TBK: Straight out of a Bohri Kitchen in Colaba

While restaurants are usually the go-to place when it comes to trying out new cuisines, they will not, to quite an extent, be able to deliver to you the taste of a dish the way it is cooked in a traditional home. A restaurant will always have its limitations owing to the large amounts of food being prepared at a go, the preservatives added and sometimes the mindless amounts of masalas and oil in the dishes. I love eating out and gorging on food at various eateries, however there is nothing like the taste of hyderabadi mutton biryani cooked in a Hyderabadi household, or sarson ka saag with makki ki roti presented to you in a Punjabi household (with oodles of buttery love of course) because those are after all like maa ke haath ka khaana. Sadly most of us will not have access to the different home kitchens for various authentic cuisines. This is where home kitchen run lunch concepts come into the picture.

I recently visited The Bohri Kitchen or TBK, a start up in the form of a home kitchen lunch concept. TBK is open to a maximum of 12-14 guests at a given time on a weekend for a toothsome 3 course Bohri meal that is served at the apartment of the Kapadias, a Bohri family in Colaba. The purpose of TBK team is to awaken your taste buds to the not so widely available yet quite intriguing flavors of the Bohri cuisine and they very graciously achieve it. The community meal venture is a father-mother-run trio where the mother, Chef Nafisa Kapadia, gets together her decades of cookery skills to conceptualize a menu so gastronomically satisfying that you will be licking your fingers shamelessly in front of the hosts and the other guests by the end of the meal. Mr. Turab Kapadia, the father, is a full time wholesaler-businessman who is responsible for obtaining the freshest produce that goes into the kitchen. 

The pre-sent menu for the day, as was available for everyone to view on their Facebook page, consisted of Bohri Chicken Kebabs, Tandoori Chicken, Aaloo Masala, Pineapple Walnut Raita, Paaya and Mutton Kheema Khichdi, and Vanilla Ice-cream drizzled with chocolate syrup and sprinkled with pan-roasted almonds. Every lunch has a special menu dedicated to it which is updated by TBK team on its event page. This was the 8^th such event conducted by TBK and they have hosted 9 lunches so far.

As soon as we entered the Colaba apartment, we were received warmly and ushered to the drawing room. This was where our Bohri food adventure was to begin. We were welcomed with fresh homemade lemon iced tea infused with flavours of mint and ginger. Our sapped energies from the notorious traffic that we faced on the Saturday afternoon were revived with a glass of this delish welcome drink. Alongside we exchanged courtesies and got ourselves acquainted with the rest of the guests present at TBK.

The Big Thaal!

‘Hunger pangs’ was written all across our faces and the short wait came to an end as soon as we saw two big plates of Bohri Chicken Kebabs coming our way. The Bohri Chicken Kebabs were served in a big thaal also consisting of Aaloo Masala, Pineapple Walnut Raita, lemon wedges, beetroots mixed in lime juice and sugar, garlic chutney and a small bowl of salt. I paused for a moment and feasted on this pretty sight with my eyes. Munaf Kapadia, the son from the father-mother-son trio running TBK, who is the brains behind the brand, positioning, social media strategy and business rationale behind TBK apart from being a full time salesman at a leading internet company, informed us that before beginning a meal the Bohris take a pinch of salt to their tongues. Salt stimulates the taste buds of the tongue to their maximum, thus increasing secretion. It also enhances the intensity of the flavours of the food on the palate letting you enjoy the meal fully. Did as told and from there on there was no stopping.

A closer look at the Bohri Chicken Kebabs

A little bit of this and a little bit of that, the first of many helpings on my plate consisted of a Bohri Chicken Kebab, garlic chutney, Aaloo Masala, Pineapple Walnut Raita and a lemon wedge.  The gorgeous Bohri Chicken Kebabs made of juicy shredded chicken accompanied with an assortment of vegetables including capsicum, carrots, cabbage and French beans and coated in an egg batter were devoured by all the foodies. Chef Nafisa Kapadia has magic in her hands. Classic is pairing it with Garlic Chutney and the best way to eat this Kebab, as recommended by Munaf himself, is to make holes in the Kebab and squeeze lemon juice on top so as to let the tangy flavor get into the interiors of the Kebab. Not very dense, or oily, the Bohri Chicken Kebabs were a great way to start our meal- did not make us feel heavy; ergo left us satisfied yet still wanting more.

Aaloo Masala

The Aaloo Masala is a simple yet delectable dish prepared in a paste of red masala and kokum. A little spicy and a little sweet, this semi gravied dish with great flavours is a pleasant addition to the starters. But it was the Pineapple Walnut Raita that kept coming back to my plate. Curd has always been one of the best ways to balance out a hot spicy meal and raitas are my favourite. There might be some who feel that pineapple would not go well in a raita, and to them- try it people; it’s a refreshing and welcome change. The sweet and sour mix of Pineapple and curd balanced by chopped walnuts and roasted jeera made it an excellent accompaniment with the food served to us.

