The lure of Sharaqpuri Gulab Jamun

There are some who believe the delicacies sold here carry the blessings of Mian Hazrat Sher Muhammad Sharqpuri

LAHORE:

Located in Sharaqpur Sharif, a small town in district Sheikhupura, Haji Hakim’s Gulab Jamun joint has been a people’s favourite for over a century.

Served piping hot in a traditional Kujja, these soft pillows of syrup-laden fried dough, draw hundreds of customers every day to the narrow street market where the shop stands. According to certain accounts, gulab jamuns, were first introduced in the region by Central Asian Turik invaders. While others credit the delicacy to have been concocted in the Mughal Kitchen several hundred year ago. Either way, these delectable balls of dough have become a subcontinental classic over the years and remains a staple at all occasions of merry-making.

Established in 1920, the Sharaqpuri Gulab Jamun shop has no other branch and is run today by Hakim’s grandsons who are committed to carrying forward their grandfather’s legacy.

Where many of the shop’s customers come from all parts of the country in quest of the classic Sharaqpuri taste, there are also some who believe the gulab jamuns sold here are blessed by the prayers of Mian Hazrat Sher Muhammad Sharqpuri, a locally revered saint.

“My elders were devotees of Mian Sher Muhammad Sharqpuri. Once he himself rolled a ball of dough and gave it in the hands of my grandfather, Haji Hakim. The saint said a prayer and told my grandfather to continue selling gulab jamuns like such and the blessings of Allah will be on his business. Today, even after a hundred years, the prayer remains true and we sell the same gulab jamuns that my grandfather did in his time,” said Sheikh Haris Asif, the shop’s current owner.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Iqbal Shaqir, a customer at the Sharaqpuri Gulab Jamun shop said he believes the gulab jamuns sold here have spiritual healing abilities.

“I am a diabetic but I have already gobbled tens of these gulab jamuns. I think the prayers of Mian Hazrat Sher Muhammad Sharqpuri will make them safe for me,” he chuckled.

Another customer at the store, Zainab, said that these gulab jamuns are a favorite in her extended family. “I have guests visiting from Karachi and they have especially requested to taste these Sharqpuri gulab jamuns. I also have some packed for them, which they will take to Karachi with them,” she expressed.

According to Asif, they have secret recipe or anything that would make his gulab jamuns markedly different from anywhere else. However, the success of his family business is owed to the prayers of the saint, which still remain with him. “We don’t sell by weight but by number, so a single gulab jamun costs Rs 5 and we sell as many as 70,000 to 80,000 gulab jamuns in a day.”