howler

i wouldn't read too much into the spelling ... 'parsee' is a little old fashioned, but there are plenty of places in bombay that use that spelling - for example, its 'parsee gymkhana' and not 'parsi gymkhana' etc.

yo maggie - unfortunately, playing 'who is more indian' with simon majumdar is a sport that quickly loses its charm because, sad to say, the poor fellow isn't indian at all. its funny, because its a phenomenon i've noticed here but never in the states: the children of indian parents or mixed indian parents who live in the u.k. are so much more prone to pretending a familiarity with the country and its customs than their counterparts in the u.s.a.

aaargh i almost caught the next flight home after reading this post .....

its probably katti dal - and the black caraway seeds are undoubtedly the tadka with cumin. marwaris serve katti dal with kadi and rice. without the extra spicing, its varan to the maharstrians.

ya, i'd have to agree about the over-ratedness of bade miya. he was maybe allright in the late seventies, but then he got famous and boring. his meat is all probably legit these days too. we used to speculate what the 'mutton' kababs were: probably cat.

man, have you had the shish taouk sandwich and are you hip to toom? good toom changes the universe ...

"Thirty years back, Amarjit Tibb the father of Jasmit Tibb quite liked the Lebanese chicken shawerma when in Beiruit, and got thinking how to adopt this to typical Indian tastes." yessss, it all makes sense, the wheel has come full circle. my favourite sandwiches in the world are lebanese shwarma/shis taouk and frankies. how cosmically satisfying. incidentally, while i'm deeply grateful that amarjit tibb discovered his frankie roll, i can't believe he thought chicken shwarma needed to be adapted to indian tastes. EVERY indian i've ever taken to get a well made shish taou/shwarma, ladled with toom, has adored it. i know theres a maroush in bombay - i saw it driving past - i hope they serve the right stuff.

the first frankies were sold in breach candy at two locations: mafatlal park and scandal point. much, much later they made it beside sterling cinema and then to bandra. the scandal point frankies were always the best. haven't had time try the recipe yet ....

much, much gratitude for this. i'm going to get neela panis' book. keep you posted.

here i am in blighty, a long way away from mumbai, ready to try almost anything for a frankie, like NOW has anyone any idea of the frankie recipe? the egg and parotha are easily sourced, but do you have any idea of how to get the mutton to taste even remotely like that in the frankie? whats the special spice they sprinkle on at the end? aaaaarggh, somebody please help.

homechef - you must be parsi. those parsi kheema cutlets wrapped in generously thick golden crusts of mashed potatoes, eaten with tomato sauce or now chilli garlic sauce ...........arrrgh pure heaven. and i haven't even been to mahableshwar for years.

very nice article, vikram. but i think the clubs have started down the slippery slope of modernising their menus. more people at the willingdon seem to order from the ghastly chinese menu than the kejriwal or the chilli chicken on toast (my childhood favourite). the breach candy club has totally renovated its menu to serve the worst club food around (though thankfully, you still get excellent chips and vinegar). didn't make it to cci/gym this time, but i couldn't imagine seriously eating dinner at any of them. part of it, i think, is the increasing affluence and eating out preferences of the gujjus/jains. i was shocked to see the increasing number of veg dishes at the copper chimney and their khatta/meetha raita started my suspicions that coper chimney was gujju-ising its veg offerings. in any case, if the rac is anything to go by, the english clubs are getting healthy. i was soooo disappointed the few times i've been for lunch/dinner there. nouvelle english cuisine is the best way to describe it. ugh.

man, the wayside inn ... ohhhh what memories. i remember going in the very first time because i was completely sick of eating at copper chimney yet again .... the wayside is gone?! we are poorer. and as an aside, isn't it sacrilege to eat lagan nu bhonu anywhere but inside the walls of your favourite agiary? (grin) actually, i miss laganu custard the most out of the whole menu. does jimmy boy's give you bida per ida and stuff like that? and where are you scoring patties these days? i LOVE patties ... and frankies, are the frankies still good? with the chopoped chillies aaaargh

president and taj have always felt the same difference to me, food-wise anyway. but the taj in bombay is at least competent and it has been venturesome in the past. in fact, the first place i ever ate andhra food outside (ie, not in someones home) was at the long departed shamiana. i'd say that the taj turns out correct, but soulless versions of whatever their trying to get at - unless its that rendezvous/apollo bar/polyneisan sort of thing that regularly bursts into horrendous flower at five star hotels. here in london, the bombay brasserie (run by the taj) is at least one of a handful of restaurants that serves dishes that are recognizable to an indian .. the evil that countless curry houses have wreaked in the name of our cuisine has to be experienced to be believed. so in a vague way, i'd defend the taj. that, and the fact that it was always where my father would pack us off for sunday lunch before descending upon the club .. a seperate thread - club food?

RTI is decidedly down hill, as i found to my sorrow in jan. no more scrumptious veg. patties. are people no more scarfing down the wonderful veg, chicken and mutton patties? the pattie pastry was thick and sullen - where oh where are the crispy light flaky golden creation of yester year? even the patisserie at the taj disappoints - its like a deluxe version of the willingdon now. i never dug paradise, just as i never liked victory stall either. btw, what happened to victory stall? and whatever happened to the sali boti in dadar .. oh what was that place around the corner from five gardens? i haven't eaten at britannia's- whats the buzz there? and have you ever checked out the parsi catering service of the mysterious ladies from gowalia tank?