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Mohammad Ali Road: A Ramadan Iftar dinner feast!


It is the 28th of July, the night when Mohammedans the world over are celebrating Eid-al-fitr. While here I am sitting and recounting my Ramadan dinner experience. It only feels like the best way for me to commemorate to their celebrations, by sharing my culinary experience at the famous Mohammad Ali Road.
One's experience with Mughlai cuisine, it is said is incomplete without them visiting the sacred lanes of this place and eating with the locals. In my years of growing up in this city, I have come to this place many a times to visit a dear old friend, but never in the times of Ramadan. The roads at Mohammad Ali Road are notorious for their lengthy traffic on weekends and at nights during Ramadan this place almost literally comes to life.

So this was officially my first visit here to walk past the local shops, see, eat and basically absorb what I could through all my senses. It was a Thursday night,  two weeks ago and the rains were mercilessly thrashing the city. We had made our minds, so we wrapped up for the day and headed to this place, although a little late but well before the last prayer. We were joined by another like minded foodie who  wanted to venture into the by-lanes with us and gorge on some delightful street food.



We entered the lane adjacent to the Minara Masjid and began to wander. Some stalls had kebabs, others had snacks, or sweetmeats, while others had fried food. Everything smelled gorgeous and looked inviting. We planned to venture deeper into the lane and see more shops, before we settled on our options.

After a good long walk, it began to pour (after a brief halt) and we spotted Chinese and Grill, one of the most famous eateries in that area. We entered and sat down with the menu. The staff informed us that their house special was the Mutton Sheekh Kebab and Mutton Shami Kebab among the starters. So we ordered for these, and also called for a plate of  Chicken Tangdi Kebab.

Mutton Sheekh Kebab in Chinese and Grill
The Sheekh kebab was delicious. It tasted like it was made and served to order, it was that fresh and tender. The Shami kebab variation with the fried coating tasted good too. The Tangdi kebab was soft and succulent. 
Mutton Shami Kebab in Chinese and Grill

Chicken Tangdi Kebab in Chinese and Grill

Next , we moved to the main course. We ordered a Chicken Changezi which was house special. However I somehow felt that the flavors were definitely not Mughlai and more of a dish which had influences of a Chinese dish. And of course we ordered Nali Nihari which is the dish that has made this restaurant more popular than most. Here I would like to clarify that the Nali Nihari that was about to arrive on our table has a class of it's own. But that does not go to say that the rest of the dishes were average. Most of the dishes that we tried were flavorful and a complete winner.

                                                   Chicken Changezi in Chinese and Grill


                                                  Nali Nihari in Chinese and Grill


The Rotis were served with these dishes, and got devoured in no time. I had a Rumali Roti to go with the dish. The Tandoori Rotis however, were one of a kind. They were soft and delicious and went extremely well with the Nihari. My partner and his friend had a few more rounds of Rotis. This dish was one of the best in the evening. The mutton  was melting in the mouth, and the gravy had been slow cooked to perfection. That dish can give any Nali Nihari in a 5 star restaurant a run for it's money! And at those prices, we would come back there every year for Ramadan to pay our respect for this kind of food!

Once we were done here with the savory, we stepped out for the sweets. To the Jalebi centers and gorged on a plate full of those Mawa Jalebis. 



 Mawa is basically a milk product, which is sweetened and deep fried. It is then dipped in sugar syrup and served nice and warm to be eaten. The Jalebis were cooked and served in front of us, the warmth of the sweets and the cold rains played perfectly on the senses, it was a lovely evening. We had already eaten a lot but we egged on , and ate those lovely fresh sweetmeats.

                                                  Warm and Fresh Mawa Jalebis

And then ofcourse the final prayer ended in the Minara Masjid and we could see a fresh batch of human heads oozing out of the mosque. The place was filling up rapidly, and it was only time for us to retrace our steps and head home. So we payed our last visit to the stores serving the Malpuas. The enormous portions of fluffed up Flour and Egg batter fried to perfection and then served with a condensed form of sweetened milk Rabri were to die for. I have a major sweet tooth and Malpuas were one of the few reasons I had come this far. 

Malpua center



Each Malpua was bigger than the size of a dinner plate, so I knew I had to eat some and take some back with me. And I was pleased at that thought. 

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Location: Minara Masjid, I M Road, Pydhonie, Mandvi, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400003, India

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