A bite of Iran in Mumbai

Try the eggplant hummus dip it39s deliciousrdquo my host quips Normally I wouldnrsquot oblige since eggplant is not my favourite vegetable but restaurateur AD Singh says it with such conviction that I give it a shot Almost immediately I thank him for showing me the path to nirvana I want this recipe now I demand Ghormey Sabzi made of lamb and veggies Jojeh Kebab and u00a0Shirin Polo will be on the menu at the Iranian festival at Olive Bar amp Kitchen starting November 15 We are sitting at Singhrsquos flagship restaurant the Olive Bar amp Kitchen at Bandra enjoying a rather early lunch at 1030 am But there is a reason for this madness AD and I are the first two people in Mumbai to sample a meal that promises to bowl over the cityrsquos food lovers next week mdash an Iranian food fest at Olive presented by chef Nasrin Karimi mdash the owner of Chennairsquos bestknown Iranian restaurant Shiraz and perhaps the only truly Iranian restaurant owner in India she grew up in Iran and only moved to India three decades ago for her college degree The food flows as Chef Karimi serves us one dish after another smiling away and insisting we finish each of the items We are not complaining since most of the stuff is good enough to lure a saint from the path of abstinence The Shirin Pulo orange peel pulav with saffron wins us over with the aroma even before we taste it The Jojeh Kebab a boneless charcoalgrilled chicken with mint and basil melts in the mouth Itrsquos amazingly soft and has been marinated for hours as has the Ghormeh Sabzi R480 mdash a lamb cooked with fresh herbs there is a veg variation too Olive will host the Iranian food festival from November 15 to 21 and the a la carte menu will be open for dinner on all days ldquoIt will be a short menu but will have enough for those who love their meat and fish as well as for vegetariansrdquo says Karimi We compliment her on what is already the best Iranian meal wersquove had by a mile and thatrsquos saying a lot when one has dined at every surviving IranianPersian restaurant in Mumbai Itrsquos then that Chef Karimi stuns us by admitting that she didnrsquot know how to cook till she was 30yearsold ldquoI moved to India when I was 20 to study Population Sciences at Madras University That was way back in the early 1980s When I decided to stay on in India after marrying a fellow Iranian student we got ourselves business visas and started a stainedglass painting business It was only in my early 30s that I started cooking when doctors treating me for bone degeneration told me I had to change my lifestyle of eating out all the timerdquo she says In 2010 she opened Shiraz mdash a fine dine Iranian restaurant in the heat of Chennai that serves ldquofood as you would get in Iranian homesrdquo Shiraz incidentally is also the name of her birthplace in Iran ldquoAll my dishes are free of any preservations or additives All our meat dishes are mixed with herbs and a lot of vegetables Iranians also use a lot of fruits to cook and many of my dishes carry on that traditionrdquo she tells us as she plates up the Fesejan R650 mdash chicken slowcooked in pomegranate juice with walnuts The gravy is tangy and a bit sweet and while we love pairing it with the mildly spicy rice Karimi says some people may not like the taste so much But the plum chicken and the Aash R310 a wholesome soup made with rice lentils rajma and peas mixed with herbs take our breath away The latter tastes ohsoIndian as does the Ghelyehi Mahi R 510 fish with an infusion of herbs such as spinach celery and cilantro But then India and Iran have enjoyed trade relations for thousands of years bringing herbs and recipes from one shore to another I leave Olive happily full promising myself that this is one food fest I would return to when it opens on November 15 We cannot rate the experience as it was a preview WHERE Olive bar amp Kitchen off Carter Road Khar West WHEN November 1521 for dinneru00a0