Bengaluru’s Ramzan feasts: A delicious journey through three food hubs
Bengaluru’s Ramzan food scene comes alive at night. From hot kebabs to sweet sherbets, we explore three buzzing Iftar hotspots: Shivaji Nagar, Fraser Town and Koramangala. , Video Credit: The Hindu
Bengaluru, for all its tech-driven energy, is not a city that never sleeps. Unlike Mumbai’s vada pav stalls that open at 3 a.m. or Delhi’s paratha shops that stay open all night, most parts of Bengaluru close well before midnight. Late at night, the streets become empty, the street lights buzz in solitude and even the city’s famous cafes close their doors. But during Ramadan, some parts of the city reject this drowsy routine. The air is filled with the aroma of roasted meat, the streets buzz with chatter, and around every corner there is something smoldering, smoking, or being stirred in a giant pot. On the evening of March 14, we go on an Iftar tour in three different areas – Shivaji Nagar, Fraser Town and Koramangala.
Shivaji Nagar (7.30 pm to 8.45 pm)
If you think Bengaluru traffic is too much, then you must not have experienced Chandni Chowk Road Crossing in Shivaji Nagar during Ramzan. It’s a sensory overload – a feast of sights, sounds and, most importantly, smells. Named after Maratha king Shivaji, the area is known for its historical charm, but tonight, the chaos might have been too much even for the warrior king.
The smoke from the hot meat fills the air and mixes with the aroma of the spices. Vendors honk their vehicles and honk, luring passers-by with promises of the best kebabs in the city. At a stall we see stone meat– Meat cooked on hot stone slabs – glazed to perfection. Nearby, pizzas are being cooked in kulhads (clay cups), a unique blend of Indian and Italian. It is a carnival of food.
Ananya Rao, a 28-year-old software engineer from Chennai, has come here for the first time. “Bengaluru is not just about tech parks and traffic,” she says, “it is about moments like these – where history, culture and food collide.”
The heat and smoke make us thirsty, so we find solace at the Malabar Kulukki Sarbath stall, run by Hasan Sinan, a coffee shop owner from Indiranagar who sets up his Ramzan stalls across the city. Kulukki Sarbath, a specialty of Kerala, is a blend of green chillies with lemon juice, raw mango, crushed ice and basil seeds for an unexpected flavour. It’s like a punch to the taste buds: sweet, sour, spicy and cold all at once.
Refreshed, we follow Hassan’s recommendation to Shalimar Restaurant, run by Abdul Rahman, for our first real meal of the evening. Their special black pepper prawns have a kick of spiciness, while the classic Sheikh Kebabs are juicy but slightly salty. Abdul laughs, “This is just the beginning. Come back in an hour, and you won’t be able to walk here.”
He is not joking. When we return to our scooter, it takes us 20 minutes to get it out of the sea of parked vehicles. By 8.45pm, we’re on our way to Fraser Town, hoping to experience something a little quieter.
A person making meat out of stone. Shoot on OnePlus #FramesofIndia | Photo Credit: Ravichandran N
Fraser Town (9.15 pm to 10.30 pm)
Fraser Town, historically the center of Bengaluru’s Iftar scene, is undergoing a transformation. Once famous for its Ramadan food festival on Masjid Road, the area now operates under new restrictions – no pop-up stalls, only in-house restaurant setups.
Arjun M, a marketing executive and longtime observer of Ramzan food, looks around and sighs. “It’s quiet, but the spirit is still alive.” Road construction and stall restrictions have kept things more orderly, but regulars like him miss the celebratory chaos of past years.
For restaurants, business is down. “Sales have halved,” says Akbar Ali, manager of Savory Restaurant. Despite this, his menu remains a crowd-puller, including slow-cooked haleem, juicy kebabs and mohabbat ka sharbat – a sweet, rose-flavored Ramzan staple.
Iftar Walk Food Stall in Fraser Town. Shoot on OnePlus #FramesofIndia | Photo Credit: Ravichandran N
We eat Idiyappam with Chicken Rogan Josh, a surprising but delicious pairing, followed by Mahalabiya, a Middle Eastern milk pudding topped with pistachios. The first few bites are divine, but once the nuts are gone, the dessert becomes a little too sweet and one-dimensional.
At another major Empire restaurant in the area, a manager told us their Ramadan sales were down 80%. It is clear that this year many food lovers have gone somewhere else. And from what we hear, that ‘elsewhere’ is Koramangala.
By 10.30 pm we are ready to find out whether the rumors are true or not.
Koramangala (11:10 pm to 12:15 am)
Koramangala is different from the other two stops. It is neither as huge as Shivaji Nagar nor as quiet as Fraser Town. Instead, it is a vibrant mix of college students, IT professionals and weekend party goers.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect the Ramzan excitement to be so high here,” says Ayesha Khan, 19, a college student and first-time iftar attendee. “It’s not as chaotic as Shivaji Nagar, but it is buzzing. You have kebabs on one side and cocktails on the other – it’s like two worlds colliding, and somehow it just works.”
Mister Kulukki Stall in Koramangala. Shoot on OnePlus #FramesofIndia | Photo Credit: Ravichandran N
We make a beeline for MR Kulukki, run by former Empire Restaurant employee Hamza, who claims to “know the pulse” of the Koramangala crowd. Their stall caters to the youth, offering delicious tiramisu, baklava and more kunafa Like with Ramadan classics Rabdi And spin,
Out of curiosity, we tried the Hyderabadi Shahi Thukda, thick bread pudding soaked in milk with nuts, and a custard roll, which is delicious and completely satisfying. Nearby, a Kashmiri tea stall serves fragrant kahwa, and a kebab vendor shouts his rhythmic mantra: “Chicken, mutton, kebab… chicken, mutton, kebab.” The night is lively, but in a different way from the old Ramadan hotspots.
As we sip our last drink (another mango Kulukki Sarbath), we glance at our phones. It is 12.15 at night. Between our first kebab in Shivaji Nagar and our last sip of Kulukki Sarbath in Koramangala, March 14 had turned into March 15.
And just like that, our Iftar journey passed not only through three neighborhoods but also through two different days.
