No beef & mutton, khichda served instead: Ramadan menu in Mumbai altered amid LPG crisis in India

Mumbai: For foodies, during the month of Ramadan, Mumbai’s hustling-bustling localities of Mohammed Ali Road, Nagpada Junction, Bhendi Bazaar, Minara Masjid, Bohri Mohalla, Dongri are kind of a delight! 

The kebabs of Sarvi Hotel at Nagpada, the nalli-nihari of Noor Mohammadi Hotel, the kormas and bheja-fry at Shalimar, the biryani of Zaffar Bhai's Delhi Durbar, and seek-bababs at Al-Madina Fast Food have been attracting Mumbaikars for around a century. 

There is always much more here than one can imagine.

However, this time around things are a bit different because of the attacks by Israel-US combine on Iran and subsequent retaliation which has led to a massive LPG crisis in India. 

According to reports gathered by the DH, menus have been trimmed or altered in several places. 

During the holy month of Ramadan, bookstores, antique shops, perfume shops, dry-fruit shops, and clothing stores add a buzz to the activities in the area.

People across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region throng these places in the evenings and early mornings - when these places dazzle with lights and the aroma of non-vegetarian food. Besides, there are vegetarian food items ,  and a variety of desserts. 

Ramadan desserts. iStock photo

“The LPG shortage has hit us. We have been providing  free food to needy people twice a day during Sehri and Iftar.  However, we have stopped serving fried items. We are not including meat or beef. We are giving only chicken items and vegetables,” said Firoz Ahmed Ansari,  Managing Director of Love All - Serve All, an NGO based in Nagpada. 

“We are facing difficult times. It is difficult to believe but we are cooking using coal, which costs Rs 35 to Rs 45 per kg. The 19-kg commercial LPG cylinders are not available,” said Saeed Khan, who owns the KGN Catering Service. 

Coal-based cooking. iStock photo

“There has been a change in menu at several places. Most of the joints are serving chicken items…in many places khichda is being served,” shares Aejaz Ahmed Ansari, a veteran Urdu journalist and commentator.

A prominent hotelier from the Bhendi Bazaar-Nagpada area said, "By law, we cannot use wood, so many hoteliers have shifted to coal, however, the coal prices are also increasing." 

Meanwhile, Zahid Nazmi, a printer from Borivili and a food connoisseur who visits food joints during Ramadan, said: "The usual thrill seems to be missing. Many popular mutton and beef items are off the menu because of the LPG crisis. Slow cooked items are also unavailable."