CHAKWAL: Hotels located on highways, frequented by truck drivers and locally known as driver hotels, are colourful places. Heavy vehicles of all shapes and sizes, decked out in vibrant patterns with shiny metal and glass ornaments and adorned with poetic couplets that capture the drivers’ personalities, roll into these hotels with bells jingling and folk music blaring.

The Bismillah Chakwal Hotel is one such establishment, located just outside Chakwal city on the Chakwal-Sargodha Road. This place is known for the quality of its food and is popular amongst not just truckers but people from all walks of life.

Laughter and conversation fills the lawns around the hotel as young and old, poor and rich alike sit on charpoys, enjoying the warmth of the winter sun and consuming copious amounts of food. The hotel is jointly owned and managed by the elderly brothers Haji Muhammad Firdous and Haji Abdul Jabbar and has been operating since 1992.

It is known for its specialties: Daal Anda - a lentil-and-egg dish - chicken and mutton karahi and doodh patti, or tea made with just milk, not using a drop of water.

Bismillah Hotel’s signature Daal Anda draws people from near and far

Daal maash or white lentil, is cooked in a large pan with the utmost care. After cooking for a while, the daal is fried in bubbling clarified butter and eggs are added to it. Then, fresh coriander and green chilies are chopped and sprinkled on it. The daal is scooped up with pieces of soft fresh roti from clay pots and eaten with spicy green chilly chutney. A side of aromatic achar-pickles and salad accompanies the daal anda.

This special dish is so popular that young men playing volley ball, cricket and football nearby will bet each other a plate of daal anda from the Bismillah hotel. “We come to this restaurant a lot because their daal anda is without parallel,” said Hammad Jabbar, one of the hotel’s regular customers.

“Everyone can afford daal anda, which is a real treat”, adds Mohsin Ali, another customer.

People from all walks of life frequent the hotel, where the Haji brothers prepare food with the best indgredients and the greatest of care. — Photos by the Writer

The hotel is also popular for its chicken and mutton karahi. “We tenderise the meat first, then fry it in clarified butter with tomato sauce, onion, green chillies, garlic and ginger,” said Haji Muhammad Firdaus, the owner and cook at the hotel.

The meat in this hotel’s karahi is always perfectly soft and juicy with the flavour of the spices permeating the meat fully.

A meal here is not complete without a steaming cup of doodh patti. A large amount of tea is added to boiling vats of milk and simmered for a long time before being served in traditional clay bowls called taas. The tea is extremely strong meant to keep truck drivers awake through the night. “We always use milk bought from our trusted milkmen who bring fresh buffalo milk from nearby villages,” said Muhammad Sohail, a business partner of the Hajji Brothers.

Food can be enjoyed at Bismillah Chakwal Hotel at any time of the day as it remains open 24 hours a day.

Published in Dawn December 15th , 2014