How does a Parsi gentleman sitting in America’s capital reduce wait time between dreaming of flaky buttery khari biscuits and plump bhakras and having them land at his doorstep just in time for afternoon tea? Members of the Zoroastrian community in India, several of them now scattered across the world, love their traditional eats, and most of them are particular about the sourcing.

Mumbai’s best kharis are baked in the ovens of the modest but legendary Paris bakery in a lane off Princess Street in Dhobi Talao. Started in the 1960s by an Iranian migrant, its front show counter is unadorned, stuffed with plastic packed goodies. But it can’t accommodate the khari biscuits that fly off so fast, they must be stocked in giant plastic crates stacked atop one another. Proprietor Danesh Nejadkay will tell you with pride that his kharis are brushed with pure butter and ghee, its layers so flimsy, you can see through them (almost) when you held against the light.