In the last episode of our fortnight long Ramzan food series, we have come to the historical city of Rander in Surat to discover some popular eateries in this locality that have been winning the hearts of foodies from far and near. The presence of numerous old eateries in the vicinity of the Chunadwad Masjid makes this place a foodies' haven. Interestingly most of the food items available here are Burmese dishes that have been introduced by the Burmese immigrants.
The first stop was Aslam Bhai's Chinese Bataka. This tangy, spicy and rich semi dry potato curry tasted awesome with finger chips. It is prepared with a special masala called chow chow masala which imparts the prominent flavour to the dish.
The second stop was Rangooni Khawsa where we tried the Burmese Khawsa made with noodles, coconut gravy, chicken gravy and papdi. Its creamy and spicy taste was super amazing.
The third stop was Ibrahim Nashta Center where we had a colourful plate of aalu fafda. It is essentially multi flavoured stir fried potates served with finger chips. People were enjoying it for iftar.
The fourth stop was Khalid Aalu Puri. It is one of the most popular shop in the neighbourhood. Their simple bite size puri topped with aalu matar is to die for.
The fifth stop was Mama Paratha Center. We were here to try the silver foil chicken. In this the chicken was cooked in a silver foil parcel with coriander and cashew paste.
The sixth stop was Ishakji Chai Place where we had a fragrant cup of lemongrass tea to energize ourselves. We also gathered some insights about the Burmese influence on the food culture of this place from Ismail Ji.
The seventh stop was a Churan stall where we had nimbu masala and aam candy. Here we were joined by Hamza who was our host for the rest of the tour.
Next we went to our eighth stop, Sagar Tandoori Chicken. Here we tried the very fascinating chicken machhi masala which is fried chicken in fish gravy. This dish doesn't doesn't contain any fish in it. It is just that the gravy is similar to a fish gravy. We didn't really enjoy the pungent flavour of this dish.
From there we went to try Pedhiwala's Chicken Paratha which has been around since 1940s. Nestled in an old mansion belonging to the owner, this place is famous for its chicken paratha which is made with minced chicken.
The tenth stop was Bham's Kebab whose olive tikka chicken was a complete stunner. It is an innovative fusion dish that has a satisfying tangy, smoky and rich taste.
This was followed by some hand churned sancha ice cream from Marghaba and two brilliant kulfi from Modan kulfi. Both are iconic dessert places. The gluttony ended with Zaffran Sweet's Sagla Bagla and Sutar Feni that we had bought back from Mumbai.