Festive Season Food Hunts

Falooda
Roshni Nair finds out which eatery dishes out Mumbai's best falooda

Over 2,300 kilometres northwest of Mumbai lies Shiraz, one of Iran's oldest cities, where the Shirazi (rose) falooda (or faloodeh, as it's called in Iran) is believed to have been born. The original version is corn starch vermicelli mixed with rose syrup, lime juice and crushed pistachios. It's not clear when this relatively bare-bones treat for a sweltering day assumed gargantuan proportions in the Indian subcontinent, but we aren't complaining.
Faloodas today are smorgasbords of kulfis or ice creams, vermicelli, chilled milk, ispaghula (psyllium), sabza (basil seeds), rose or other syrups/flavours and dry or fresh fruits. Ask purveyors of this chilled concoction what makes a great falooda, and they'll tell you it's mostly about the kulfi and vermicelli. The latter should preferably be prepared when cold. Also a must are fresh ingredients and discretion when using syrups, which can make faloodas cloyingly sweet if used too liberally.
Badshah Cold Drink, opposite Crawford Market, does not hold the mantle of Mumbai's best falooda. Not like it once did, anyway. Sure, the legacy of this 108-year-old institution is indestructible for the many who believe its Royal Falooda is the baap of them all. But here's a look at some of Mumbai's must-have faloodas:

Baba Falooda: There are several reasons why people top off their Mahim khau galli visits at Baba's. But the two most important ones are: it's open till 2am, and its faloodas are sheer bliss. Of their 13-odd variants, five stand out — dry rabri, royal, butterscotch, black currant and Baba Special. And then, the dry fruit behemoth — the Baba Double Special — for those who dare (or are truly famished).
Then there's Naaz Royal Falooda at Naaz Hotel, Kurla. Also high on the list is Shiraz Falooda and Special Yaadgar Falooda at Yaadgar Cold Drink House, Bandra and the Shalimar Special Falooda at Shalimar in Bhendi Bazaar.

Khari biscuits
Marisha Karwa goes in search of the perfect khari biscuits in town

Tea time is sacred. And biscuits are de rigueur. Long before cookies replaced biscuits on our tea time plates (merely for their 'cool' quotient), this pride of place was reserved for the humble khari.
For the uninitiated, a khari biscuit is essentially a puff pastry traditionally made by Irani patisseries and Bohri bakers. Its layered, unkempt appearance is a disguise for the flaky, buttery goodness. A perfect khari is one that is fluffy yet crunchy, retains its savoury flavour and doesn't leave a trace of grease on the roof of your mouth.
The first stop in the quest for the best khari in town was our all-time favourite Irani patisserie, Worli's City Bakery. The khari biscuits here are are sumptuous, fabulously soft and hold the right amount of crunch. With no greasy after-taste.
Next stop is Imdadiya bakery in Bohri Mohalla, abutting Mohammad Ali Road. Imdadiya's khari is unique for while the biscuit itself is soft, its topmost layer is hardened a bit more than normal, lending it a wee more crunch.
Paris Bakery in Dhobi Talao is another Parsi outlet that sells a variety of baked goodies. This is where we found the best (and at Rs100 for 250 grams, the priciest) khari in town. When you bite into one, it allows for enough room in the mouth to allow the palate to really taste and feel all of its layers come undone. The generous coats of butter tingle the taste buds without coating the top of your mouth. Fluffy, buttery and perfectly yellow-golden, Paris Bakery's khari is worth the amble along Dr Cawasji Hormusji Street.
It is also worth navigating through the crowd at Andheri for a stop at Merwan's. The khari biscuits here literally have a twist and are perfectly crunchy. But for the slightly greasy after-taste, Merwan's khari is near-perfect.

Bhurji
Should one go for akuri or a bhurji, or are they pretty much the same? Roshni Nair tries to find out as she hunts down the best bhurji in Mumbai

Hunting down the best bhurji in Mumbai is an ordeal. Not because the options are few, but because the parameters for what constitutes a good bhurji are so subjective. Should an ideal bhurji be well-done or slightly runny? Should it be generous with masalas and 'top-ups' like peas and potatoes or stick to the basics - chopped onions, tomatoes and chillies? Is the best accompaniment laadi pav, buttered toast or a member of the roti family? And does the Parsi akuri or scrambled egg fall under the bhurji umbrella?
If there's any consensus, it is that good bhurji must be well done, yet fluffy - and never bland. And since the akuri makes use of onion, chillies, turmeric powder and spices like ginger, garlic (optional) and jeera (cumin), we decided to include it in our hunt for the city's best bhurji.
It's no easy feat topping an akuri hunt in a city of Irani/Parsi joints, but Kyani & Co. does it nonetheless. This jewel in the crown of Kalbadevi has nearly 18 bhurji and akuri dishes, but it's their akuri on toast, cheese bhurji and chicken scrambled egg that stand out.
Though Kyani's akuri is a class apart, it gets beaten in the bhurji department by a rather unlikely contender – the Filmistan Studio canteen in Goregaon. Just ask those in the film industry - and we don't mean filmmakers or actors, but assistant directors, extras, spot boys and technicians. The nondescript canteen whips up the meanest bhurji in Mumbai. Its texture is oh-so-fluffy and the kitchen hands make things even better by tossing it in butter and a hint of red chilli powder, hing (asafoetida), onions and lots of coriander.
Then there are the late night saviours - Mohammad Nashir Pavbhaji & Bhurji Centre at the Mangal Jyot Building near Juhu Lane and Tukaram Kunwal Namdeo near Santacruz Station (W).

