Stretching over a few meters, these eight shops offer over fifty types of fried, baked, and steamed snacks
The holy month of Ramadan instils a sense of belongingness within residents who often miss the comfort of their homes during this period. If you miss home this month, you don't have to look too far. This place in Sharjah has got you covered.
Pakistani street in Al Mujarrah in Sharjah is often quiet and deserted throughout the day. However, as the Adhan for Asr prayer is called out, it starts buzzing with people of various nationalities from different parts of the city and neighbouring cities of Dubai and Ajman. Residents visit the lane just to savour and take home delicacies on offer.
Residents and the people working there have said that the lane is known as 'Pakistani street' due to the number of restaurants in the area and the nationals residing there. Khaleej Times visited the locality to check out how worshippers feel at home, away from home.
The street stretches over a few meters, however, has eight shops that offer over fifty types of fried, baked, and steamed snacks. South Asians generally prefer such food while breaking their fast.
One can find anything and everything to treat their taste buds at Iftar. One of the most in-demand food items is the authentic samosa which is extensively consumed while breaking fast in most countries.
Luqman Ali, Al Naseem Al Jaid Sweets said the most in-demand item is the Aloo (potato) samosa, vegetable, and ground meat samosa. “We sell samosas in thousands. A customer takes over ten samosas on average, depending on the number of people he is offering it to,” said Ali.
The price of samosa starts at Dh1.50, going up to Dh3 depending on the size and quantity. “The samosa here are prepared by chefs who are highly experienced and are being brought from Pakistan during the month of Ramadan,” said Ali.
Apart from samosas, they offer "authentic chicken roll, chicken stick, local pizza, eggplant fries, potato fritters, bell pepper fry, fruit chat, chana chaat, kheer, specialty dahi balla, chicken sandwich, spring roll, jalebi and much more".
Another most-in-demand item is the Pheni (sweetened roasted vermicelli), available at Dh 40 a kilograms. “Pheni is a most common item in Ramadan back home. We have ready-made packages to avoid wasting time weighing during the rush hour. Half a kilo of pheni can be consumed by six people, and we sell nearly 20 kilograms every day,” said Sajid Khan working at Pakistani sweet.
Pheni is consumed by immersing it in milk, “and it’s delicious with the flavors we have added,” added Khan highlighting that phulkiya is also the most liked delicacy eaten with milk or tea.
The vendors here also prepare Pakistani cream chats, different types of kababs, drinks like falooda, rabdi doodh, lassi, and much more. All these items are sold at a starting price of Dh1 up to Dh10. “A person can have a scrumptious iftar meal with a wide variety in just Dh15,” said Khan.
ALSO READ:
SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Every corner of the UAE. He often ventures into remote corners of the country to capture compelling news and human interest stories.