Written by: Hurmat Majid
Posted on: February 23, 2021 | 
| 中文
People Sitting for Cafe Mehmood's Dastarkhwan
Cafe Mehmood is a name well known in Karachi, even to dwellers that may never have ventured to the street which houses it. Located close to the Mohammad Bin Qasim Masjid in the Sindhi Muslim Society, its reputation has been built over decades of serving the same scrumptious recipes over generations. What many do not know is that Cafe Mehmood also runs one of Karachi’s oldest communal kitchens for those in need, which they refer to as the dastarkhwan.
Mr. Mehmood, the founder of the dastarkhwan and the co-owner of the cafe passed away at the beginning of this year, but his eldest son took over the business years earlier. During a conversation with Javed, Mr Mehmood’s son, Youlin found out that the cafe was founded in 1985, a time when the city was hosting a large number of Afghan migrants. “It did not start with the intention of being a communal kitchen, nor is it one even after nearly four decades. Our father just had a rule, no one left the cafe hungry, everyone was served regardless of the amount of money in their pocket.”
“Afghan migrants searching for work in the area knew that even if their pockets were empty, they would still get a hot meal at Cafe Mehmood. Not many people were doing this at that time,” Javed said recalling a story he had been told several times by his elders.
“My father and his elder brother had started the small tea hotel and they both spent all their time and energy in building and sustaining it. Another one of our father’s ground rules was to feed the customers the same quality of rations that we get for our own family. To this day, the rations for the cafe are bought from the same shops as our family’s monthly rations,” Javed said, proud of the legacy his father and uncle have left behind.
Pots of Food in the Kitchen
Continuing the train of thought, Javed said: “Our father used to say, if a customer’s hungry and unwilling to eat what has been prepared in the cafe’s kitchen, you’re doing your job wrong. It’s true when we feel hungry, we eat at the cafe without hesitation.” The writer can vouch for this claim, as we also enjoyed a plate of aloo keema (potato and mince) with fresh naans followed by perfectly made doodh patti (milky tea). Surprisingly, the food not only tasted amazing but was also served with hygienic utensils, and the servers wore gloves before placing the food in the plates.
The crowd at the cafe did seem visibly puzzled at a woman wishing to eat at the establishment alongside men, but that is more of a comment on the society than the establishment itself. The owners, on the other hand, did not mind at all, and helped us find a table that we liked, after which our order was swiftly taken and the food was on the table within mere minutes. The amount of time taken in the whole process pleasantly surprised us.
Sweet Rice and Gulaab Jaamun at Cafe Mehmood
When asked about how they keep tabs on the number of people being fed at the dastarkhwan. While thousands of people are estimated to venture to Café Mehmood everyday, Javed explained, “We don’t count. We never have. To this day we never count the people being fed at the dastarkhwan. We just know that people start gathering at the sidewalk right after Fajar prayers each morning and there are still people here when we close up at night. We do have a log of the money people donate and we maintain that so that people’s sadqah (sacred charity) is utilized correctly.”
“Those looking to eat at the dastarkhwan also know that no matter how far down the line they are, they would be served eventually,” Javed said, while explaining how the workers at the cafe control the constant crowd of people looking for a free hot meal.
Plates of Chicken Qorma
Another amazing tidbit about the cafe is that while donations regularly fund the dastarkhwan, they never formally ask people for charity. According to Javed, paying customers at the cafe first started leaving their change to help the owners continue their work of feeding the destitute, “Later, as word spread, people from far off places used to come and give us money, and that’s how the dastarkhwan keeps running. We are extremely proud of this fact.”
We were curious to know Javed’s take on famous YouTube recipe channels claiming to have cracked Cafe Mehmood’s famous recipes, and his answer surprised us. “We don’t pay attention to these things. To begin with, the recipes are not secret, they were developed when the cafe started and are according to our own taste, which became popular. In fact, it is good that people can make food that tastes like ours at home by following those recipe channels.”
While on the topic of fame, Javed said, “We even get people from America, Europe and Canada here, because they have heard that our food is delicious, so they decided to visit us when they come to Pakistan.” Café Mehmood is unique in combining philanthropy at its best with delicious and quality food.
A Short Clip of Chicken Qorma Being Made
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