3,000 plates of biryani to be served at the Clock Tower in Muscat

Muscat: Some 3,000 plates of Hyderabadi biryani will be served to residents and citizens in Oman as part of the Indian Social Club’s Deccani Wing’s Ramadan iftar meal at the Clock Tower in CBD on Friday, May 25.
Having organised an iftar for people in Oman every Ramadan since 2002, this is the first time the Hyderabadi community in Oman has done so in collaboration with the Indian Social Club.
“As a community, we had always done this for people in Oman, because when we began this in 2002, a lot of people didn’t have proper places to eat after their fast ended,” said Suhail Khan, the lead organiser of the iftar. “They used to eat at a lot of places which didn’t serve food of good quality, and we felt that people deserved to eat some good food after fasting throughout the day.”
“Previously, we used to do this as a community, and each one of us would contribute some money towards this, it could be any amount, be it OMR10, 20 or 50, and we would begin organising this a month before Ramadan,” he added. “We have grown as a community over time, and the number of people who come to these events has also grown, so we realised it would be better to streamline our activities and it would be easier to get permissions from the ministries for all of our social and cultural activities; so, we decided to join the Indian Social Club as the Deccani Wing some six months ago.”
Planning for the iftar meal began a month ago, as the community organised orders of some 500 plates of biryani each from various Hyderabadi restaurants in Muscat.
“There is something special about the Hyderabadi biryani that is not really found elsewhere, and it is most important for us to take care of others,” explained Khan. “We want to share with them the quality and taste of the authentic Hyderabadi biryani, because there is nothing quite like it, so we placed the order for 500 plates of biryani from different restaurants.”
“We realise that 3,000 people is about the maximum number we can take,” he added. “The area we have can only accommodate that many, but we are happy to serve so many. When we began our iftar the first time, some 500 people gathered together, It has grown steadily since then. We will be organising the area around the Clock Tower into various zones. Zone A and C can take some 600 people, while Zone B can accommodate another 1,200. A separate place is also there for ladies, who will exclusively be in Zone D, while we also have another space for seniors in Zone E.”
The Indian Ambassador to Oman, Indra Mani Pandey, is also expected to attend the event on Friday.
“The night before, we will begin spreading carpets and placemats for the people to sit on, because the floor of the Clock Tower is made from marble and is very hot to sit on,” said Khan. “In addition to biryani, we will be serving samosas, pakoras and other crunchy items often served during iftar, as well as laban and juices. Some 70 volunteers will assemble on Thursday night and begin preparing the venue for this.”
“We realise it is really hot now, so we have also organised a chiller truck, where we will put all the beverages the previous night, so that people can enjoy cold drinks,” he added.
“What we want to do is make this better each year, because we realise that we have a responsibility to look after our fellow men.”
“A lot of people from Ruwi, Wattayah, Hamriya and Darsait will be coming for the iftar, that is where most of the demand is from,” said Khan. “Everyone is welcome to join us, expats and Omanis alike.”