Mezban: Cuisine of choice for feasts

It is a huge gathering. There would often be quarrels over food and a lot of fuss over who would sit first. As soon as one group gets up after eating, another group would rush and stand behind the chairs.

Such scenes were quite commonplace – before the advent of the Covid pandemic in 2020, of course – at a traditional mezban event in a community centre at Love Lane in Chattogram. Ahmad Ullah, a businessman from Khatunganj, hosted the mezban for 5,000 people.

Mezban is a traditional culture of the port city where a large gathering of people feast on mouth-watering beef items.

Having the mezban meat on a menu of various items on the dining table is a long-standing tradition in Chattogram, whether it is a Fateha (prayer session for a deceased), wedding ceremony or a family get-together. Those who love to eat never miss the taste of the mezban meat if they come to Chattogram.

The mezban beef item is unique: meat from all parts of a cow is cooked – even the brains and bones. The Mashkalai dal (black gram) is also cooked with meat. And at the end of the meal, the leg bone of the cow is served with stew.

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Mezban events are usually organised at people's homes as well as community centres at normal times throughout the year. Before the national parliamentary or city elections, politicians are seen hosting mezbans for party leaders and loyalists in Chattogram for a whole month.

"Mezzan Haile Aiyun", a chain restaurant, is now famous for mezban style meat in Chattogram. The eatery serves a mezban feast of beef, keeping the old tradition.

They have five restaurants in Chattogram at present, alongside two more in Dhaka.

During a recent visit to the kitchen of Mezzan restaurant at Muradpur in the port city, it was seen that pieces of spiced meat were being cooked in a large pot, set on a huge makeshift stove. At least 20 people were engaged in cooking and supplying wood to the stove.

Photo: TBS

The guests are not deprived of the real taste of the mezban meat because it is cooked on a traditional wood stove. After being cooked, the meat is delivered to Jamal Khan, Chawkbazar, Lalkhan Bazar, and Agrabad branches of the Mezzan restaurant.

Monjurul Hoque, the owner of Mezzan Haile Aiyun, said that one cow is slaughtered every day for cooking the mezban meat.

He said, "Anyone visiting Chattogram wants to eat the traditional mezban meat. But many people cannot entertain their guests if there is no mejban event at that time. The Mezzan restaurant is based on the idea that no one should go back without eating mezban meat after coming to Chattogram."

"Our effort is to preserve the mezban tradition of Chattogram. We are working tirelessly to maintain quality. Mezzan has launched an app for ordering food while staying at home," Manjurul added.

However, keeping this tradition of Chattogram in mind, several more restaurants have gained a reputation for serving mezban meat. The names of Mezban Bari, Hotel Zaman, Al Medina Hotel, and Orient Restaurant in the city are popular among food lovers.

Researchers do not have any specific information about when the traditional mezban curry was introduced. However, the words "mejbani" and "mejman" are found in different periods of history.

Historian Dr Abdul Karim in his research book mentions that the Arabs had contact with Chattogram in the ninth century. This means that they started coming to this region 1,200 years ago.

Chefs and food researchers think that the mezban meat became popular in the port city with the help of these Arabs.

Prominent chef Jobaida Ashraf said as the Arabs increased their contact with the Muslim merchants of Chattogram, the diversification of food in the region started 700 years ago. It is believed that the tradition of mezban has evolved since then.

Information about this culture is found in the "Padmapuran" poetry of the 15th century poet Vijay Gupta. The word "mezbani" is used in the sense of banquet in 16th-century poet Syed Sultan's "Nabi Bangsho".

Shamsul Hossain, former curator and researcher of Chittagong University Museum, stated in one of his writings that mezban is a Persian word. He mentions the use of the words "mezbani" and "mezban" in ancient manuscripts of the 1500s and 1600s. Literally the word Mezban means guest and mezbani means entertaining guest.

At one time the mezban meat was cooked on a clay stove. It was served in earthenware or "shanki". However, with the change of time, the way of cooking and serving food has changed.