Mumbai Food: This Ramzan, think beyond Mohammed Ali Road

The complete thaal, Pics/Ashish Rane

An endless iftar at Tha'l Company,
Bandra West
At the Thal Co in Bandra, the iftar meal is as extensive as it can get. "Ramzan is an auspicious month, specially because everyone fasts through the day. Each course of the thal, therefore, must complement the one before and after," says restaurateur Avinash Bhatia. The menu plays to the gallery with crowd favourites like paya, meaty leg bones - typically goat, beef or lamb - slow-cooked with spices until the marrow marries with the meat, and saat handi, made with seven items comprising pre cooked stews of paya (goat or lamb trotters), pitchhota (goat or lamb tail bones), chotta part (tenderloins), adla (shoulder, lamb), nalla (bone marrow, goat or lamb) and bheja (brain, goat or lamb) cooked on a flatbed tandoor in different pots over long hours. "I believe it's the age-old recipes passed down generation and our secretly ground spices that give the food an edge,"he says.

Dum ke kebab

Eat like a Nizam at Farzi,
Lower Parel
The folks at Farzi Cafe want diners to feel like royalty when they dig into the iftar platter. "After going through the varied regional cuisine, we thought Nizami cuisine had all the elements typically consumed during Ramzan. It's rich and nutritious," says chef Kunal Patkar. The food served will be a blend of Persian, Arabian, Mughlai and Turkish tradition with an influence of South Indian flavours.

Khatti dal cappucino

A couple of dishes that stand out on the menu include haleem risotto, where the stew is cooked for over 12 hours. Patthar ke kebab, as the name goes, are succulent slices of well-marinated baby lamb cooked over preheated stones. "Cooking on stone enhances the flavours that no mechanical appliance can challenge," says Patkar, who has paid ode to the city with the special dessert, Irani chai crème brulee with Osmania biscuit.

Jodhpuri mirch ki biryani

An Awadhi iftar at Neel,
Mahalaxmi
Neel Indian Bar and Kitchen, a specialty Awadhi restaurant that replaced Mahalaxmi's Tote on Turf in 2011, has rolled out the iftar spread for years. But what's different this time is that there will be no set meal for Ramzan. "We felt it restricted people's options. The Ramzan menu will be served alongside the ala carte menu," says chef Kedar Bobade. Along with traditional favourites like haleem, kebabs and biryani star new entrants like dum ki chaap, mutton chops cooked in spicy masalas and methi magaz, a popular North Indian vegetable dish made with fenugreek leaves, green peas and cream. "The dishes will be prepared in traditional Awadhi and Hyderabadi style which is more about slow cooking," he says. For instance, the raan, an iftari favourite, is a 24-hour-long preparation. There's also a vast array of vegetarian iftari fare for the herbivores. Bobade recommends the vegetarian haleem with lotus roots and okra. "The vegetarian haleem uses the same masalas and cooking technique as the non-vegetarian counterpart. The only difference is the lotus root mix that replaces the mutton. The mix of veggies with lotus roots as the hero ingredient ensures it is as juicy," he says. The menu also includes the Irani samosas in vegetarian, chicken and lamb versions, and the Jodhpuri mirch ki biryani. In desserts, there's mango phirni and chickoo aur badam ka halwa.

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