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AT Aurangabad�s Delhi Gate, which is a dismal concrete and wood structure beneath which Mohammad Aurangzeb�s war horses must have once trotted, stands the Islami Hotel. At 7 o�clock on a rainy morning, it is starkly obvious that �hotel� is too grand a description for the ramshackle structure that survives on sheer will power and the fame of its reputation that has spread among taxi, auto and truck drivers in the city. But it stands all right. And it serves all those who commend their soul to God and enter its dark, dingy interiors for breakfast.
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Paya-Roti For Breakfast!
The aroma of breakfast is heady and it rolls gently out of the �hotel�. It is the smell of Paya simmering in a huge cauldron on a wood fire. And of Rotis being tandoored in an oven. The eyes smart under the smoke that drifts around the �hotel�. And through the haze and with watery eyes, you make out three tables and benches which is all the sitting area inside. Anees Khan, who is the owner Rasheed�s son, is handling the breakfast shift. He says the Islami Hotel has been in business just ten years and it is famous already for its Paya-Roti. The rest of the menu, which is available for lunch and dinner, is written on the wall. It is a minimal menu: Kheema � Rs. 9, Biryani � Rs. 10, Kaleji � Rs. 9, Sukha � Rs. 9, Rotis & Chapatis � Rs. 2.
The Paya is Rs. 8, and it is a huge plate of beef Paya, the meat chunky and greasy and succulent on a bone that looks rich with the promise of marrow. It is served with a Shirwa, which is the gravy made of the Paya�s fat, and which is glutinous and nourishing. Anees rattles off the recipe for the Paya: �It is cooked from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. over a slow wood fire with kanda, nimak, adrak-lasan, tej pata, dagad-phool, garam masala, kothmir, haldi, mirchi, dhania, tel. The Paya must cook for eight hours at least. Dagad-phool is an Unani flavouring agent that gives a subtle pungent and mildly smoky flavour to the food.� 
The Rotis that are served with the Paya are pretty special, too. They are made of wheat flour and maida and given a haldi shine. These are tandoor rotis flavoured with sauf and kalonji (onion seeds). A man sits rolling out the rotis and spearing them in and out of the tandoor which conveniently faces an open window. The smell of bread baking, which must be one of the most tantalising anywhere in the world, attracts motorists and two-wheeler riders who pull up besides Islami Hotel where there is a tyre repair shop. Outside the �hotel� is a stack of fire wood for the oven and cauldron. And a drum of water and a bucket for the diners to wash their hands. No food critic would give it marks for hygiene. But Anees Khan is unperturbed. He says, �People come here because the Paya-Roti is tasty food, it is satisfying, and it is value for money at Rs. 10 a plate. There�s no ambience so I don�t charge for that!�
And it is true, there are no takers or sightseers outside too for the Delhi Gate!
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