'Vada Pav'.
Credit: iStock
Karachi: Pakistan's industrial and financial centre Karachi has become the food capital for the foodies of the cosmopolitan city, with the latest trend being an acquired taste for authentic and refined Indian vegetarian dishes such as 'soyabean aloo biryani', 'aloo tikkis', 'vada pav', 'masala dosa' and 'dhokla'.
For millions of people in the capital of Sindh province, Karachi's beauty is the food options ranging from the most expensive European and Italian cuisine to affordable Chinese food or a simple bun kabab as the food capital caters to the taste and pockets of everyone.
The foodies in recent months have also developed a taste for "pure vegetarian" dishes.
Mahesh Kumar, who owns the small Maharaj Karamchand Vegetarian Foods Inn inside a historical old compound of the bustling M A Jinnah Road, says his business is booming as people have developed a taste for vegetarian dishes known in Karachi as "pure vegetarian Indian dishes".
The Narayan compound, where before partition Hindus, Sikhs and Christians lived in peace and harmony, not only houses the restaurant but also the centuries-old Swaminarayan Temple and also a Gurdwara.
Initially built for the inhabitants of the compound, the Maharaj Karamchand Inn is now a popular joint for the lawyers and visitors who show up every day at the city courts just opposite the compound or for other businesses in this commercially vibrant area of old Karachi.
"Our Soyabean Aloo Biryani, Aloo Tikkis, Paneer Karahi, and Mixed Vegetables are famous and we witness a lot of rush during lunchtime with a lot of takeaways and deliveries as well,” Kumar said.
Kumar said his father started the restaurant in 1960 and there is nothing fancy about it with the same old wooden chairs and tables, but what attracts Muslim and non-Muslim customers is the homemade spices and the fresh vegetables and oil used in preparing the dishes.
Kumar admits they do not publicise their restaurant because there are still some Muslim conservatives who consider it taboo for Muslims to eat food prepared by Hindus.
"We have enough clientele who are happy with our food and service but don’t like to promote it,” he added.
It is not just this Hindu-run vegetarian restaurant that is doing a great job but, in other parts of Karachi, entrepreneur Hindu, Christian and Muslim women have set up food stalls specialising in refined Indian vegetarian dishes such as 'pav bhaji', 'vada pav', 'masala dosa' and 'dhokla'.
Kavita, who started a food stall in the Cantt area on a side street eight months ago, sells Indian vegetarian dishes and can barely keep up with the rush at her stall.
"What is surprising for us is that apart from walk-in customers, we have developed a clientele of regular customers who love our food,” she said.
What surprised Kavita and her family is the taste the meat-loving people of Karachi have developed for pure vegetarian dishes.
Not only Kavita but her sister-in-law, Chandrika Dixit, brother Jeetandra and her mother Nomita manage three stalls next to each other while a fourth stall which sells 'dhoklas', 'aam panna' and 'dal samosas' is run by a Christian lady Mary Richards.
"We all live in the same compound close by and after hearing how people have taken to Indian vegetarian dishes we have decided to try our luck. We make these dishes regularly at home,” Mary said.
Muslim and non-Muslim customers, calling out her name “Kavita Didi”, vibrate in the air as people coming in their cars also have to line up for their orders on the well-lit street.
Kavita’s food stall has already been covered by big media outlets in Pakistan and even BBC ran a story as to how a Hindu girl’s food is selling like hot cakes among Karachites.
On the other side of the cosmopolitan city, two sisters - Mahreen and Lubna - are also doing well with their food stall on a famous food street in the populous Hussainabad area.
“We are unique in the sense that we sell Indian vegetarian food surrounded by restaurants and stalls selling traditional Pakistani meat dishes,” chuckles Lubna.
The two sisters have learnt how to make 'masala dosa', 'vada pav', 'vegetarian rice' and 'pav bhaji' from their elders who migrated from India after the partition in 1947.
Both sisters talk at length as their hands remain busy preparing dishes and handing them out to eager customers.
“People are now eating these dishes because they are not expensive, tasty and quick to prepare,” Mahreen said.
Far from the crowded Hussainabad area, a Muslim Gujarati-speaking family that migrated from Junagadh in India has been selling different varieties of masala dosas in Bahadurabad for over five decades.
"Come sunset and business begins," says Zafar, whose father started the masala dosa stall on a scrap Suzuki van proudly claiming that their food joint is among the first original places to sell pure vegetarian Indian dishes.
Zafar and his team of cooks and helpers sell varieties of masala dosas but the aloo masala dosa remains their best-selling item despite being priced at 500 rupees.
“I think Karachi has a lot of migrants from India who are more moderate or liberal in their choice of food and that is why there is an acquired taste for Indian vegetarian dishes,” Zafar explained.
On the other end of the spectrum are the upscale Rajdhani Delight and Nawab Dynasty restaurants in the posh Clifton area whose daily "pure vegetarian" and "chicken Thalis" are sought after by foodies.
As soon as you walk into the Rajdhani Delight restaurant owned by a Gujarati family, the aroma of authentic Rajasthani and Gujarati food just gets into you, restaurant manager Jerome Earnest said.
The 'navratan vegetarian thali' with its mixture of vegetable, paneer, daal dishes, chutneys, achar, spicy yoghurt, dhokla, rice, salty lassi and gulab jamuns is a steal for 1500 rupees with waiters attired in traditional Rajasthani costumes waiting to serve you fresh chapatis in the metal tray with small bowls.
“We mostly get families for lunch and dinner and they love the Navratan Thali,” Earnest said.
Earnest, who has worked in the food business in the Middle East, says the quality of traditional Indian vegetarian dishes is getting better and better in Karachi as the demand for the food is growing and also some culinary schools now have a syllabus for "Indian Vegetarian dishes".
Huma Sheikh, a food critic, believes that Karachites are fond of eating out two to three times a month.
“I would say a typical Pakistani family would try something different at least once a month in their food habits and that explains why there is a growing interest in Indian vegetarian dishes which are now available for every income household in Karachi,” she said.