06 August,2026 09:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Nandini Varma
A course of Shami Kebabs, Mango Halwa, and Chicken Koyla on mini parathas with Mango Salsa. Pics courtesy/A feast with friends
Two Bandra-based sisters, Tasneem Mukadam and Insiya Tambawala, decided that the city needed to be introduced to the Bohri cuisine. The cuisine is shaped by years of trade and voyages, bringing together flavours from around the Indian Ocean: Persian, Yemeni, Mughlai, with influences from Gujarat and East Africa. The duo started A Feast with Friends, their monthly initiative, in February this year. The objective was to invite strangers for a hearty eight-course traditional Bohri meal over a Sunday. This Sunday will be their eighth sit-down at their home.
A group of diners at a previous thaal experience
"Our mum and nani have been great cooks," Mukadam tells us, revealing how their friends always relished meals at their place and insisted they start a dabbaservice. "I've been a working corporate person for about 25 years, but of late, I have had the time for this." As a Bohri Muslim, she enjoys being a part of a big group of cousins. "We eat on the thaal, a big metal platter with eight people sitting around it," she elaborates. This uniqueness of their culture was what the duo wanted to bring to people in the city who came from various parts of the country to make a living.
Mutton Bhuna with flaky parathas
"We create an alternating pattern of sweet and savoury, followed by main course. It's a shipwreck party where we begin with the mitha first, like an ice cream. Then you'll have a non-vegetarian platter with lamb or chicken and another sweet dish: a souffle or a choice of ice cream. Another khara like Shami kebabs is next, followed by biryani, a cocktail pulao, Kheema Pulao, or a traditional Dal Chawal Palidu (spiced lentils and rice with a tangy gram flour vegetable curry)."
With the founders' mother, the chief chef (centre, in yellow)
They also have drinks like homemade Aam Panna or an almond or broccoli soup Mukadam realised that there were several single people in the city who missed their families and home, and often ordered food from restaurants to their apartments. Through the initiative, she tells us, "Apart from being served a home-cooked meal, one is getting to meet seven other strangers, and they leave being friends."
The special Sheerkurma for an Eid thaal made by their mother
The sisters also prepare an ice-breaker, a friendly game of crossword, for the guests to get comfortable with each other as well as test how well they know the food they would be eating. The winner gets a gift. "We end it all with paan shots, which my sister makes because some people don't like leaves in a traditional paan." A lot of it is borrowed from their nani's recipes.
Bohri Masala Chicken with Gravy
The effort is to preserve the Bohri culture and traditions which are dying, Mukadam observes. "Only if you're invited for a wedding or a birthday, do you get to eat in this set-up," with not many Bohri restaurants around. Going forward, they're hoping to visit people's homes for small gatherings and introduce the cuisine to more people.
Tasneem Mukadam and Insiya Tambawala
"If you want to party, and you're tired of the same menu, you could get us to come home, and we could do two thaals for 16 friends," so they can leave having tried something new, and licking their fingers clean.
Dal Chawal Palidu with dahi and Baingan Bharta, a traditional Bohri dish
>> Shami Kebabs
>> Nihari with Sheermal
>> Dal Chawal Palidu with Baingan Bharta
ON August 9; 1 pm
AT Bandra West (detailed address in the invite)
REGISTER @afeastwithfriends
