Bohri Mohalla’s Firoz Farsan. Now playing on The Finely Chopped on YouTube

Biryani without rice?

I’ve come across this only twice. One is the kappa (tapioca) biryani at the Keralite Sneha restaurant in Mahim. Though some Keralites have told me that this beef based dish is not called biryani in Kerala.

The other is the very unique Patrel biryani made in Firoz Farsan, the close to a century old shop in Bohri Mohalla. The patrel biryani is unique to the Bohri family which runs the shop and was started by the ancestors of the current owners.

It’s a bit of an ironical dish as it takes patrel (steamed coulcasia leaves), that vegetarian Gurjaratis love, and combines it with beef or buff meat! They make a chicken version on Sundays at Firoz. The demand for beef is more here I am told. Maharashtrians call patrel aruwadi.

The other thing to buy here is the very unique patra bhajiya, a namkeen like snack made with patrel.

You can also try buying the Bohri breakfast favourites such as the masala puri (like a Punjabi mathri) to have with chai.

During Ramzan they also make Bohri wedding favourites such as the Russian cutlet (like a Parsi lacey cutlet) and cream kebabs (so named because the chicken is marinated in white sauce), the unique chicken hangama (where the chicken is marinated with ‘Chinese sauces’) and the very non-Oriental and colourful satays and wantons. Everything gets over by 7.30 pm though as they give away everything left after Sehri to charity.

Watch this video on The Finely Chopped where the current owner of Feroze Farsan, Mr Zohar, talks me through the delights of his shop