A festive binge

Both Parsi Navroze (New Year) and Bakr-Id are festivals designed for gluttonous eating. And while khamiri roti and mutton nihari are a veritable breakfast of champions, trudging through the rain and standing in an endless queue in front of hole-in-the-wall street stalls is not a pleasurable option. Far more elusive is an invitation to a Parsi home for a traditional Navroze bhonu (ceremonial feast). And while those in western India can check into a neighbourhood Irani café, people in other states can only mourn.

Two restaurants, The Bombay Canteen in Mumbai and SodaBottleOpenerWala (Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad), are offering a special menu for those who want the real deal. Tongue, trotters, liver, kidneys, udders, tripe—The Bombay Canteen offers a culinary celebration of various parts of the goat. From the spicy khiri tikkas of Mumbai’s Mohammed Ali Road to Awadhi biryanis from Lucknow’s Aminabad, it’s offering a nose-to-tail feast. Expect dishes like a Kerala-style tongue pepper fry taco, an east Indian kapoora fugia, and end it with a malpua with goat cheese ice cream. At SodaBottleOpenerWala, patrons can look beyond dhansak and patrani machhi and try a fried mackerel, jardaloo ma murghi, mutton masala pulav or even a paneer patrani.

The Navroz Dronu is available at SodaBottleOpenerWala till 24 August and costs ₹ 700 without alcohol. The Nose To Tail dinner at The Bombay Canteen is on 19 August, 8pm onwards, and costs ₹ 3,500.