Sunset Boulevard

The rickshaw climbs the slope of the crowded Bazaar Kalan, where heaps of fruits lie against stone arches. A little ahead, deep fried patties and pakoras in eight varieties. A pehelwaan gets ready with a mammoth vessel of biryani in one corner of the street. Another bustling corner is Matia Mahal, for kebabs, sheermals and phenis buttered noodles eaten after soaking in hot milk. Benarsi pheni fine, machine-made, suji-maida pheni, zafran-kesar pheni, and khajla maida puffs are just some of the varieties on the platter. Wait patiently until the fire crackers go off to announce the end of the fast.

The stretch along Matia Mahal leads to the Jama Masjid. As you run up the massive flight of stairs, you can8217;t help but laugh at the firangi men removing tehmats wrap-arounds given by the Masjid to men in shorts to cover their legs. Devotees sit in the Masjid8217;s courtyard with snacks8212;a date, boiled chana dal and fruit salad8212;to break their fast.

Once the crackers go off, lighting up the evening sky, thousands of pigeons flutter up before landing on the turrets. You eat quietly. Maybe you can pull off another Roza tomorrow.
Moonis Ijlal

Sayed Abumohamad Road, Mumbai
IF you want a taste of the whole Ramzan adventure with lights, crowds and noise, forget Bohri Mohalla. It is single-mindedly focussed on just one aspect of Ramzan8212;the food.

Leading off Mohammed Ali Road is a nondescript lane known by many names8212;Khara Tank Road, Saifee Ambulance Street or Sayed Abumohamad Road, as the corner signboard says. Motorbikes whizz past every few seconds, but if a car has to go by, every pedestrian will have to hug the walls to make way.

Walk into the lane and put on your blinkers till you reach Haji Tikka. There are no names or guides. A small sigdi roasts mutton and chicken sheekhs, chicken tikkas, tangdis, kaleji and boti. Ask them to toss in a few naans on the coals as well. The boti is simply sinful8212;perfectly marinated so it doesn8217;t require much cooking. Quite surprisingly for meat lovers, the chicken sheekh8217;s better than the mutton. The kaleji8217;s pretty good too, but don8217;t expect chicken liver8212;it8217;s all goat. Don8217;t miss the watery, fiery green chutney.

The next stop is the Shahi Darbbar Khichada Corner. The 8216;durbar8217; is a stand on a stool that holds a huge handi of khichda8212;lentils simmered for hours with bits of mutton. You get a bowl of thick paste, spiced with cardamom and cloves, for Rs 10.

Next on the food chain is Indian Hotel. You8217;ll spot this one for sure8212;a massive tawa occupies most of the space. No amount of advance notice can prepare you for the 11-rupee Mutton Baida Roll8212;a crispy outer casing lined on the inside with egg and chunks of mutton. Also try the naan sandwiches filled with a potato and bhuna mutton mix, for Rs 8.

If you think it8217;s time to tackle the sweet tooth, Tawakkal Sweets has a cauldron of boiling oil churning out crisp yellow malpuas for Rs 25 each; add Rs 20 for a small portion of fresh cream. If you have a nutritionist, keep this one out of your confessions; it8217;s an unforgivable indulgence. The anjir halwa a bit of the dry fruit is guaranteed in every bite is just as sinful; Rs 400 for a kilo. Then there8217;s the usual firni, sutar pheni and doodhi halwa.

End it all with a glass bowl filled with fresh sitaphal ice cream, Rs 25 at Taj Ice Cream. The strawberry8217;s also fabulous, but stay away from the chocolate chip. Doggy bags can be filled with melt-in-the mouth khajoor or small bags of sliced pineapples.
Parizaad Khan

Zakaria Lane, Kolkata
THE atmosphere in Zakaria Lane is electrifying. This otherwise ordinary gully has transformed overnight into an overcrowded street selling everything from dahi wada and Chicken Changrszi fried chicken to bric-a-bracs such as coloured beads. Even during an uncrowded hour, at least 10 to 12 people haggle at every stall.

While simayi sellers try to explain the difference between the two varieties on display the unfried, non-sweetened and ghee-free kind for Rs 20 a kilo and the sweetened, fried one that sells for Rs 45 a kilo, the aroma of haleem thickens the smoky air. For Rs 6 a bowl, it is a steal. Besides the rows of haleem shops, there are stalls selling different varieties of bread. The crispy wafer breads, made especially during Ramzan, are the best pick.
Pragya Paramita

Nazirabad Lane, Lucknow
THE aroma of Tunde kebab and gurda kaleji overpowers you much before you even enter Lucknow8217;s Nazirabad Lane. Just off the bustling Aminabad market area, this half-a-kilometre street, famous for its food, tops the usual favourites with variety. Prices range from Rs 5 to Rs 100 for a dish.

Unlike the chowk old city area, where traditional non-vegetarian delicacies are a rage, Nazirabad Lane abounds in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. The makeshift mobile stalls display a variety of pakoras8212;onion, spinach, cottage cheese, cauliflower and wafer-thin slivers of brinjal.

The dahi phulki is another variation with spicy garlic and red chilli flavoured curds and garnished with special spices. The Tunde kebabs with paper thin roomali rotis, sheermal an orange-coloured saffron-flavoured naan, made only in Lucknow, khameeri naan or ulta tawa parathas are sumptuous options.

The menu gets elaborate with the non-vegetarian dishes. Chicken roast and sheekhs are hot favourites. Hotels like Alamgir, located in a narrow lane just off the main street, serve up anything from khade masale ka kheema, bheja fry, boti kebab and gurda kaleji to a wide variety of kormas and salans usually in egg, mutton or chicken varieties. The traditional Lucknow biryani comes with a green chutney and onion salad instead of raita.

As winter chills the air over the next few days, Kashmiri tea and sohal stalls will compete with the rest. What better way to end the sehari meal when the muezzin calls the devout to offer their first prayers of the day.
Shirin Abbas

Bathiar Gali, Ahmedabad
IT8217;S a moonlit Ramzan night and Bathiar Gali, Ahmedabad, is a swarm of humanity. Everyone8217;s here tonight8212;the devout, the connoisseur, and the regular foodie. The 10 to 15 restaurants that cramp this street start serving food at around 8 pm, and the bustle continues till about 5 am as the time of iftaari gives way to sehari. 8216;8216;People start coming around 7.30 pm and they continue to do so the whole night,8217;8217; says Haji Pir Bhai, whose restaurant Qutub serves about a thousand people in a night.

At Qutub, people queue up to relish the Sili Chicken, which is dunked into egg yolk before being fried. The adventurous can also try samosas with beef filling and top it with a falooda. 8216;8216;During Ramzan, people come here from places such as Dhanduka, Dholka and Nadiad,8217;8217; informs Haji.

If you want old world flavour, visit Hotel Arabia down the street: It serves the bara handi, each handi containing one part of the animal8217;s body. 8216;8216;Nowadays no one serves the bara handi as people want to eat fried food,8217;8217; says owner Mohammad Ibrahim, 8216;8216;but during sehari, people avoid fried food.8217;8217;
Elsa S Mathews