The year was 1972, a year after the secession of East Pakistan, when Ustad Allah Ditta, a Bengali by origin, set up his kerbside samosa stall in Farooqia Market located in Islamabad’s Sector F-6/1.

It wasn’t long before the freshly prepared piping-hot crunchy, golden snacks with a meaty centre became the talk of the whole town. Now, a visit to the Asli Bengali Samosa Centre is on everybody’s bucket list, including those who visit Islamabad.

The Asli Bengali Samosa Centre (ABSC) is easily recognised by a picture of an elderly, bearded Ustad Allah Ditta and is not to be confused with other similar-sounding rip-offs — a lot of Ustad Allah Ditta’s undeserving and unworthy former shagirds [students] and ex-workers, aiming to cash in on ABSC’s popularity, have set up samosa stalls too. But the taste is never the same.

As I recall, my earliest visit to ABSC was when a dear friend and a die-hard foodie, who had shifted to Islamabad from Karachi in the early 2000s, took me there on a typically heavily overcast and rainy Islamabad day. We were on our way to the famous China Furniture Market (that’s a story for another day), but he wanted to satisfy his craving for the ever-popular Karachi samosa.

The Asli Bengali Samosa Centre in Islamabad continues to provide a taste of genuine Karachi to tea-time snack aficionados

As a Karachiite, I, too, found the samosas to be just as good, if not better than those in Karachi. It’s one of the many foodie treats commonly associated with Karachi’s Urdu-speaking diaspora — others being nihari, paaye, haleem and biryani, now also available in Islamabad, which was thought to be severely lacking in culinary culture until recently.

ABSC is situated along the Metro Bus route in Islamabad Sector F-6/1, within easy access from the nearby Shaheed-i-Millat Station.

Although Ustad Allah Ditta no longer mans the stall due to his age, his son has taken charge. Their specialty is the tangy and spicy special Bengali chutney (sauce) made with a secret family recipe that they serve on the side of a plate of samosas, besides the usual raita (seasoned yoghurt dip), which certainly amps up the flavour.

Other items on the menu are jalebis, pakorras and rolls, but nothing outshines the star of their menu that is the qeema samosa. It is a highly popular tea-time snack throughout the Subcontinent, comprising lightly seasoned and stir-fried minced veal or chicken stuffed in a triangular folded paper-thin wrap known in local lingo as manda patti (long, broad strips made of wheat or all-purpose flour) and deep fried to golden perfection.

Oh, and by the way, Asli Bengali Samosa Centre is registered with the Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad and proudly displays the registration certificate. Patrons also have the option to pay by Jazz Cash, simply by scanning the QR Code for dine-in, takeaway and delivery.

How’s that for a smart financial business plan!

The writer is a member of staff.
He tweets @faisal_quraishi

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 26th, 2023