Kathi rolls
It took birth in Kolkata and found new life in New Delhi. Gargi Gupta tells you where to get the best kathi rolls in the Indian capital

The humble kathi roll, it is said, began life sometime in the 1930s in a small Kolkata eatery called Nizam's. It has since gone on to conquer the world with outposts in far off New York and London, where it has been quickly adapted as a variation of the tortilla and the spring roll. Nearer home, Delhi has been a happy convert. Street-side roll joints are a familiar sight in marketplaces dishing out a convenient-to-eat, not-to-expensive, filling and tasty - though a little oily - snack-meal. But ask Dilliwallahs, and there's near unanimity about where you'll find the best rolls in town.

Nizam's in Connaught Place - no connection with the Kolkata restaurant of the same name - is universally considered the most 'authentic'. Established in 1972, Nizam's Rolls are more Mughlai than Kolkata. So the parantha is thin, fried lightly brown, the filling is a shredded boti kebab - though they do the seekh and the tikka kabab too - and the filling is a tangy onion marinade. There's ketchup and green chutney on the side.

Khan Chacha in Khan Market is the other popular roll joint, though in its latest avatar it is actually quite a casual-chic eatery. Khan Chacha rolls are for the health conscious, the meet encased in a roomali roti with a light green chutney. There's definitely an old Delhi touch to the quality of meat: its tender, melt-in-your-mouth softness, and the crisp, but not too dry roti.

The kathi roll is infinitely mutable, and The Rolling Joint, a small, hole in the wall outlet in Connaught Place, dishes out what you could call the 'fusion' roll - the Greek Style gyro roll, served in a pita roll with shredded meat, tomatoes, onion and tzatziki sauce, the paneer Chettinad and the peri-peri chicken roll.

Guava cheese
Roshni Nair scouts for Mumbai's best guava cheese, a traditional Christmas delicacy

You'd think guava cheese would be easily available in venerable Bandra bakeries like Hearsch, A-1, American Express and Café Andora, but no. This fudge-like delight, a staple in most Christian homes especially during Christmas and New Year, is a rarity compared to other treats like milk cream, marzipan and jujubes. And this makes it harder to hunt the best one down.
Known as perad in Goa (goiabada in Portuguese), guava cheese is traditionally made with guava pulp, sugar and lime. Despite the seeming simplicity of the recipe, perad-making is tedious. The best produce comes in November-December, says Venecia Henriques. Henriques, a Bandra resident, has been helping daughter Valentina make guava cheese for the past five years. "Most of our sweets require a lot of stirring," she says. "But guava cheese has to be stirred, dried, and moulded to the T. Otherwise it becomes either too chewy or toffee-like."
"People like to eat guava cheese, but they don't like to make it," laughs Jean-Ann Cordeiro. Cordeiro, who's been making the delicacy for the past 26 years, says it takes her seven hours from the time of buying the fruit and deseeding it to setting the mixture for a bulk batch. It's imperative to choose the right fruit, she says, but most important is knowing when to take the boiled guava and sugar mixture off the flame to set. "It's all about the timing," she notes.
Henriques, Cordeiro, and others like Betty D'Souza take bulk orders, but guava cheese is also available at Mangalore General Stores in Mahim. We tried all four, and here are the results:
Valentina and Venecia Henriques: The Henriques' guava cheese (Rs800 per kilo) comes up tops because it's silken smooth - the other cheeses had a coarse texture - and strikes the right sugar balance. Their perad is also the only one devoid of food colour, a common ingredient in guava cheeses.
Next on the list is Betty D'Souza, whose guava cheese is a tad expensive (Rs900 per kilo), but still delectable. The perad available in Mangalore General Stores (Rs700 per kilo) hits the spot when it comes to taste, but loses out because it's grainy. Jean-Ann Cordeiro's guava cheese (Rs700 per kilo) bookends the list since her batch was slightly low on guava flavour and higher in sugar.

For orders, contact:
Valentina Henriques- 9833808105
Betty D'Souza- 9930076362
Jean-Ann Cordeiro- 9769722593/5706609236