Iftar comes to restaurants

KOCHI: The holy month of Ramzan is not only an occasion for fasting and prayers, but also the time to redeem the feelings of brotherhood and love. Likewise is the Iftar, the auspicious occasion where the family members culminate the day-long fasting. Interestingly, the number of families opting for restaurants to break the Ramzan fast is on the rise.Realising the new demand, the restaurants in the city have come up with attractive Nombuthura (Breaking the fast) packages for its customers. They have also arranged typical Nombuthura dishes and are also offering attractive packages for the families.“The number of families opting our restaurant for Nombuthura has increased by almost 50 percent from last year. Mainly for the weekends, we get advance booking and it will be almost full,” said Ratheesh Gopalan, manager, Spice Route Restaurant, at the Oberon Mall.Since the mall has separate prayer halls for men and women, the family members usually break the fast at the restaurant immediately after the Adhan and will go to the prayer halls. “We used to serve juices for them to break the fast. Then they will go to the prayer hall for the Namaz. We will keep the entire items in the menu ready for them to devour soon after they return from the prayer,” he added.Typical Malabar dishes have high demand among the items opted for Nombuthura, said  C Jayaprakash, executive chef, Spice Route. Gruels like Tharikanji, Rava Kanji, Jeeraka Kanji and Masala Kanji along with sliced fruits, Karakka (dates) and dry fruits will be served to them.The main snacks preferred by most of the families include Unnakkai, Pazham Nirachathu, Samosa, Cutlet and Muttayappam.Since most of them prefer not to go for heavy food after the fast immediately, the menu of the restaurants that offer Nombuthura items  will have typical Malayali delicacies like ‘pathiri’, ‘appam’, ‘idiyappam.’“However, we will try not to make the food items much spicy as it is not good for health to have such items to break the fast,” added Jayaprakash. Meen Pollichathu, Malabari Mutton Biriyani,Dum Biriyani, Nadan chicken curry are also hot favourites.“Earlier I used to break the fast from the mosque. And during Ramzan, we use to avoid outings in the evening. But now, with restaurants offering Nombuthura items and good ambiance, it is a convenience for me and my wife, who is also working. We can opt for one of these restaurants, and break the fast there,” said Firoz Najeeb, a software engineer.