MOONLIGHTING;RANDER ‘S RANGOONI NIGHTS.
In spite of always having been one; people often look at me doubtfully and say,’aapko dekh kar toh nahi lagta ke aap vegetarian hai?’Having grown up with two elder, voracious non vegetarian siblings, both of them particularly lean , I never take the above statement as an abasement.I maintain they say so due to my ‘healthy ‘hair and skin.My protective mom says it must be due to my farmer blood broad shoulders, my health freak dad differs, blaming it on my erratic lifestyle.
So when the boss, my editor from Ahmedabad sent me the message to,’ do a piece on Rander scene during iftari.Hog as well.’ the first thing I did was pick up the phone and tell parents that my stand on the ‘protein power looks’ issue stood vindicated. Since, all that boss knows me by, is my photo herewith.
Next, I resorted to pure gumption to gather a gang for the mission. It was complicated. There are various kinds of foodies in Surat-The pure veg, the Jain veg who do not eat onions or garlic, the vegans who abstain from lactose, the chickenetarians [no goat], the weekly non veg [none on Tuesday/Thursday], the meat and chicken but no beef and pork and finally the ‘pure’ non vegetarians. Also the eggetarians, to which I belonged.
My gang had all of the above and an anorexic friend who didn’t belong to any of the above. The Jains joined in, not to lose their religion but to visit Manibhadra; the yaksha God, whose temple in Rander is reminiscent of the ancient 200A.D.Shanprat rule during which numerous Jain derasars were built in Rander. Thousands of people throng this place especially on Thursday; belief is all your wishes are granted if you pray here.
Centuries ago, residents of this southern end of Bharuch would travel to the foreign shores of Arabia, Sudan, Bangkok, Burma from the port of Rander, in search of a livelihood. A lot of Burma teak and fine, bright coloured porcelain was shipped in from Yangon which travelled to the royalty in India. Till date antiques are sourced from here. Old homes in Rander are made of Burma teak. The Rander House in Rangoon at present houses The Internal Revenue Department. Post the third world war, trade started deteriorating and by the time Burma [Myanmar] was Independent in 1950, hundreds of Muslim Diaspora, forced to give up business and property, had returned back to Rander-now the city of mosques.
The Yangon connection inspired flavours of Burmese cuisine. The food at Rander is therefore different from the other ghettos at Chowk and Zhampa bazaar; where chicken tangdi and tikkas, mutton raan and chaps for iftari are available along with machhi pav, mutton salan for the morning Sehri.
Rander has receipes like the famous Rangooni paratha-succulent meat pieces enveloped in thin layer of maida, egg and deep fried as a rectangular delicacy, a version of Chicken khowsuey [locals call it khausa] prepared with steaming spaghetti, thin, chicken curry with a coconut milk base and garnished with dry puri pieces instead of Sali wafers, with a sprinkling of spring onion greens. Also, much relished are the machhi masala chicken and aloo puri-thin small maida puris served with bits of chatpata aloo topped with onions, lime and chilli. Silver chicken, marinated in green chilli garlic paste, roasted within foil. Of course, the usual boti kebabs, tandoori chicken, chicken 65 and eggs to order are also available. Dessert offerings are kullad phirni and various flavours of sancha ice cream and kulfis of which Guava and Durian fruit ones are rare and exclusive to Rander. Many homes here are converted to ‘family room’ for dining.
Rander mela began in 1938 at the Chunarwad Masjid alley, next to a beautiful imaret maderesa; a place to provide hungry Muslims food post the evening azaan to break their Ramzan fast. Till date, little kiosks of paraphernalia for midnight shoppers offer prayer beads, embroidered burqas, talcum-toiletries, replica sneakers, cheap Chinese toys and concentrated ittars.The street is quite civil and serene through the night, with a heavy aroma in air and sizzling sounds of tava cooking. Today, the retired ‘raizees’ of Rangoon rule the streets once a year, moonlighting with receipes carried down the ages. Many just work during the month of Ramzan.This is a city within the city in an age of bygone era and when the new moon is cited at the month end, it will be Idd,its New year.
Everyone returned home happy. Then, my father called to ask if the title of my column meant khoob –soorat [lots of face].