A cook fries lachha sewai in a factory in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Oct. 13: With the beginning of the holy month of Ramazan, makeshift stalls selling piles of sewai and bakarkhan (baked buns) have become a common sight in the capital.

So high is the demand for the sweet delicacies that the bakers, mostly concentrated near the Daily Market, Hindpiri and the Urdu Library on Main Road, are working round the clock to satisfy customers.

Though most of the demand is catered to by the local sewai makers, special sewai from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Asansol in West Bengal is also sold in the city markets.

Of the different varieties sold, the more popular ones are bedami laccha, kimami, Banarsi lacha and the rumali lacha. The locally-made sewais range from Rs 25 to Rs 35 a kg, while sewais from Benares and Bengal can range anything between Rs 50 to Rs 100 a kg.

Akhtab Alam, proprietor of Al Rahm, a sewai factory at Daily Market, said the business hits an all-time boom during the month of Ramadan. Explaining the economics of the business, Alam said about 6-7 quintals of sewai are sold by each of the shops in the capital, with a daily turnover of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 during the season.

In Hindpiri alone, there are at least 15 sewai factories, which are engaged in the making and packaging of the delicacy. The whole process involves a lot of time and effort, so the factory owners hire extra labour to meet the deadlines. The sewai factories are however highly viable in terms of the quick profit at the cost of very low investment, Alam added.

To prepare the delicacy the flour has to be finely sieved and kneaded into dough. The consistency of the dough has to be just right or else the sewai will be very fragile and will break while being packed into plastic packets.

Once the dough has passed through the sewai maker, it?s then spread out on wooden logs to dry. The special, different taste that it has comes after it?s deep fried.

Mohammad Imtiyaz, of Modern Bakery said, ?During the Ramadan months, we bring in 10 to 12 labourers from different parts of the state. Most of them come in from Palamau. They charge anything between Rs. 3000 to Rs 5000 for their services.?

Mohammad Shahnawaz, a resident of Hindpiri area said, ?There are many dishes which can be prepared from the sewai. But, the most popular is the Sheer Khurma. It is made from the Banarasi sewai and is delicious. Another popular dish is the Khimani Sewai, which is also much savoured.

Tauhid, a baker at Hindpiri, said the bakarkhanis, are delicious, baked breads and heavily consumed in the evenings after the breaking of the Roza. The keras bakarkhani, shrimal and mehboobi bakarkhani, are the most popular ones. Children are fonder of the special bakarkhani, with lots of dry fruits, and which parents indulgently allow, as it?s also very nutritional, Tauhid said.