20 March,2014 09:15 AM IST | | Fiona Fernandez
Iconic artist, late MF Husain, a regular at Noor Mohammadi, was so besotted by their popular dish Nalli Nihari that once during a visit in 2003, he created a sketch of a rooster calling out to it
Opened in 1923 by Abdul Karim, Noor Mohammadi has been a landmark on Mumbai's culinary map. Back then, it sold only the Nalli Nihari, one of its lip-smacking specialties.
Iconic artist, late MF Husain, a regular at this eatery, was so besotted by this dish that once during a visit in 2003, he created a sketch of a rooster calling out to Noor Mohammadi's Nalli Nihari.
Present owner Abdul Khalid looks at the MF Husain masterpiece that graces his eatery. Pic/Shadab Khan
Before Partition, Karim's son Abdul Hakim expanded it into an eating house. In 1985, when third-generation owner, Abdul Khalid took over, he converted it into a sit-down restaurant. Not to be overwhelmed by the Nihari and the star-inspired Chicken Sanju Baba - a recipe donated by actor Sanjay Dutt - the fast-selling Beef Shammi Kebabs cannot be missed.
Cooked in the restaurant's outer foyer, on a busy sidewalk, the whiff of tender, spiced beef mince balls prepared on a butter-greased pan make it worth a visit.