Navroze Nom Nom

The cafe also offers sandwiches, salads, wraps and baked savoury items.

Set up in an outhouse of a bungalow tucked inside the leafy Dadar Parsi Colony, Cafe 792 is difficult to spot if you are not familiar with the area. However, ask any old Parsi man for directions and you are bound to hear praises for this quaint cafe.

Run by Jehan Nargolwala and her partner Danish, Cafe 792 has gathered quite a following for its authentic Parsi dishes. Barely a month old, Cafe 792 plans to function primarily as a take-away joint with only a few tables set up in the veranda and the garden. The fixed menu, which is set for the entire month, has dishes ranging from Chicken Dhansak, Dhan Dal Prawn Patio — rice with gravy to Berry Pulao, Chicken Farcha and Lagan Nu Custard. “I chalk out a month’s menu as many Parsis living in the neighborhood are old and find it difficult to cook. I send out the menu on the 25th of every month, so that they can plan their meals and place an order with me,” says Nargolwala, a mother of two.

Apart from the traditional fare, the cafe also stocks up on fresh sandwiches, salads, wraps and baked savoury items such as Ham and Cheese Croissant, a hot-seller, and quiches. Nargolwala sources her dishes from her neighbours, friends and relatives. For instance, the Chicken Dhansak is made by her mother, her paneer is sourced from an 89-year-old Parsi grandmother and another friend sends over her carrot cakes, made with paneer that make them soft.

On our visit, we sampled the home-made Chicken Dhansak with Parsi brown rice, laden with oodles of pure ghee and a healthy sprinkle of caramelised onion. The dhansak had a creamy texture and the meat had that quintessential melt-in-mouth quality. We will definitely put the cafe on our go-to list for comfort food in the city and have already planned a second visit.

meenakshi.iyer@expressindia.com