Mithai, cakes make Eid all the more sweeter

Published June 8, 2019
A LUSCIOUS array of traditional sweetmeats and cakes on offer for the Eid spread.—Fahim Siddiqi / White Star
A LUSCIOUS array of traditional sweetmeats and cakes on offer for the Eid spread.—Fahim Siddiqi / White Star

KARACHI: Another name for Eidul Fitr is ‘Meethi’ (sweet) Eid. After a month of fasting during the hottest and most humid of summers it is finally time for celebration and congratulating and greeting each other while exchanging sweetmeats and therefore the rush at all sweetmeat shops and confectioners throughout the Eid holidays.

“If you thought Ramazan was tough making the different kinds of fritters and samosa for Iftar everyday, you have no idea what we go through at its culmination. The entire kitchen staff has been up all night preparing sweetmeats and since we are also a bakery, they have also been busy baking cakes,” says the ever-smiling man behind the counter at Gulshan Sweets, the oldest sweetmeats shop in DHA Phase II.

The owners of the shop even renovated the place during Ramazan to be read by Eid. “Now while the kitchen staff is taking it easy during the day, it is our job to sell,” he says, “and we will be here for all the Eid holidays. After all what is Meethi Eid without sweet offerings? Just like all the essential services, we are also ‘all work and no play’ around Eid time.”

‘What is Meethi Eid without sweet offerings?’

But people at the United Bakery in Saddar seemed quite chilled out. “Since we are located in an area with several Christian neighbourhoods, we have already been through much practice during Good Friday, Easter and Christmas before that. Meethi Eid too shall pass,” laughs one of the men behind the counters.

At the French Bakery in DHA Phase V the kitchen staff was at work bright and early at 6am to prepare their regular items along with extra cheesecakes. “We already got extra orders for cheesecakes. Our blueberry and strawberry cheesecakes seem to be doing very well this year. After filling the orders, which take priority, we are also going to make more for our other customers,” says the manager.

Meanwhile at Pie in the Sky there were tables full of cake boxes. “We are setting up everything and bracing ourselves for the rush which starts around evening. Our malt chocolate cake and chocolate fudge cakes are the ones in demand,” the manager of the bakery informs.

But around noon they were selling sandwiches and biscuits like hotcakes. “Add some chocolate and marble biscuits too,” a customer was telling a harassed-looking bakery staffer. After he had weighed the box and informed her how much it weighed, she told him to bring the box back and add some more biscuits or tarts.

The exercise was repeated several times as the lady’s little boy tried to divert her attention to him. “Mama, may I have this?” The child kept asking until she turned to him. “Chup!” She admonished.

Another lady customer there was also having trouble deciding whether she wanted five or seven hunter beef sandwiches.”If you tell any of our guests that we got the sandwiches from here, you will be in big trouble,” she was overheard telling her teenage daughter. “I am going to tell everyone that you made them,” she added as the girl rolled her eyes.

At the Bhashani Sweets near Burnes Road they were selling boxes full of gulab jamun and chumchum. Barfi and qalaqand were not doing too bad either. And at Fresco right across the road there was a push and shove for ras malai and ras gullay. “Don’t get too much ras malai,” a woman was telling her husband from inside their car, “otherwise who will eat my sheer khurma?”

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2019

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