Rustom Batlivala, Balewadi high street
Rustom Batlivala is a cosy little joint – opened right where Cafe Mestizo used to exist. A brainchild of Chef Deepu. G. Alamchandani (of the mestizo and Bombay Diaries fame), they attempt to dish out some authentic Parsi cuisine.
On Monday, I landed up here with my team for office. We were 3 non vegetarians and 2 vegetarians. And we pretty much ploughed through the entire menu! Here’s what we enjoyed
Mutton Berry Pulao
Glistening red berries sparkling in mounds of fluffy basmati rice, their brilliant color offset with the hue of saffron rice flakes and the white cashew slivers. Layered rice and mutton topped with Iranian Zereshk Berries and cashew slivers – this is a dish fit for the persian kings. Do NOT miss this when at Rustom Batlivala.
Dhansak with Brown Rice – Mutton
RB does justice to this Parsi delicacy. The masala is thick and creamy and ruch and has that slight sweet after taste that you associate with dhansak. The mutton pieces are perfectly cooked. My only request was to serve mutton balls alongside, to make it more authentic. The veg variant of the classic was just as delicious as the Mutton one. Well, almost 😋
Mutton Biryani
The Chef seems to have carried over this classic from the Mestizo menu. Delicious, rich, well cooked mutton – soul food.
Bhutta Karari Tikka
Made from a mix of fresh American sweet corn and crushed up corn flakes, topped with pink salt, the combination of sweet n salty, crunchy and gooey makes it a fab starter.
Naram Dil Kabab
Heart shaped deep fried crusted kababs wifh a soft paneer filling. These were more on the sweet side with a strong flavor of elaichi. Unique flavor, but may not go down well with everyone due to the sweetness.
Kheema Pav
The veg version was pav bhaji that tasted like mutton kheema. Super delicious, the vegetarian folks ordered this twice! The Mutton kheema pav was yummy, medium spicy, just perfect.
Total bill for the above food came to ~2500 (for 5 people). They have an upto 100% cashback offer going on. You enter your number and you get an sms telling you how much cashback you win. I, luckily, got a 100% cashback. So I ended up visiting again, last night, where Sangeeta and I gorged on some delicious dhansak and berry pulao.
Yep. 2 visits in 5 days. Thats how great it is. Loved it!
Ps: the quantities are small-ish. Each dish is about a single person serving. Prices are decent, so you can happily order 2 mains 🙂
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