Leading light of meaty matters

Leading light of meaty matters
Gulnaar Mirza Khan | TNN


This one is for the thoroughbred non-veggie, and a hearty eater at that. Fanoos is legendary; its taste abides. Its smoky, pungent environs are synonymous with kebabs and rolls: chicken, mutton, beef, even vegetable and paneer.
Generations have munched on the skewered, lemony kebabs ensconced in the soft, humble roti. Set up in 1976 by Ajaz Hussain, this fast food joint at Johnson Market, brought in a new taste — the Iranian kebab. This was also the time when war was about to break out in the Gulf, and many young Iranians fled to Bangalore to study. The kebabs, called kubedas in Persian, were later adapted to the local palate by adding on extra lashings of chilli.
The masala is made for the Iranian kubeda. Concocted by Ajaz's mother, it is Fanoos’ deep secret. “My grandmother made the masala herself. We still use the same powder,” says Nasir, Ajaz’s son. And what goes into it? “Garam masalas in certain proportions and some other ingredients,” is all Nasir will say.
This mystery masala — clearly a well-kept secret — is mixed into minced meat, patted on to skewers and grilled on fire for that taste of burnt coal. The man turns the skewer over a few times, and when the meat is browned, swiftly pulls the hot iron skewer out with an expert flourish, and the kebab drops on to a waiting, warm roti. A dash of lemon and some crunchy onion later, and they are wrapped up into steamy rolls.
Tabrez, an old customer, swears by the juicy, melting-in-the-mouth kebabs. “Even the roti is soft, it is not made of only maida, as in other joints. And Fanoos was the place which introduced this sort of food. It is the original.” It is made in front of you, you can see everything, it is clean, he adds.
Later, there was a wave of other such joints around the city which had similar menus. They added their own specialities, but are yet to match the Fanoos fame. Much later, a crop of ‘shawarma’ stalls made an appearance.
Nasir and older brother Shahid took over Fanoos (meaning ‘lantern’) after their father passed away two years ago. What started as a corner stall has grown, and a small restaurant was added three years ago for those who wish to settle down and make a meal of it. The menu has also grown, as has the roll: the ordinary roll doubled into a jumbo roll (two seekh kebabs), mumbo roll (three kebabs), rambo roll (four kebabs), and finally, the sambo roll, which has five skewers of kebab.
Biriyani is available, so are naans, rotis and veg and non-veg curries, at surprisingly affordable rates — Mutton biriyani is Rs 55, mutton roll Rs 30 and a chicken roll Rs 22.
Shawarma is another addition — it is the Turkish-origin fast food where meat is hung on a spit which rotates in front of a fire, and is later shaved and rolled up into chapatis. Besides, there are other kebabs to relish: hariyali tandoori, tangadi kebab, chicken tikka, kalmi kebabs...
The mutton and chicken haleem made here during Ramzan is one of the best in the city. Meat is cooked with masalas in tandoors till it almost melts, it is then crushed, cooked with rava and garnished. The process goes on from 5 am to 4 pm. Just one helping of haleem can keep a person going for hours. Fanoos plans to serve fish haleem next year, and that should be something to look forward to.
Open from 12 noon to midnight, the crowds start trooping in as dusk falls, especially on weekends, with the numbers going up to 200. In keeping with the times, Fanoos also plans to start home delivery.
Fanoos: 080-65362712