Community food can be
sampled at its best in the homes of people. The next best option is to have
them at restaurants serving such food. Luckily enough, Delhi is the city of
settlers, who have, among other things, brought along their food and culture.
Enterprising as they are, these communities who have settled in Delhi share
their food commercially. So we have the Parsi Anjuman, Rustom’s and the ever
famous SodaBottleOpenerWala serving some Parsi fare, which would
be otherwise inaccessible to us.
While Reeta Skeeter
spoke about the Soda Bottle Opener Wala Vada Pao here, she had earlier promised
to share more details about this quirky Irani café. The nostalgia evoking SBOW always
has Skeeter occupied on every visit. Those who grew up in the 70s and 80s would
recall the wired telephones that hung from walls, the Ravalgons and Poppins,
the bakery cookies, the old multi-purpose tin boxes, the toy train track which
was the best gift you could get on a birthday; they have it all up and
decorated in a rather fun way.
But it is the grub
that will have you hooked. Skeeter would need yet another post to write about
the regular menu offerings but for now one must sample the Navroze Thali that is on
the menu till August 27, 2015. They have the vegetarian (Rs 700) and the
non-vegetarian (Rs 800) versions. Skeety, of course tried the vegetarian one
and here’s what she thought: The Vengna Nu Achaar, a tantalising eggplant
pickle is something out of the box and so is the Ravviyyan, where minty chutney
is sandwiched between two eggplant roundels. Eggplant is versatile and when you
hop across regional menus you get such gems. The Doodhi Murabbo is a sweet
bottle gourd relish with the flavours of aniseed and the crunch of the chironji
standing out. Skeeter could not have enough of it and if SBOW starts bottling
this one, it will disappear from shelves. That good, yeah! The Saria is the
Parsi poppadum made from sago or sabudana and deep fried to add some texture to
your meal. The Papeta Nu Kavab are made up of a mix of tangy/spicy vegetables
and potatoes, mashed, coated and deep fried. They are more like smaller
versions of cutlets or pattice but the filling is what distinguishes them. The
Paneer Akuri is the vegetarian version of Akuri, a rather simple preparation
that had Skeeter hooked. To add touches from Bharuch, some dried fruits are
added. The Kora no Patio is a pumpkin sabzi that did nothing for Skeeter’s
tastebuds but she had her fork digging into a saffron-laced, delectable Vegetable
Pulao accompanied with Masala ni Daar, a classic Parsi preparation of lentils
and vegetables. The Kachumbar (diced salad) and Rotli (Roti) featured on the
thali too. Skeeter washed it down with Rustam Bantawala, a cocktail using raw
mango as the base. It went well with the thali. Thanks to the recommendation of
chef Anahita Dhondy, I was saved the trouble of choosing what to drink.
End your meal with
the Ravo (semolina milk pudding) and Falooda. The rose syrup laden falooda
comes seated in a cutting glass and being true to the community food, SBOW hasn’t
cut down on the sweetness to suit your taste. Skeeter loved it the way it was.
The portion is
generous, so it is advisable to fast for a few hours before you dig into this
one.
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