Paratha it for a queen

ISLAMABAD: The Melody Food Park has been a centre of a variety of food outlets in the capital city where people in large numbers come on a daily basis to enjoy quality meals.

The only food street in Islamabad has recently seen an addition of a rather unique outlet namely ‘Aap Ka Paratha’. It offers more than 60 types of parathas. Out of its wide range, the most prized is the “Dulhan (bride) paratha” which is prepared with the usage of 16 different ingredients and is being served at a price of Rs400 each.

The catch behind the 16 ingredients is that the solha singhaar (makeup) kit of a typical Eastern bride has 16 types of makeup items in it, and while preparing the Dulhan paratha, 16 types of ingredients are used. Another salient feature of the paratha outlet is that some women staffers dressed in uniforms can be seen preparing the dough for the parathas. The proprietor of Aap Ka Paratha, Abdul Qayyum, informed Bol News that price of the wide range of parathas on the menu varies from Rs60 to Rs400 per item.

Some of the 16 ingredients that are used in the making of the Dulhan paratha include vegetables, beef, chicken, eggs, olive oil, etc.

Qayyum claimed that two persons can easily be catered with a single serving of Dulhan paratha.

Furthermore, he said that spicy paratha, makhan wala paratha, Mughlai paratha, Afghani paratha, cheese paratha, etc are some more varieties that are on offer at the outlet.

He claimed that during the period of the Mughal emperors there was a tradition of serving paratha prepared by using more than 100 ingredients to the bride. The food outlet also offers the matka or tandoori chai besides offering a variety of omelettes including the meetha omelette, cheese omelette, olive omelette, etc.

According to Qayyum so far, the response of the public regarding the latest addition of the Dulhan paratha has been overwhelming as families and individuals have been flocking to the eatery since the introduction of the item.

The staff of the outlet is educated and trained which attracts large number of people particularly families to the setup, claimed the owner of Aap Ka Paratha.

The Melody Food Park has also got a number of other food outlets that are generally full to capacity during the evening hours. The food park was established in 2002 and later on former chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) Kamran Lashari played a pivotal role in its renovation.

A paan (betel leaves) shop here holds an iconic status. People for the last many decades had been coming here to enjoy the centuries-old tradition of having paan after meal.  Recently the government has announced to undertake renovation of the food street with an allocated amount of Rs10 million.