The scent of saffron and cardamom was in the air as I stepped off the train at Southall station. Outside Sri Guru Singh Sabha gurdwara, the Sikh temple, a queue had formed at a stall selling malpura – small south Asian pancakes made from flour, semolina, and eggs – paired with cups of masala chai. Men in thobes and women in abayas moved with quiet urgency, balancing their newspaper cones, each filled with three golden malpuras and a steaming cup of the spiced tea. In the distance, the loudspeaker at Southall Central Mosque announced that there were 20 minutes left until Zuhr (the Islamic afternoon prayer).
Outside the station, a notice invited people to Istaqbal-e-Ramadan, an event marking the beginning of Ramadan on 1 March – the 30-day period of fasting that Muslims across the world observe each year. Further down, another sign announced that Ealing Council was hosting an International Women’s Day community iftar (sunset meal). Right beside it, a reminder highlighted that Southall’s gurdwaras regularly distribute free vegetarian food to all, regardless of religious beliefs.
My journey to Southall was being driven by a realisation I had while staring at the calendar on my kitchen wall. This year, for the first time in 30 years, Ramadan is set to coincide with Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, on 4 March – the final indulgence before Lent. Both religious observances are rooted in fasting.
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While Muslims may not observe Pancake Day as part of their religion, many embrace it culturally as an excuse to enjoy midweek pancakes. In a rare moment of synchronicity, as Pancake Day and Ramadan overlap, Muslim Londoners won’t be flipping crepes or stacking American pancakes, but they will be eating pancakes all the same. Iftar tables will be filled with variations of the same dish, each embedded in different cultures yet bound by the same ritual: breaking bread, or in this case, pancakes, after a long day of fasting.
That’s why I was in Southall: to embark on a pancake pilgrimage. Saravana Bhavan – originally from South India and touted as the world’s best Indian vegetarian restaurant…
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