A Ramadan dinner with Ustad Zakir Hussain

One Ramadan, many Eids ago, I took Zakir Hussain to Bhendi Bazar in Bombay for dinner. The restaurant I chose was my friend Khaled Hakim’s Noor Mohammadi. The smallest in the neighborhood. But which had the tastiest food and most famous menu of all. A chicken dish was named after Sanjay Dutt. The actor, like many in Bollywood, loved to dine there. And he had supplied Noor Mohammadi with a recipe created by his mother, Nargis Dutt. In gratitude, the dish was named Chicken Sanju Baba. And as a mark of respect to him, the restaurant took the dish off its menu all those years Sanjay Dutt was in prison, serving a sentence after the 1993 blasts trial.

The Ustad wasn’t observing the Ramadan roza. So when we reached, Noor Mohammadi was empty, the faithful had yet to sit down for the iftaar, they were in nearby mosques saying their prayers, from where we could hear the muezzin calling out of the minaret. I watched him read the menu written on the wall. It was that kind of restaurant. The most expensive dish was the Shahi Plate at 30 rupees. The cheapest, is the Shammi Kebab at 3.50 rupees. But the food, I can swear with my hand on my heart, was absolutely to die for. Authentic UP Mughlai cuisine. While a waiter took down the Ustad’s order, a stray cat came and sat beneath our table, meowing in anticipation.

Ustad Zakir Hussain, who wined and dined at the world’s most famous restaurants, knew his food. He told the waiter, “Kheema, Shammi Kebab, Dal Gosht, Nalli Nihari, Bheja Fry, Shahi Plate, Mutton Chaap, Yakhni Pulao… Kadak Roti ke saath, aur phir Firni le aao.” All around us, the restaurant was filling up, hungry men were breaking their roza, slurping noisily. The Ustad ate calmly. Sleeves rolled up, fingers used to play the Tabla delicately wrapping the Roti around gravied meats. Acknowledging the salaams from other tables. Calling for more Roti. He was completely at home. But then he was home. Ustad Zakir Hussain is a Bombay boy…

About Mark Manuel

The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.

With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

Further

His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.

Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.

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