Sumon Bhai’s Dilbahar: The new special shorbot of Old Dhaka
The DilBahar Ajwa badam shorbot is a comparatively new entrant in the local food scene. Even before tasting the famed drink, I was awed by the fact that you cannot directly place an order for it; for a glass of DilBahar, you have to first take a token and queue up until your number is called. It seemed strange that the demand is so high for what locals refer to as a simple, badam er shorbot!
The sought-after drink is only available from 9:00pm onwards every day and stays open until 12:30am.
Naturally, I was intrigued by the mere business culture or marketing gimmick of this drink sold by Mohammad Dosai Sumon on the footpath of Alu Bazar in the Old Town.
Once the city goes into a lull and the streets of Gulistan quiet down, you drive straight to Alu Bazar and right beside Mazar Mistanno Bhandar or opposite Suritola Government Primary School, you will find two men sitting in a makeshift stall of just a table and a chair -- one taking the serial and other mixing the drink.
Mohammad Dosai, commonly known as Sumon Bhai, started DilBahar Ajwa during the Covid years when he had to close his fast-food shop. A recipe of his mother's, he honed it to perfection and now it has become one of Old Dhaka's gourmet gems.
"Dilbahar" -- loosely translates to the "heart of spring" or "happy", and ajwa is a date. To prepare the regular drink, evaporated milk fused with heavy cream (malai) is mixed with a part of sabudana (sago pearls) cooked in milk and thickened. It is added to a glass lightly filled with nuts and date slivers. Another portion of milk that is boiled in saffron is added to this and further garnished with nuts.
The special versions of the drink are garnished with slivers of figs, chocos, cornflakes, oatsbars, and assorted dry fruit along with all the heavy milk concoction. It is in fact an energy drink or a fancy cereal in a glass for which the people are willing to stand in a queue for even 20 minutes!
The regular DilBahar comes with a price tag of Tk 80. The special version is priced at Tk 130; the super special Dilkhosh at Tk 200; and finally the jewel in the DilBahar crown, the Alishan at Tk 500.
People seem to call in advance to book a token, because unless you have the token and your number is called you cannot have the prized drink. Sumon and his assistant are hovered around by customers fascinated by Sumon's act of preparing the drink. However, Sumon's reserved persona keeps the crowd in line.
I would suggest making a trip down to Alu Bazar and try this rich drink fit for a king.