RAWALPINDI: The capital may be a city starved for authentic desi culinary experiences, but next door in Pindi, one single street has delectables on offer to satisfy even the more voracious of appetites.

Kirtarpura Main Bazaar in the heart of the garrison city is perhaps best known for the ‘food street’ near Banni Chowk. Just off Saidpur Road, the area is abuzz with activity all day long and, due to construction on the metro bus, so congested that it is a nightmare to negotiate.

But this is Ramazan and shopkeepers mostly open house after taraveeh prayers.

As clocks strike midnight, the narrow lane that has come to be known as the Banni food street comes alive. Vats of delicious nihari, massive cauldrons of steaming paye, the sizzle of spicy pathooras on industrial-scale woks and the cries of various food mongers hawking their wares greet you as you walk into the alley.

Just around the corner from the food street is the famous Bala Tikka House. Bala, or Iqbal, has been tantalising Pindiites’ taste buds for as long as most people can remember.

His karahi is the stuff of food lore and his secret is variety. You can have a normal chicken karahi or one cooked in butter. You can order barbequed kebabs and boti, or you can have them cooked in desi ghee and served as a karahi; the options are seemingly endless.

Bala does great business all year round, so it’s little surprise that things pick up over Ramazan as well. But owners of smaller outlets inside are inundated with ravenous visitors, all pining for a taste of the delicacies on offer.

(Clockwise from top) Cooks hand out servings of delicious paye; food-lovers throng Kala Khan’s famous nihari joint; and, a traditionally-dressed worker prepares lassi.— Photos by Khurram Amin

Another one of Kirtarpura’s culinary institutions is Kala Khan, the nihari-wallah. An unassuming hole-in-the-wall from all appearances, the legend of Kala Khan is as dense as his gooey, Karachi-style nihari. Priding themselves on cooking with only the finest mutton, this establishment has a cult-like following and many Pindiites swear by the quality of the nihari in Kala Khan’s cauldron. It is no surprise then that the man behind the food usually goes through his entire stock within the span of a few short hours at Sehri time.

The food street’s tandoors too are a class apart. Boasting unheard-of specialties such as ‘Chicken Roghni Naan’ and ‘Qeema Roghni Naan’, everything here promises a full stomach and massive amounts of grease; the key ingredients to any desi dining experience.

Makhni Chana and saag, grilled fish and barbequed chicken, creamy lassi and refreshing rose sherbet, kheer, firni, sweetmeats of all kinds: you’ll find it all here.

It is an hour before Sehri time ends and Suhail Ahmed is happily munching on some nihari. He says Kirtarpura has become a sort of informal food street because the ‘officially designated’ food street at Shamsabad hadn’t really taken off.

He and ten of his friends, fresh from a Ramazan night cricket match, said they had had their fill of food and drink for Rs2,200, a pittance compared to the exorbitant rates charged by most restaurants in the twin cities.

Mohammad Khan, who sells crisp pathooras, told Dawn that Kirtarpura and Banni Chowk was famous for being a Hindu quarter before partition. This was where fairs and festivals were held and this area has always been abuzz with activity.

Samad Khan, a visitor from Islamabad, said he had a lot of friends from abroad who wanted to get a taste of traditional Pakistani food.

“So I bring them here because Kirtarpura showcases desi cuisine best,” he said.

Mohammad, whose family has living and worked here for over half a century, says that unlike Lahore, where the Punjab government made efforts to officially designate areas as ‘food streets’ as developed them, no such measures were taken for Kirtarpura.

Published in Dawn, July 21st , 2014