“Sweet, sour and spicy”

On a bustling main road in the Adhchini market area of South Delhi, surrounded by posh housing colonies, stands a new landmark. Rustom’s Parsi Bhonu introduces home style Parsi cuisine to the food map of India’s capital city.
Rustom’s opened its restaurant doors formally on February 14, 2015, though home delivery orders were being catered to since early January 2015. The charming 20-seater, five table diner is reminiscent of the interior of an old Parsi home with its special floor tiles, period furniture, a room divider replete with white lace curtains and an antique crockery cupboard. While the ’60s music plays in the background, frames from renowned filmmaker Sooni Taraporevala’s exhibition, "Parsis — The Zoroastrians of India,” are prominently displayed on the restaurant’s walls.

Kainaz Contractor and Rahul Dua

Kainaz Contractor, the smiling, 28-year-old effervescent co-owner of Rustom’s details how she moved into the hospitality industry after completing her graduation. She joined the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi as a management trainee and later became a restaurant manager in Bombay. She then moved on to food writing with Timeout magazine in Bombay, before reviewing food and curating content as an assistant food editor for BBC Good Food magazine. She arrived in Delhi in June 2014 all set to launch her Parsi restaurant with business partner Rahul Dua, a wine sommelier turned chef/restaurateur with international experience, who serves up unique Indian delicacies at his popular eatery Café Lota at Pragati Maidan, Delhi. Dua shares Contractor’s passion for Parsi cuisine which he describes as, "wholesome, unique, comfort food which one can eat every day.”
Rustom’s is named after Contractor’s father, Vice Admiral Rustom F. Contractor (retd) who is clearly the young entrepreneur’s guiding light. Rustom’s forte lies in the fact that the restaurateur sources the most authentic ingredients for her kitchen like vinegar from Kolahs, Pallonji’s sodas from Bombay and her aunt’s homemade masalas from Nagpur, which are incorporated into her family’s traditional recipes.
Rustom’s is a fulfilment of Contractor’s personal goal. "I had decided I would have my own home style Parsi eatery before I turned 30,” she confesses. "Here I am to achieve my dream!” she adds with pride.
Contractor’s primary challenge in setting up Rustom’s was designing and executing the restaurant’s interiors, all by herself, coordinating with workers. Training her staff of four cooks was the next challenge. "It is most important to perfect the blend of sweet, sour and spicy in our cuisine,” she states. Contractor continues to oversee the purchases and kitchen functions personally.

Parsi delicacies available at Rustom’s

"My food is ordered primarily by non-Parsis and is much appreciated by the (North Indian) Delhi crowd, particularly those who have heard of Parsi food before,” she reveals. Rustom’s presence on Facebook and articles in publications such as The Indian Express, Mint, The Times of India and GQ magazine have generated many home delivery orders which contribute 60% of her business at present. The restaurant is open from 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. daily, with the diner doing good business since its launch, while the home delivery section has received several repeat orders.
Parsi cuisine has had a presence in Delhi for many years catered by the legendary Dhun Bagli at the Delhi Parsi Dharamshala. More recently, Soda Bottle OpenerWala, styled on the Bombay Irani café, under the aegis of restaurateur A. D. Singh has also popularized Irani-Parsi fare in the Delhi NCR (National Capital Region), paving the way for a recognition of Parsi cuisine at Contractor’s home style Parsi eatery.
The Contractor family’s naval background led them to travel all over India. Kainaz and her brother Firdaus changed 10 schools. While Kainaz completed her BCom and entered the hotel industry, her brother is currently pursuing higher education in Australia. Their parents, Rustom and Thrity, settled in their hometown Nagpur, on retirement.
"Since we travelled a lot across the country and lived in naval housing, I have had no real exposure to Parsi community living, other than for short periods in Bombay and Nagpur and interacting with the community there,” reveals Kainaz. Though she is proud to be a Parsi and greatly respects the religion, she wishes there was more leniency for women marrying outside the community. While she would prefer to marry a Parsi, she reiterates that "Parsi women should not be shunned for marrying outside the fold.”
Kainaz is interested in New Indie music bands and the Bombay-based bands (many of whom have Parsis as lead singers). She is also a movie lover and avid reader. Her choice of reading material varies from (The Economic Times correspondent and food critic) Vikram Doctor to food writer Shobha Narayan. She does not have much time for her hobbies at present, as her restaurant occupies all her waking hours. She however, continues to remain active on social networking sites which also serve to promote her venture.

(Above) The Contractors (from l): Firdaus, Thrity, Rustom and Kainaz; (left) interiors; (top) the team behind Rustom’s

Explaining her choice of Delhi as the city to launch her restaurant in, Kainaz states that Bombay seems to be saturated in terms of opportunities (for success) of new Parsi eateries. Delhi, she felt would be very welcoming of an outlet for Parsi cuisine. Its green, wide open spaces appealed to her even during her three-year school stint as a child. Also, "Delhi has affordable housing and a better quality of life,” she says. The incessant traffic or reputation as being unsafe for women are no deterrent to this young woman’s striking confidence.
"Delhiites are open to new cuisines and willing to pay competitive rates for good food,” she asserts as her reasoning for Rustom’s growth and success. While a few Parsi families have dined at her restaurant, the community generates substantial home delivery orders for patrani machhi and kheema pattice which are tedious to make at home. While the menu currently comprises traditional delicacies, Kainaz hopes to introduce aleti paleti, bheja na cutlets and other dishes, in the near future.
Rustom’s menu card shows that it caters equally to vegetarian and non-vegetarian clientele. With starters like Eeda Cheese Balls (Rs 225), Kolmi Na Kebab/Kheema Pattice (Rs 295), the menu progresses to Lagansara Stew (Rs 315) and Kolmi No Patio/Jardaloo Marghi Ma Salli (Rs 395) as the main course. The Parsi’s love for eggs is evident in Kanda Papeta Par Eedu/Bheeda Par Eedu (Rs 200) leading to the superstar combos of Dhan Sak and Dhan Dar Patio in vegetarian (Rs 395) and non-vegetarian variants (Rs 495). Parsi Rotli (Rs 70 for two) and Malai Na Paratha (Rs 80) are accompaniments. Three desserts follow, Lagan Nu Custard Mithoo Dahi Aur Sev and Caramel Custard (all priced at Rs 225).
"Rustom’s is a very personal project for me and a triumph of my vision and passion. In the future, we would like to introduce novel dining concepts to Delhi, including new cuisines, maybe add one more Parsi diner and then a wine and cheese bar,” concludes the young entrepreneur, with confidence and zeal.