a day ago
‘Adornment' of Eid meals: Meaty celebrations begin with aroma and activity at Quetta spice bazaar
QUETTA: Hajji Shair Ali moved around his shop, using a griddle scoop to collect generous amounts of cinnamon, black pepper, garlic, ginger and an array of colorful herbs. He then put them all into a grinder, the old machine churning out a bright orange spice mix, the key ingredient for marinating meat during the Eid Al-Adha religious festival.
Ali's shop is in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, in what is commonly called Sabzi Mandi, its alleys lined with shops selling mostly fresh fruit and vegetable but also spices and other condiments.
Each year, ahead of Eid Al-Adha, the market comes alive as city residents throng to buy spices to add a fiery zing to their meat-based dishes.
The daily rush has kept Ali, 41, busy and working 15 hours a day since the Dhul Hijjah moon, which helps determine the date for Eid, was sighted last month. Eid will be celebrated in Pakistan on June 7 after the end of the Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah.
'For us the season lasts all year but during Eid Al-Adha, demand for spices increases, particularly for barbecue and Pashtun rosh [slow cooked mutton or lamb] spices,' Ali told Arab News.
'Spices are the adornment of dining. If you cook meat without spices, it tastes bland. Thus, the dishes all depend on spices.'
Ali said ahead of Eid, there was also a surge in the demand for his special barbecue sauce made by blending papaya and kachri powder, a distinctive spice derived from a type of wild melon and known for its tangy and slightly sour taste, acting as a natural meat tenderizer and adding flavor to various dishes.
'Along with kachri powder, we add black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, coriander and garlic,' Aali said., explaining the recipe of his meat tenderizer.
Shaharyar Khan, a customer searching for spices as he was planning to host an Eid barbeque, praised the quality of spices at the market.
'During Eid Al-Adha the quality is a little better,' Khan told Arab News.
'Normally it's already good, but for Eid, they make it even better so the taste of the food is enhanced.'
But many customers also complained of the rising prices of spices in recent years, which spice shop owners blamed on the higher prices of imported ingredients.
Essential ingredients required to make the products are imported from Vietnam, China, India and Iran, merchants explained, and the persistent devaluation of the rupee against the US dollar over the years had caused imports to surge in value.
The prices of the spices had also subsequently increased over the years.
But customer Hajji Ajmal from Kuchlak town near Quetta, said the increase was not substantial compared to the quality of spices one was getting.
'Last year I bought one kilogram of barbecue spice for Rs900 ($3.20) and this year, it is [being sold] for Rs950 ($3.38),' he said.
At the bazaar this week, curry mixes were being sold for Rs1,200 ($4.27) a packet while the price of biryani rice spice mix was higher at around Rs1,400 ($4.98).
Despite the price hikes, customers who trust the quality of the product continue to shop and orders have even been coming in from various cities in the Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
'I have prepared different spices for this Eid season, weighing more than 3,000 kgs because we have received many online orders from other cities through our social media page,' Ali, the spice merchant, said.
'During Eid Al-Adha season, we work until midnight, even skipping meals. Ten people work in a single shop to prepare the spice orders in time.'
