It will surely be an evening that one will not forget in a long, long time. An evening that certainly pampered the palate with an amazing delicacy, but also gave a different picture of Najaf, the holy Shiite city of Iraq. A picture far removed from the one you get in the narrow lanes and bylanes that house numerous little, inexpensive hotels that cater to the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims that are flocking to pay homage to Hazrat Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law, who was assassinated in a mosque in Koofa.

The actual mausoleum of Imam Ali is grand and dazzling and gives out an aura of opulence, particularly from within. Different sections of the shrine's interior are decorated with beautiful calligraphy in gold, and parts of it is done in glittering rubies, emeralds, diamonds and other precious stones. The flooring is of marble, and considering the cold season, is covered with hundreds of thick and luxuriant Persian carpets.

With Saddam no longer there to restrict the number of Shia pilgrims from Iran, the floodgate of Iranian pilgrims has opened up and thousands of men and women come here, wailing and chanting Koranic verses, and beating their breasts to mourn their most important religious leader after Prophet Mohammed.

There are numerous crystal chandeliers within the edifice that throw out green, yellow and pink streams of light.

Surrounding squalor

But what surrounds this spectacular shrine is unbelievable. The paths leading to the shrine are narrow, congested with hawkers, broken in places and give out an aura of deterioration. Each pilgrim has to pass through two layers of security; the first one for women is approached by a couple of broken and dust covered steps. You have to lift a heavy and dusty curtain to enter the security gate. All this leaves you wondering when the Iraqis will get their act together to get the infrastructure right around the priceless monument Najaf hosts.

But take a taxi and drive out a few km from this centre of Najaf and the scene changes dramatically. The fervour and frenzy of thousands of men and women pushing their way with an uncouthness that has to be seen to be believed, gives way to tranquility and relaxation.

Roasted fish

Taking the suggestion of an Indian businessman, I make my way, along with five other Indian tourists, to the Ibne Jahim restaurant to sample the freshest and tastiest fish I've ever had. The taxi speeds through smooth, six lane roads and a huge flyover to arrive at the restaurant. At its entrance is a big round pond and Ashraf a helper at the restaurant takes a look at our group and decides to pull out two big fish, each weighing around four kg! He rubs his palm over each fish, says “Bismillah” to make it halal and within two minutes the chef has expertly slit the fish sideways across the centre and opened it up to form a circle.

The fish is then mounted on an iron grill and kept to roast in wooden flames. Thanks to the patronage from the Indian businessman and his friends there is a huge supply of chilly lakes, which on his advice, we ask be sprinkled on the fish along with salt. As the fish crackles on the fire, we are seated on a huge table where fresh cut vegetables – cucumber, tomatoes, red and green peppers, carrots – along with juicy lemons that you can get only in this part of the world. Next appear huge bowls of juicy table olives.

We've also been tipped to ask Kesav Reddy, a construction worker from India who does part time work at this restaurant to make an additional $100 to bolster his $200 salary, for the amazingly delicious mango pickle specially got from Andhra.

Strangely one has never sampled this delicacy at home, soft, tender pieces of skinned, raw mangoes marinated with salt, chilly and turmeric powder, and lemon juice. Soon the piece de resistance arrives on two huge platters with steaming hot khoboos (typical Arab rotis ).

The roasted/smoked fish is crisp from the outside – some portions are a bit charred — but so soft on the inside that it melts in the mouth. Well, one has tried fresh fish like this in Thailand and Kerala but the taste is not comparable. The smoky flavour, the sweet tender fish oozing out cod liver oil, devoured with bites of the aam achar made it an unforgettable evening.

We're gently asked if we would like to round off the experience with some hookah, decline the offer and head for our taxis, wishing and wishing this was home and we could take away the remnant – eight kg of fish for six very hungry people is indeed too much – to be relished later.

The cost of this amazing meal… along with the salad, olives, Pepsi…. A mere $90.

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