Mahajabeen Ansar’s ancestors came to Kochi from Kutch in the early 1800s. Over the 200 years of living here, assimilating and adapting, the Kochi’s Kutchi Memon community’s food has come to bear Kerala influences. “Although the food we have after roza (Ramzan fasting) has more or less stayed the same, we now have fried fare like pazham pori (banana fritters) and bhajjias too. We make nombu kanji (rice gruel) and sometimes even thari kanji, though not very often,” the retired school teacher explains.
She reminisces how in the past iftar was an occasion for the whole family to get together and catch up. “There were more people, families were larger, especially since most were joint. The spread also used to be more lavish.” Times may have changed, families become smaller, but she sticks to food cooked traditionally during Ramzan.
