Bohri food slowly making its way to commercialized kitchens

The Bohri cuisine has indeed come a long way. Dawoodi Bohras, who are considered to be a sect within Shia Islam, originated in Yemen and soon spread to the different parts of the world and which is why the cuisine has influences from all the places it has been. Today a significant number of Bohras are living in countries like Yemen, Africa, Pakistan and the Middle East. The cuisine has also a major influence of Gujarati food as a result of early settlement of Bohras in Gujarat before they spread to Mumbai.

This cuisine has kebabs and tikkas, which is influenced by the Mughlai cuisine. It also has dishes influenced from Arabic culture. However, the question is that despite being so rich, unique and distinct, why is it still not considered to be among those well known and culturally rich cuisines we have? In a wake of people getting more adventurous in exploring different food and culture, some restaurateurs are getting on board to offer this cuisine via various pop-ups, events and food festivals.

Home chefs, who play an important role in disseminating different regional cuisines, are now being invited to restaurants’ kitchens to organize the pop-ups. Not only this provides diners a different experience but also gives home chefs a chance to showcase their talent out of their home kitchen.

What started in 2014 as fun experiment to keep Mom-Chef busy, ‘The Bohri Kitchen’ has now turned into one of the most sought after dining experiences in Bombay. The Bohri Kitchen in Mumbai is serving authentic bohri food since last four years and has fed over 4000+ guests in Colaba. The menu changes every weekend but the experience of sitting around a thaal and gorging oneself with 7 brilliant courses of home-cooked Bohri delicacies stays the same.

While various restaurants have now come up with Bohri cuisine in their menu, there are other restaurants, which are organizing various pop-ups to give diners an experiential gastronomic experience with this cuisine. For instance, Hotel Sahara Star, one of the luxurious hotels in the country is hosting a pop-up called The Bohri Food Festival, where it will be serving Bohri dishes to its customers.  As part of Cultures of Mumbai Food Festival, after having a successful run with the Parsi Pop up, the hotel will now host unique delicacies of Bohri food.

Chef Alifya and Chef Aziz Amrelliwala will take customers on to a culinary delight of traditional Bohri recipes from 11^th to 24^th October at Earthplate, Hotel Sahara Star. Bohri Chicken Cutlet, Bohra White Mutton, Daal Ka Samosa, Daba Gosht and Khichada are some of the dishes, which will be a part of the menu to tantalize the taste buds.

Bohri’s believe in eating food from a thaal, which is laid on a tarakti. The thought behind it is that the families, who eat together, stay together. Bohri meals are incomplete without a dessert. The meal starts with a dessert and is ended with a Paan and Mukhwas. With not just the delectable bohri dishes, the restaurant will provide a soulful environment with a mix of Sufi, Gujarati folk lore and Bollywood music.