RAWALPINDI: Caterers’ shops and restaurants in the lanes in downtown Rawalpindi are especially busy during Muharram.

They prepare special food referred to as niaz, meant for distribution among participants of mourning processions.

The caterers cook food in large cauldrons placed on fires fed by wood.

The food is prepared right on the street and only some of the caterers have special areas for cooking.

The more popular dishes for niaz are kheer, haleem, chickpea rice, chicken pulao and a few others. Some people also distribute suji ka halwa with kulcha during Muharram.

Most people make haleem at home on Ashura for niaz, for distribution among family, friends and neighbours.

The dish is made by boiling various pulses, chicken or beef, wheat and barley on slow heat for several hours till it is a thick paste. The dish is popular across the country, all year long and many restaurants are known only for their haleem.

Given the love the people of Rawalpindi have for the dish, one can find decent haleem in almost all outlets in the city but the shops in Bhabara Bazaar serve some of the best.

Beef is traditionally used in haleem, but many places now also offer chicken and even mutton variants. The dish is usually served with a kulcha and now many people prefer having it without bread or rice.

“Our haleem is popular because we keep our shop clean and we use authentic, organic ingredients, including fresh beef, which we cook on a slow heat the whole night, so it is ready by morning,” said Amjad Mehmood, the owner of a shop in Bhabara Bazaar.

He said his shop makes haleem in two cauldrons every day, but the demand increases in Muharram.

“Making haleem requires time and patience. We boil the pulses, wheat and meat separately and then mix them and let them cook for a few hours till it is a thick paste,” he added.

Other shops and caterers can be seen mixing the perfect kheer in their cauldrons. The dish is made by cooking ground rice, sugar and milk together till it is thick and garnishing it with ground almonds, pistachio, raisins and saffron.

Kheer is the Indian Sub-Continent’s answer to rice pudding and is served at Hindu and Muslim religious festivals and events alike.

“We do make kheer round the year but there is a lot of demand for it during Muharram as people want to distribute it among relatives and friends,” said Aslam Pehlawan, who owns a food outlet in Bhabara Bazaar.

He said this is a dish where the simpler the ingredients are, the better it turns out.

To make for a well-rounded meal, some people also distribute chickpea rice as niaz.

“We use a family recipe which we introduced in the market a few years ago and people reacted really well to it,” said Sufi Rehan, the owner of a shop in Kartarpura.

“We use black pepper and other spices including red chillies. Curd and tomatoes are mixed into the chickpea rice to give it a wholesome taste,” he said.

Mr Rehan added that the restaurant takes a lot of bulk orders during Muharram and that people also take single serving packs to distribute among procession participants.

A resident of Mohanpura, Riaz Ahmed, said his family distributes haleem or kheer on Ashura every year.

“We usually call caterers and have them cook two or three cauldrons in our street, in front of our house,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2018