The Hindu Business Line : `Royal' barbecue treat

IT was too much of a temptation to resist. Having walked through Baghdad streets for three days and encountering now and then street-side eateries vending fresh fish... grilled, fried and even barbecued, one had to savour the delicacy for oneself.

To begin with, it must be said that almost the whole of Iraq is a paradise for foodies. But then you have to be a non-vegetarian. Roasted chicken, kebabs of all variety, Lebanese-style sandwiches and other wares, all accompanied by fresh fruit juices... can be found at roadside stalls and if you can control your initial fuss and squeamishness at a couple of flies hovering around the place, it is quite an experience to savour the delicacies on offer. And, for women, who can hardly be found patronising street food stalls, the treatment is nothing short of royal. The tables are dusted, the chairs vacated and nobody else will occupy the table next to you!

Anyway, in Baghdad, we told our driver Eesa Abu Ali, that we want to eat barbecued fish but in a good restaurant. "Yes, yes, fish in Baghdad good, very good," he beamed happily, while stepping on the accelerator of his powerful 8-cylindered Chevrolet Caprice Classic.

Within minutes he had brought us to a nice little place along the Tigris river, opposite the sprawling palace of the ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Within the restaurant, we found three deep-water tanks, containing live fish. We were asked to select our own fish, Eesa haggled for a while before fixing the price at $10, and one had to turn away and quit the scene hastily, as within seconds the cook had slaughtered and carved the fish lengthwise. Then he hoisted it at the open fireplace on a couple of wooden stakes, taking care to place the fish quite a distance away from the fire which was lit next, so that the smoke and not direct flames, cooked the fish. The fire was lit by pouring casually on the firewood about one litre of petrol... which might be precious for us, but which in Iraq costs around Re 1 a litre. While the long wait began for the barbecue to be ready, Eesa came over and asked me in Arabic sprinkled with his limited English something about beer. At first one thought he was trying to offer me beer, but later it turned out that the youngsters at the next table wanted the permission of the only woman in the restaurant, for consuming beer!

This was granted and Eesa said cheerfully, "In Saddam's time, beer only in the house, but now beer anywhere."

Liquor shops are seen in quite a few places in Baghdad, though there is no sign of the stuff in the holy cities of Karbala or Najaf. But what you find everywhere is the relentless and oppressive smoking that takes place, and even in Karbala one found women pilgrims smoking, though outside the shrines.

After a 40-minute wait, the fish is ready, served on a huge round platter with a generous supply of khabus (naan), salad and soft drinks, all on the house. The $10-dollar price is considered a handsome amount and as Eesa digs into the tender flesh of the deliciously prepared fish, one of the helpers in the kitchen concentrates on washing his car and by the time we are through, the vehicle is gleaming.

As we drive around Baghdad, it is sad to look at the buildings, which have taken the brunt of the recent war. A prominent building that was targeted by the angry coalition forces was the Saddam regime's communications facility, which kept beaming television messages that all was fine even after the coalition had entered Baghdad.

Nearby is the Ministry of Trade, which was totally looted and then burnt, and what stands now is an empty shell. All over the main streets, the Americans have put up huge armoured vehicles... many parts of Baghdad have been blocked by heavy rolls of barbed wire, and you cannot move around Baghdad without having huge machine guns either pointed directly at you or feeling the oppressive presence of troops.

One has been constantly told, by the Iraqis as well as the few Americans one has talked to, that the Iraqis are extremely hot-headed and impatient and can be both boorish and violent.

But it is surprising to find drivers patiently waiting in long queues and traffic jams which have resulted because the Americans have blocked at least half of the well laid-out six-lane highways and expressways. Not a single vehicle can go by in these pockets without being closely observed, and sometimes stopped and checked, by the American soldiers, who are neither polite nor pleasant. But when you talk to individual soldiers, they are pleasant and friendly enough.

Soon you realise that more than rude, the soldiers are tense and frightened. They might be controlling the best of weapons and armour but they also continue to be vulnerable to the hatred of a determined suicide bomber.

On the other hand, against the wooden and unsmiling American soldiers, the drivers of the vehicles, which are sometimes delayed by as much as 45 minutes due to the checking, specially on the Expressway on the outskirts of Baghdad, are both patient and cheerful. They share jokes in Arabic, directed undoubtedly against the Americans, do not honk, give way and instead of frowns and scowls you are astonished to find smiles and conversation going on inside the vehicles, as if nothing is amiss. One is not sure if this is new-found patience in a city that has got used to six months of occupation.

When queried on this, Eesa says cheerfully, "Oh, the Americans are needed at this moment, to put some order into Iraq. Otherwise our own Alibabas (the popular Iraqi code for thieves and looters) will finish us. But don't think we'll be patient forever. We'll give the Americans another year or so to quit our country. If they don't leave by then, the Iraqis will throw them out. Just wait and see."

Response can be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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`Royal' barbecue treat