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Bandra’s The Curry Brothers to host Khoja Festival between Feb 16 & 28
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Thursday, 15 February, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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The Curry Brothers, Bandra (West), will host the Khoja Festival between February 16 and 28, 2018. It is the brainchild of Neha Manekia, a Khoja by birth, a chef by occupation and the wife of the restaurant’s chef and co-owner Joshua.
Offering a historical insight, she said, “My ancestors came to Gujarat from Iran. Three generations ago, we settled in Mumbai. Hence, Khoja cuisine is heavily influenced by Iranian and Gujarati cuisine.”
“A well-guarded secret, it is little known outside the community. However, I hope to change that through The Curry Brothers,” she said, adding that people are more familiar with the cuisine of the Bohris, a sister community of the Khojas.
“Bohri cuisine has recently been popularised. Although our cuisine is similar in thought, it is different in execution. While Bohri cuisine is typically low on heat, that of the Khojas isn’t,” Manekia explained, adding that while some of the dishes are similar, they are completely different as far as the taste is concerned.
“The meats in our cuisine have the Iranian influence,” she said, adding, “This menu includes Raan, a slow-cooked leg of meat in a spicy and tangy sauce, which has been smoked on live charcoal.”
“The Gujarati influence is evident from such dishes as a thicker version of the Thepla, sans the vegetables. “It contains a lot of jaggery, and is served for dessert,” Manekia said.
“There is also a dish called Muthiya, which is a slow-cooked stew of beans, vegetables and mutton. It is a non-vegetarian cousin of the Gujarati undhiyu, but it is not sweet,” she added.
Manekia added that each of the desserts, which were made from her great-grandmother’s recipes, contained ghee (which, according to the latter, was a cure for everything).
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