Ever since Batlivala & Khanaboy launched over a year ago in Chennai, they have impressed with their authentic take on Parsi food, sticking to original recipes and flavours. As an ardent non-vegetarian I cannot complain, but their menu is known to be a tad generous to the meat section. Attempting to keep it on an even keel, their newest additions to the menu, introduced last month on the occasion of Navroze (the Parsi New Year), panders to the vegetarians in the city. Bringing to the table a more extensive range of vegetarian dishes, ranging from patru nu paneer and papeta na pattice, the chain, owned by Coimbatore-based Pricol Group, intends to retain this new menu for quite a while, while non-vegetarian dishes like mamaiji’s prawn kebabs and bhujelu gosht are also expected to continue raking in repeat orders by the dozen.
During a quiet weekday dinner, we sampled all the dishes in the menu, except for the kheema per edu which we skipped this time. The papeta na pattice (stuffed with potatoes and mint chutney inside), served first, was in stark contrast to the masala nu bhunjelu gosht (lamb) if their salt content was to be compared. The latter impressed with its fine balance in flavour and taste, coupled with well-marinated meat. Mamaiji’s prawn kebabs are inspired from an age-old recipe, while the atheli murgh turned out to be the sweetest item so far due to the higher sugar content added while preparing the gravy. Until we got the chicken dhansak, that came with a bowl of sweet flavoured rice. The atheli murgh is best had with a couple of rotis, along with which we also had the khara tarela bheeda (fried ladies finger). In the end, we finish our meal with a creamy lagan nu custard and a lip-smacking santra ni kheer.
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