They say bandra is a city in itself. People who stay in bandra hardly venture out for any of their needs and wants. From rustic irani hotels serving trademark chai to flashy new age dim-sums eateries, it has it all. How can such a place be shy of any Ramadan delicacies ?
From my past knowledge of being a bandraite for a span of good 5 years i found two areas, Jama Masjid (S.V Road) close to Khar & the Bandra Bazaar intersection to be the most popular & heavily visited streets for all kind of Ramadan food. First up on my recommendation is 'Jeff Caterers' - A Bohri family run catering joint. I met Matin just before iftari who is mostly seen behind the counter on regular days and was now on top of his voice managing the orders and organizing the batch after batch of fried goodness arriving from the kitchen. Jeff serves one off kebabs and tikkas like the Mansuri Kebabs, Bheja Kebabs and Malai / Cream Tikkas. Matin mentioned that Bheja Kebabs is a hot-seller and is off the shelf in no time. As a regular customer I've always liked their Chicken & Mutton Cream Tikka which are marinated boneless chunks of meat on a thin broom stick skewer, deep fried with breadcrumb and egg batter. Other than the above mentioned you can relish more fried delicacies like Chicken Crispy (Noodle wrapped kebabs), Mutton & Chicken Cutlets, Lollypops, Chicken Tangdi, Seekh Kebabs, Samosas, Baida Rolls, etc. Note that most of these delicacies are available through the year along with tubs of Mutton Khichda, Dabba Gosht, Chicken & Mutton Biryani and more. 'Safe Caterers' next to it also belongs to the same family tree as Jeff's serving almost identical dishes but remains not so crowded.
The S.V road portion starting from Khar Masjid upto Hotel Rajasthan is a true town like Ramadan scene at Iftar time. From pop up stalls of individuals to Hotel Sahil's vast spread, this patch is in all it's glory from 5 pm onward as people getting out from namaaz walk home packing bags of these treats. One can get everything from fruit salad to chana batata to lal aloo chaat and beef kebabs right off these pop up stalls. Sahil sets up a long table outside and stacks one after the other hot fried meaty delicacies. Beef Shami & Seekh Kebabs,Mutton & Chicken Seekh Kebabs, Spring Rolls, Mutton Samosas, Schezwan Lollipops, Chicken Crispy, Tandoori Chicken Legs, etc are all available in the spread. It's quite well known for it's spicy Schezwan Tandoori which brings two unique flavours in one dish. Next door eatery Rajasthan too serves similar goodies but having eaten from both places since my early animation days, i always found Sahil to be much better.
Lastly, if you're in the mood to take home some aromatic tandoori paratha and roti then do visit this lane (MRS Marg - Lucky Restaurant lane) filled with kite shops, small time eateries and a very humble roti shop known as A1 Mughlai Roti Shop. They make thousands of rotis and parathas day in and day out. The must try one is the Baghdadi Paratha. Maida or Gehu (optional) dough mixed with White & Black Sesame seeds and a finger scoop of Ghee in it. Rolled out and slammed in the hot koyla tandoor, it is irresistible as it is picked out and brushed with ghee. This paratha makes for an ideal accompaniment with some of the kebabs and tikkas you can parcel from Jeffs or Sahil.
Leaving you guys with some captured frames from the iftari scene outside of these places.
