The shop is situated in Lahore’s Mozang Ada, a historical area where financially-disadvantaged people reside. The shop faces an uncovered drain and lacks any kind of decoration or fancy exterior as witnessed in popular restaurants.
Benches made of steel are set for customers to sit on and have food in utensils made of steel.
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Jattay ki daal is famous throughout the city, especially among local food lovers, despite its shortcomings. The daal tops the list of local dishes and people who have given it a try inadvertently end up becoming its marketing ambassadors. They insist that others give it a taste.
“One doesn’t find this kind of taste in a daal anywhere,” a fan says.
Khalid Darhal works as a social activist and belongs to Vehari. He has come for breakfast to the shop with his friend Waseem. While talking to The Express Tribune, he said he has been visiting the eatery for the last two years on a regular basis.
“I find it very tasty and economical,” he adds. Waseem nods in agreement with Khalid’s statement, saying, “It made my day.”
Nadeem Jatta, in an exclusive discussion with The Express Tribune, says that the shop has been running for the last 65 years at this place. “My father, Muhammad Siddique Jatta, established this shop and now I am looking after his business for the last 25 years,” he adds.
He recalls that his grandfather Baba Jeeja ran a daal restaurant back then on Mozang market. “It has been over a hundred years that my family has been associated with this business,” he adds. “I learned the art of running this business from my father and my father learned it from my grandfather,” he boasts. When he was a child, Nadeem helped his father in running the restaurant by working after school.
While explaining the name ‘Jatta’, he says it was the name his grandmother called his father and therefore it turned into a nickname. “Let me clarify that our caste is Malik and the name ‘Jatttay ki daal’ has nothing to do with the caste ‘Jutt’,” he emphasises.
Nadeem says that at least five kilogrammes of daal is consumed every day. “Sometimes, the sale increases to 15 kilogrammes,” he adds. However, in the times of his father, the average sale was 30 kilogrammes per day as there were fewer restaurants, he claims.
“We add something ‘mysterious’ to the recipe,” says Nadeem and starts to laugh when inquired about the reason behind its unique taste.
“God has bestowed taste in the hands of a few. A person who cooks something special, his dish cannot be replicated by any other,” he adds.
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He continues that channay ki daal is soaked in a tub of water, cover it in a cloth, has spices added is then cooked with desi ghee. “When it’s prepared, we serve it hot to the customers,” he adds. Nadeem says that people from far off places visit his shop for the daal. Just last night, a group of people had come from Dera Ismail Khan. They greeted and appreciated the item, he says.
When asked why he did not change the location of his shop as it was situated on bank of an uncovered drain, he says he never thought of shifting as it stood as a symbol of his father. Besides, his house is also situated on a nearby street. “However, the drain is going to be covered soon. Authorities had conducted surveys and work has started on one side,” he adds. Nadeem says that another franchise of Jattay ki daal is in discussion with his friend.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2018.
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