This Sunday, go beyond shawarma to relish vegetarian Egyptian street fare at a Khar pop-up
An undated photograph of Bhakti Mehta Khatri’s grandparents (seated at the head of the table), enjoying a meal with friends and family in Cairo
In 1926, en route its journey from Sudan to India, a liner halted at a port in Egypt. A young Gujarati gentleman named Nautamlal Tejpal, who was aboard the ship — returning to home turf after helping a cousin set up business — alighted and fell in love with the sprawling Egyptian land. He decided to stay back and set up a business of trading spices in Cairo. He married an Indian woman and migrated his family to the Egyptian capital, which became home for his progeny, including his granddaughter, Bhakti Mehta Khatri.
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Ful and Tameya
The 30-year-old Mumbai-born, Cairo-bred Khatri, who grew up tucking into vegetarian Egyptian street fare (the family being strictly vegetarian) before heading to the States to study digital marketing and shifting base to Khar post marriage, will relive her childhood memories via a vegetarian pop-up titled Kitchens Of Cairo. Presented by The Gourmet Food Company as part of a series that highlights forgotten cuisines and cultures, the pop-up will seat 12 guests and be held at Khatri’s residence this Sunday.
Umm Ali
Ful, not half
While the family cooked Gujarati meals at home (her grandmother also carried a ghanti or flour mill to Cairo as the flour there was too coarse to make rotis), Fridays meant gorging on Egyptian food in the streets or at restaurants. “Apart from shawarma, most street food is vegetarian. An onion, garlic and tomato gravy is the base for most dishes and you get vegetables like potato, cabbage, carrot and green peas. Herbs like dill, coriander and cilantro are also integral to the cooking,” says Khatri.
Khoushari
Her favourite dish is Ful (also known as Ful Medames), cooked with fava beans; she will be serving it at the pop-up. “It’s similar to rajma and a staple in Egypt, often stuffed as a sandwich in pita bread. It's slow-cooked over night in a cone-shaped vessel known as damasa,” she adds. Traditionally, Ful is served bland, with accompaniments like coriander powder, red chilli powder, chillies, lemon and olive oil, to be mixed as per taste by the guest. However, Khatri will offer a chaat-like mix of fava beans with onion, cucumber, tomatoes and spices.
Another inexpensive Egyptian staple on the menu is Tameya, resembling a falafel. While the Lebanese counterpart is made with chickpeas, this version includes yellow fava beans and dill leaves. “I have made the dishes with recipes sourced from my mother and Egyptian friends,” says Khatri.
No beef, please
Each dish at the pop-up comes with a story of its origin. Case in point: A traditional Egyptian puff pastry made with dry fruits, honey, cinnamon and milk known as Umm Ali (translated as mother of Ali). Legend has it that the dessert came about Shagaret El Dorr, the second wife of Ezz El-Din Aybek (Egyptian ruler of Ayyubid dynasty) arranged for her rival Umm Ali to be murdered and to celebrate, she requested her cooks to come up with a delicious dessert which was distributed across the streets with a gold coin. Till date, the dish is known as Umm Ali.
Meanwhile, Khatri has also tweaked the popular Mediterranean eggplant-beef baked dish, Moussaka (or Messa’aa), to suit the vegetarian palate. “I only layer the dish with fried eggplant and tomato sauce. In Greek cuisine, they bake it with raw eggplant,” she sums up.
On: October 23, 12.30 pm to 2 pm
At: Khar (W).
Log on to: www.tgfc.co.in
Cost: Rs 999
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