Navroze Mubarak: Where To Celebrate {And Feast} Like A Parsi

Umame is holding a Parsi New Year lunch with a lavish spread for INR 1,650. This is a set menu and it includes achar, which is made of carrots, saria {chips}, rotli {chapati}, patra ni kolmi {prawns wrapped in banana leaves}, mutton berry pulao, and, of course, you can’t have a Parsi meal without sali chicken. Try their dessert option, which they call a Disappearing Dome of Chocolate. Don’t we know where it will disappear.

Feast into a truly Parsi meal with chef Farrokh Khambata’s Parsi New Year menu at Café at the NCPA for INR 1,950. Things to try here are the jardaloo {apricot} sali chicken, bharuchi akoori with brun pao, which is egg bhurji, and leg of ham with mustard, brown sugar and glazed pineapple.

Heave a sigh of relief as there are vegetarian options like spinach crepes with champagne cream, panko-crusted cottage cheese, lagan nu stew and more. End the meal on a perfect note with the scrumptious desserts including Kahlua crème caramel, jalebis with Cointreau and their signature NITRO pomegranate and rose petal kulfi.

Earlier a piece of our childhood, Dinshaw’s no longer just our place to go to for ice-cream. All through August, you can visit here for a full Parsi menu. Dhansak rice, sali boti, berry pulao and chicken farcha {fried chicken}, akuri toast, you name it and they have it, for prices starting at INR 99.

For the love of food, they have their menu organised into different food items like pao, edu, mutton, vegetarian and so on. If you want something sweet but keeping in mind with the theme, there is their Andheri Nu Dikra Sundae with Parsi favourites like Shrewsbury biscuits from Pune dipped in Nutella, choco pie, brownies, Toblerone, hot fudge and Belgium chocolate ice cream. The old-school way will lead to Masala Thums Up and raspberry mojito here.

Bombay Canteen’s Canteenwala menu has been put together by four culinary Parsi experts, Shirin Adenwalla, Katy Billmoria, Perzen Patel from the Bawi Bride Kitchen, and Kainaz Contractor along with the team at Bombay Canteen for both classic and reinvented Parsi dishes such as a Russian pattice pav sandwich, Saas Ni Maccchi {pan-seared boneless pomfret}, and chutney eeda farcha, which is a fried potato pattice with a soft egg and chutney stuffing.

#LBBTip: Consider this 15 days of feasting as the menu continues till August 31, so you can indulge in these Parsi favourites even after the celebrations have ceased.

From August 11 to 21, SodaBottleOpenerWala, the contemporary Mumbai Irani Cafe is starting a war of the families {and palates} with their Saas-Bahu menu and thalis this Parsi New Year. The restaurant will showcase rival menus of daughter-in-law Akshata Karkaria, the bakery and R&D chef at SodaBottleOpenerWala and her mother-in-law Bachi Karkaria, who is a renowned columnist with Times of India newspaper.

Look out for tareli macchi, tarela souffle and gos {mutton} no saas, and for the vegetarians, doodhi nu pattice, veg. Yazidi salad, Saas nu papeta and Falooda in Bachi’s thaali. We are excited about Akshata’s shepherd’s pie, jumbo prawn kari and mithoo dahi with ginger thins.

Akshata’s veg menu is for INR 600 {plus taxes} and non-veg menu for INR 750 {plus taxes}, Bachi’s veg menu is for INR 600 {plus taxes}, and non-veg menu is for INR 850 {plus taxes}.

#LBBTip: The duo are demonstrating a few dishes on August 20 between 4pm–6pm, so watch and learn, guys.

Since this is a celebration with family, why not a big blow-out at Four Seasons? You’ll find on the menu your traditional dishes like tareli macchi, kheema pateta no pattis {spicy lamb stuffed with potato}, tomato eedu, patrani macchi {pomfret enclosed in a leaf with spices and coated with chutney}. Also binge on murgi na farcha {chicken legs deep fried}, kolmi na kari chawal, which is prawn curry with rice, and end it on a happy note with semolina milk pudding with nuts. This menu will available till August 20, and starts at INR 900.