Photo Feature : Ramadan in Ahmedabad's Old City - Part 2 - Bara Handi

Bara Handi literally translates to 12 Pots. These are 12 pots normally set in a rectangular shape in the ground with a firewood fueled fire beneath them. The pots normally contain different cuts of beef / buffalo or mutton that have been slow cooked through the night (for breakfasts) or through the day for Iftaars. Dishes could include offal like tongue, liver (kaleji), kidneys (gurda), marrow (nihari), trotters (paya) and the like.

Many Ahmedabadi Bara Handi's also serve something called Bhel which is a mixture of all the 12 dishes in one plate.

These hot gravies are served with a variety of fresh rotis out of the tandoor.

Since the pots are set in the ground, it means that the person serving the food and monitoring the taste and consistency sits cross legged on the ground for hours at a time.

At one of the Bara Handis, these 2 friends insisted that we take their picture before they would let us move on. I think one or both of them might have been the son(s) of the owner, since they seemed very comfortable in the area and there were no customers keeping an eye on them, but all the staff seemed to be watching the kids from a corner of their eyes.