.”

There is the mistaken notion that all food related to Ramzan is made of meat, she adds. “We had an exhaustive menu of vegetarian items, few of which we get to taste or even cook in these rushed times. Have you tasted usaiyan - fritters made of lentils? Or khandvi, or rikauchhe, made of besan and lentils? They were made especially on Shab-e-Baraat (the night of blessings, deliverance), which precedes Ramzan and set the mood for the days of fasting.”

Those who do not blame time constraints cite rising prices as the dampener of the festive spirit. “We get only half the orders we used to get until five years ago,” laments Mohammad Faisal, owner of a zardozi embroidery outfit.

Had it not been for his move to diversify and outsource for designers and shop owners and innovate in embroidering upholstery, it would have been hard for him and his ilk to survive. Lucknow has emerged out of its time warp and is in step as much as it can with the big towns. But the muezzin’s azaan call from every turn of the street and a whiff of sehri/iftar savouries is a reassurance that all is not ravaged by the onslaught of time.