(Top) Bakarkhani roti and dates that many devotees break their fast with; the Ramazan special sheer chai at Sabzibagh in Patna. Pictures by Ashok Sinha

Vivek Kumar does not fast during Ramazan but along with his friends who do, he enjoys delicacies that the devout and not-so-devout alike savour after breaking their abstinence every evening.

The Ashok Rajpath resident said: “I don’t fast during Ramazan as I am not a Muslim. But every year, during this holy month, I enjoy the delicacies with my friends.”

His favourite: sheer chai — a special tea prepared only during Ramazan with Kashmiri tea leaves. Pinkish in colour, it is enjoyed with a roasted slice of bread called tosh. “I love this tea. It tastes like heaven,” said Vivek.

Connoisseurs claim that the best sheer chai is available at Sabzibagh. Preparing this beverage is in itself a ritual.

“It takes eight hours to prepare this tea,” said Mohammed Rizwan, who has been running a teashop at Sabzibagh for the past 30 years.

He said: “The tea is brewed with dry fruits like dates, coconut, raisin, cashew nuts and finely chopped almonds.”

But before you reach the stalls serving the heavenly tea, you would have to go past stalls selling dates that line the opening of the lane leading to Sabzibagh.

For devotees, dates are very important, as many of them break their fast by eating the fruit.

“You will get 26 varieties of dates here,” said Mohammed Sohail, the owner of a fruit shop. The fruit is available in different prices — ranging from Rs 100 per kg to Rs 2,250 per kg. Customers can even purchase packed dates that come from Dubai.

Once the fast is broken during Iftar every evening, there is no end to the variety of food that one can savour.

Venture a little into Sabzibagh and you will find a number of bread shops. More than 15 different kinds of bread — bakarkhani roti, tosh, pakeeza, roghni roti, chokar naan — are sold in these shops. People buy these in bulk to eat with non-vegetarian delicacies.

The aroma of kebabs wafts in the air around the small eateries that sell non-vegetarian food. Beef kebabs and lachcha paratha are very popular among the foodies. A plate of beef kebab — with four pieces of roasted meat — is available only for Rs 15.

Besides kebab, there is also mutton kalia (curry with potatoes), murg musallam, biryani and nargis kebab.

A regular visitor to Sabzibagh during Ramazan, Hafiz Ahmad, said: “I love kebabs. Though these establishments sell chicken and mutton kebabs as well, I love beef kebab. My other favourite is dehati chicken.”

If you have had enough savouries, you can also enjoy sweets that are available in generous quantities.

Sabzibagh is also famous for firni — a popular dessert prepared with rice and milk. You can buy it for Rs 15 to Rs 20 a plate. After having their fill, a bowl of firni is must for foodies. “The speciality of firni is that it is always served in a kullhar (earthen vessel). That gives a different taste to the dessert. It is always much in demand here,” said Khaliq Khan, the owner of an eatery in Sabzibagh.

He added: “We have kept to the tradition of serving firni in kullhar for the last 20 years. It is not just food for your stomach but also for your soul.”