Explore Kurla's hottest eateries serving delicious non-vegetarian fare

There is a 107yearold Jewish prayer hall with a Mangaloretiled roof that we pass every day A 400yearold East Indian settlement isnt too far The Kurla quarries supplied stone for the construction of the Prince of Wales Museum now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and the General Post Office among other prominent city structuresThis writerrsquos home stands on the land where the Premier Automobiles factory once reigned It made the iconic Premier Padmini and collaborated with Chrysler to manufacture Dodge Plymouth and Desoto models in India ldquoThe SalsetteTrombay Railway that ran from Trombay to Andheri went via Kurlardquo says architect and heritage enthusiast Rahul Chemburkar ldquoThough it lasted only a few years it was an important aspect of the cityrdquoWhat magnificent history this neighbourhood by the Mithi river has witnessed Clearly it is more than a ghetto for the Muslim community as it is now seen ldquoThe land originally belonged to the East Indians fisherfolk and farmersrdquo continues Chemburkar ldquoThe arrival of cotton mills and other industries drew labour from across the state The story of Kurla is an evolving one and if you dig deeper youll find many layersrdquoScrap business burgeoned here in the 1970s and 80s with key players arriving from small towns in Uttar Pradesh such as Gonda and Basti With them came their cuisine and small establishments along Lal Bahadur Shastri Road served itIn the last 15 years a part of the road stretching from Kurla bus depot to Phoenix Market City has seen several holeinthewall eateries with dastarkhwanstyle seating crop up In some sense a miniMohammed Ali Road the arrival of big guns such as Noor Mohammadi Persian Darbar and Delhi Zaika cemented the reputation Though there are no shopping avenues here itrsquos hard not to draw a comparison From shawarma to seekh paratha nihari and barra its nonvegetarian culinary offerings make it a meat lovers haunt Sunday midday walked the stretch and sampled goodies with chefrestaurateurs Yajush Malik of Gallops and Ashesh L Sajnani of The Bombay Food Truck and Le CafeKheema for breakfastSahara Hotel is famous for many things but we choose their kheema pav R105 to discuss here with you Available only in the mornings we had to make a fresh trek the next day to savour it We try the kheema fry Rs 126 too ldquoThe kheema fry has added chillies tomato and cardamom and I recommend it to anyone keen on having a heavy breakfast that can see them through to dinnerrdquo says SajnaniNihariIn Shalimar ki Gali we stop at the new arrival Qureshi Kebab It hawks just two dishesmdashkebab and niharimdashwith tandoori roti Malik dips his fingers into the halfplate Rs 250 to check the greasinessmdashthe benchmark of a good nihari He is satisfied ldquoThe taste is strong he says you get the kick of black pepper and it fulfils the requirement of being a nourishing meal originally made by royal chefs in Lucknow to feed workers who built the imambara The broth is rich and flavourful but the roti is disappointingrdquo This khameeri roti Rs 10 he says is made with sodaChicken PeshawariThe chicken Peshawari Rs 460 at Delhi Zaika is present on every table of this narrow threestoried eatery that also has private family dining rooms Unfortunately it doesnrsquot live up to its fame The dish has tandoori chicken cooked in a yellow creamy sauce ldquoI am not sure if this is a oneoff error but the tandoori chicken is hard the sauce hasnrsquot seeped in and itrsquos swimming unnecessarily in butter Therersquos nothing to likerdquo is Sajnanis verdictMutton barraJanta Tawa and Grill is known for startersmdashmany make a meal of them We are welcomed by rows of whole chickens on skewers marinating in red yellow orange and green masalas ready to be roasted We go up the narrow stairs to the tiny seating space that densely packs four tables donrsquot ask how We call for the chicken barra but are told the mutton barra Rs 320 is better It is ldquoThe meat is soft wellcooked and smokeymdashjust like barra should be But I think he added more butter than he should have when he saw we were carrying camerasrdquo says MalikSeekh parathaMost people have two favourites on the opposite side of the street at Laziz Seekh Parathamdashthe buff seekh R15 and chicken seekh R40 that comes with chutney onion rings pudina and lemon A deepfried paratha that looks like a bhatura accompanies it The buff one is spicy flavourful juicy and perfectly cooked is Maliks verdict It doesnt smell gamey and isnrsquot dry The paratha is gold almost like a savoury malpuardquo He made a roll adding the chutney and onion Lajawab is where the boys say they had a better time because the ldquomeat is softer and juicier than Laziz especially in the chicken variantrdquo Sajnani would like to come back for moreShawarmaTaj King Shawarma has salads and more than 12 variants of chicken shawarmaTaj King Shawarma has two outlets within 100 metres Slabs of skewered chicken roasted on a side pit are cut and wrapped in pita breadmdashwhatrsquos not to like Therersquos always a queue here so he must be doing something differently We try the chicken shawarma Rs 60 and the Taj King special Rs 100Both taste good but our companions are partial to the special ldquoThis is the Maharaja Mac of shawarmamdashtherersquos more chicken cheese lettuce instead of cabbage jalapentildeo purple cabbage and cheese sauce That makes it softer and more flavourfulrdquo thinks MalikFaloodaIt is time to end our eatathon with something sweet Baba Falooda of Mahim fame started this outlet two years ago and not once have we seen this place empty From a limited menu we pick the royal chocolate and green pista both Rs 145 and a scoop of their famous kesar pista ice cream Rs 95ldquoIm upset Ive never had this before says Sajnani The kesar pista is right up there and better than even notable brandsrdquo Malik likes the falooda because ldquoit is filled to the brimmdashsimple loaded and not overly sweetrdquo At 1230 am on a weekday the street is still buzzing but we must call it a nightBiryaniBirista is a relatively new establishment that serves biryani in a pot As the steward opens the parda on the mutton barista biryani double R630 pot the aroma wafts out But our excitement is short lived It tastes like a biryani made with sour premix masala The marriage of the mutton and masala and the flavour of dum is missing ldquoWersquoll passrdquo says SajnaniSanju Baba comes to KurlaIconic Mughlai restaurant Noor Mohammadi Hotel opens doors in the burbsDuring Ramzan everyone who goes to Mohammed Ali Road on a food trail has Bhendi Bazaarrsquos legendary Noor Mohammadi Hotel on their list The Sanju Baba chicken is a sensation but their chicken korma mutton hakimi haleem and nalli nihari are famous too Back in 2000 they were the first to veer away from the masalaladen biryani when Raashid Hakim the thirdgeneration owner made white biryani and offered it to his actor friend Sanjay Dutt ldquoThis was before white biryani became common on restaurant and wedding menus Baba loved it and shared the recipe of his favourite chickenmdashwe added it to our menu It has remained a hit sincerdquo says HakimNext year Noor Mohammadi started by Hakimrsquos grandfather Abdul Kareem will hit a century Now the reins are in the hands of the fourth generation Raashidrsquos son Daanish and nephew Wajahat who run the show in Mumbai and Dubai Next weekend they inaugurate their second branch in Kurla ldquoKurla is the new hub of good nonveg foodmdashthe timing is idealrdquo says Hakim The Kurla outlet will have regular dastarkhwan and terrace seating and new tava items like bheja gurda and kaleji to boast of