RIP Kallu Mian

Nahari

I was sad to hear the death of Mohammed Rafiquddin, 60, legendary nahariwala, who was popularly known as Kallu Mian in Old Delhi.

I had tried nahari at several pockets of Old Delhi including Bada Hindu Rao and Quraishnagar, but I was convinced none could beat the taste that’s available at Kallu’s.

Nahari involves slow-cooked meat along with bone marrow and garnished to taste and was first developed during the Mughal Empire.

I was introduced to the dish by some Walled City football fans. I was also told ‘a plate of hot and spicy nahari can give you relief from the biting Dilli ki Sardi’, which, in fact, turned out to be so true after those visits at Kallu's. 

It became a daily routine to walk down to the eatery at No. 80, Chattan Lal Mian behind Delite Cinema along with my elderly friends after covering the Vijayans and Okories at the Durand Cups, DCM Trophys and I-Leagues, held during the Capital's coldest months.

Kallu smoked bidis and, very occasionally cigarettes. After several visits, I found him to be very punctual as he would remove the lid from the huge copper degh (pot) at 5pm. The rush was inevitable because of the huge demand and the stock would be over in flat one hour.

Most of his customers were from daily walks of life which also included officials from Old Delhi’s two famous football teams — City Club and Indian Nationals.

In those eras, these clubs had fierce rivalries on the field just like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in Calcutta, but one thing I couldn’t ask him if he was a City or Nationals fan. 

“Kya kar reea hai. Sahab logon ka jagah de (give space to these gentlemen),” Kallu shouted instructions in his old Delhi dialect.

We were lucky to find a tiny space inside the shop. Sitting at arm’s length to the tandoor (oven) and next to the bread-maker, the forehead glistened with sweat, but the warmth was a protective cover to the freezing January winter.

Kallu, who had a thin physique, guarded the oval-shaped degh, but he would only instruct his boys on how to scoop the thickest portion from the pot as it involved some kind of technique.

The nahari arrived, glistening in a pool of oil. The roti was fresh off the tandoor and the extra plate of lime wedges, chopped chillies and slivered ginger completed the meal. The boneless mutton nahari was supple and succulent while the meat chunks already parted from the bones.

Thanks to Kallu Mian and football, I was introduced to the mouth-watering dish.