21/02/2023
The Sassanian boulangerie.
Bombay, 1913.
Walking into the beautiful boulangerie everything pauses. A grandfather clock ticks, pendulum swinging. Cinematic pictures of old Bombay take you back to the glory days. The air is sweet with the smell of freshly baked biscuits.
An elderly gentleman perched atop a bentwood chair reads the newspaper. Cups of sweet Irani chai make their way from one table to the next. And century old walls, tell stories of a forgotten time.
In conversation with Meherban Kola, a kind Parsi gentleman wearing a deep red velvet ‘topi’, black rimmed spectacles and a warm smile, I learn the histories of this Irani cafe.
It was founded by K.R Sasanian, as a bakery serving mava cakes, Kheema pav and bun muska.
In 1947, Meherban’s father working at Kyani’s became a partner.
Decades later, Meherban, a college professor, took over from his ailing father, and has run the cafe since. His wife, Ruhangeez, fondly called Rose, helped transform it into a boulangerie, adding plum cakes, butter khari, and the works.
Soon, parsi dishes like Dhansak were added to the menu, with the help of the founder’s granddaughter, an expert at parsi food.
At the time, Mr.Bhushan working at the Taj Hotel, taught them how to make ‘pure broth’ for sizzlers, turning Sassanian into a resturant with the city’s best.
Meherban talks passionately about his baking apparatus, a century old wood-fired oven. He talks about his esteemed clientele, featuring Helen, and Mumtaz in the days she lived at Moti Mahal, and government officers, deputies, police commissioners who still frequent their beloved neighbourhood haunt.
His favourite bakery items include, “the oldest and best wine biscuit”, and cashew makroom, as well as the bread pudding featured by the illustrious journalist Beram Contractor..
Biting into the freshly baked puffs, inhaling the sweet scented air of this boulangerie, I am transported into a time where is a black and white photograph, with horse drawn carriages, ambassadors and tram cars.
- Anushka Gupta (On the behalf of community, bavapanti would like to thank for highlighting our culture.).