Pineapple Walnut Raita

Tandoori Chicken

Next in line, as we were almost done with the Bohri Chicken Kebabs was the Tandoori Chicken. Tandoori Chicken, a very popular dish, is chicken roasted in yogurt and spices. However, what was served to us was more of a semi dry preparation of chicken well marinated in yogurt and spices overnight and grilled to perfection along with a tomato based gravy. A foodie at the table shared with us how he had felt a little disappointment on knowing that we were going to be served tandoori chicken as it isn’t a unique Bohri dish so to speak. However, all that was forgotten when this dish was tasted as it is one of the best semi dry Indian chicken preparations that I have tried in a while. The chicken was succulent and packed with flavors. The tangy tomato gravy was a great twist to what we otherwise know as Tandoori Chicken. As rightly suggested by one of the guests at the lunch, maybe the Chef could rename this dish to Grilled Dahi Chicken.

Khammi Ki Rotis

Alongside the Tandoori Chicken we were served hot and crispy Khammi Ki Rotis. These rotis are prepared with dough of maida or all purpose flour which has been fermented overnight. These are then cooked in a clay oven heated by coal. Chef Nafisa Kapadia went on to explain that these rotis can be kept for days and need to be heated over the tava with ghee or butter. Usually served as soft rotis, the twist added by TBK was that they served these as crisp or karari rotis. The Khammi Ki Rotis went extremely well with the delicious gravy of the Tandoori Chicken.

Paaya

Paaya

Finally we were introduced to the protagonist for the day- the Paaya and the Mutton Kheema Khichdi. Paaya was accompanied with the Lamba Pav, which apparently gets its name from the long loaf of bread that it is before it is cut up into smaller pieces and served. The Paaya was an amazing blend of spices cooked in the onion and tomato gravy with the meat so soft and juicy that it was literally falling off the bones. 

Not too spicy and not bland, a perfect balance for those who do not like over the top spicy food and quite a refreshing change for those who do too with the whirlpool of flavours in your mouth. Dip the Lamba Pav in the meaty Paaya curry and I can bet that you will be smiling from ear to ear.

Lamba Pav

The Mutton Kheema Khichdi, or rice cooked with masoor daal containing mutton kheema, peas, potatoes and cut up pieces of boiled egg, was quite an interesting dish and was served with a bowl of burning coal to add the smoky flavour. Mix some of the curry of the Paaya in it, compliment it with the Pineapple Walnut Raita and feast on a gastronomical delight.  Another common way to eat this, as was told to us, is to use a piece of the Khammi Ki Roti to collect the Khichdi mixed with the curry and eat altogether. This way or that, this combination is sure to leave all meat lovers with a feeling of complete satisfaction.

Mutton Kheema Khichdi

While all this was going on, Chef Nafisa Kapadia had also concocted a soothing Jaljeera soda for all the guests which went delightfully along with the scrumptious food.

Ice-cream with chocolate sauce and almonds

To end all this on a sweet note, we were served vanilla ice-cream drizzled generously with chocolate syrup and sprinkled with pan-roasted almonds. Well ‘nothing Bohri about it’ but who would not like this simple yet yummy ice-cream dessert. However maybe they should consider adding some traditional Bohri dessert(s) to their menus.  For a good digestion after this feast of the Gods, supari-less paan was also served.

Paan

What needs special mention is the hospitality of Mrs. Kapadia and her son Munaf. They kept giving us tid-bits about the food now and then and told us a little about the Bohri culture as well. Not once did we feel that we were at their place for lunch for the first time. Such was the vibe that was felt at TBK. At times it was comical to see Munaf run up to his mom in the kitchen to get answers to some of the questions thrown at him by the guests, but it all went on to show the warmth and close-knit structure of TBK.

At the end, as happens at a Bohri household, Munaf went around with a jug of warm water and a vessel and helped the guests wash their hands, once again pointing towards the love and affection that one is sure to receive at TBK.

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Will I go there again? Definitely. I am extremely eager to try the Nargisi Kebabs, the Mutton Kheema Samosas and the Mutton Biryani prepared by the lovely Chef!

How to get this amazing experience? To join them for a splendid TBK lunch you can follow The Bohri Kitchen on Facebook and watch out for the weekly events they host at their place. To join you need to RSVP on the event and drop them a private message with your phone number and the team will get in touch with you post that to confirm your RSVP. They claim to have a no serial killer policy and are sticklers about who they invite since the lunch is hosted at their apartment. Having mutual friends with someone from TBK team helps. If you have a large group of 6 or more you could drop them a message on Facebook or email them at thebohrikitchen@gmail.com to organize your very own custom TBK.