Khajla, pheni herald the start of Ramazan

People rush to buy fried cereal breakfast items taken with milk and sugar

ISLAMABAD: Makers of khajla and pheni are putting in extra hours to meet the demand of people for these erstwhile sehri items.

Eaten with milk at the start of fast on sehri, both khajla and pheni are considered to give extra energy while being light on digestion.

Khajla is similar to a hard poori. Pheni is fried vermicelli. Made with wheat they are said to be perfect cereal breakfast for the long summer fast.

With the start of the holy month of Ramazan, sales of traditional foods like khajla and pheni have shot up compelling makers to work extra hours for meeting he to meet demands of Muslims.

The people in Rawalpindi rushed to sops to buy khajla and pheni as soon as the official announcement of Ramazan was aired.

The shopkeepers well prepared for the rush had started building inventory since last couple of days.

All shops are flooded with traditional dishes and food items which relate to Ramazan including pheni and khajla. Many residents of Rawalpindi say there is no concept of Ramazan without khajla and pheni.

Zia Khan a resident said that consuming khajla and pheni during Sehri will subdue the thirst in this hot summer.

A housewife Javeria Arshad said that knowing well that Ramazan was around the corner, she had khajla and pheni on top of her shopping list. “Khajla, pheni are our traditional cereal breakfast,” she said.

A vendor Javed Imran said that khajla and pheni are among top selling items in Ramazan along with dates, samosas and pakoras.  

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2018.