An Irani mother-son duo's delivery service offers authentic flavours packed in juicy joojeh kebabs and fall-off-the-fork seekh
On weekends, Adil Baba lights up the coals in a sigree on the terrace of his Colaba residence. He skewers chicken chunks marinated with zaffran sourced from Iran and flattens minced mutton on a seekh the way it's done in Tehran. As the coal embers glow in the wrought-iron sigree, the 20-year-old barbecues each item, and offers them to Irani and Parsi friends craving a bite of authentic joojeh kebabs.
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Classic seekh kebab
It's on their insistence that Adil teamed up with his mother Maryam to start Irani Grills & BBQ recently. The delivery service offers barbecued fare and Iranian dishes prepared by Maryam on a pre-order basis. They also cater to party orders. "The recipes are traditional; I learnt them from my mother. Our cuisine isn't spicy, but we use a lot of herbs," informs Maryam, who was born in southern Iran and settled in Mumbai after she was married.
Chicken joojeh kebab platter with plain, spicy and BBQ sauce flavours
The latest add-ons to the menu include raan biryani, stews like khoresh gheymeh laced with split yellow peas and ghalieh mahi, a southern Iranian specialty featuring fish cooked in tamarind juice, and shirin polo cooked with candied citrus zest. "We visit Iran every year and source ingredients like dried vegetables, candied oranges and a special kind of mint," reveals Adil.
Choco chip brownie
Chicken tangdi
We savour this mint in ash (Rs 250), a comforting stew featuring leafy greens and chickpeas. It's topped with fried garlic pods that add pungency to the mildly spiced dish. Next, we try a platter of chicken joojeh kebabs (Rs 500 for 12 pieces), which come in aluminium foil boxes. They are offered in three flavours — plain, spicy and BBQ sauce. Our favourites are the spicy and BBQ varieties.
The items are prepared on a coal-fired barbecue at the Baba residence
Adil Baba with mother Maryam
The former are juicy and packed with flavour from a tandoori-style red masala. The barbecue sauce variety is redolent with sweet, spicy and smoke-y flavours, all blending with the soft meat. The chicken tangdi (Rs 250) tastes better when sprinkled with an accompanying red spice mix. Meanwhile, the classic seekh kebabs (Rs 250) play a delightful symphony in our mouth with their soft, crumbly texture and robust flavours of mint, onion and minced mutton. We end with decadent choco chip brownie slices (Rs 65), thrilled to have discovered this hidden Irani gem in the city.
TIME: 7 pm to 11.30 pm
DELIVERY AREA: Colaba to Worli (minimum order of Rs 500)
CALL: 9833423779
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