“No veg. Only non-veg”

"A restlessness of spirit and a ‘wanting to do something different’” prompted three Nagpur friends to start The B.A.W.A., Nagpur’s first and only Parsi eatery. "We tossed ideas back and forth” stated Yohann Doongaji, Sudarshan Barai and Zaran Bhagwagar. "Shiraz uncle (Bhagwagar’s dad) suggested we set up a Parsi food joint since there wasn’t a single such place in Nagpur.” The idea clicked but getting the finance, place and personnel to do so was an entirely different and daunting prospect.
Doongaji had joined the family business of Steelwools, Bhagwagar who worked with his father’s furniture and artifacts business and Barai who was employed as a software engineer in Poona, decided to set up a stall as a week-end venture at Traffic Park, a large area with back-to-back stalls that appear at sundown and disappear before midnight. The B.A.W.A. stall operated only on Saturday and Sunday evenings because all three lads worked at other jobs during the rest of the week.

They started with 20 units each of three items — chicken farchas, kheema patties and cutlets — things that could be eaten from paper plates while standing at a two-table stall. On the very first day, everything was sold out in less than an hour. The youngsters’ joy and excitement knew no bounds. Family came to help, friends to support and strangers to try out the new food. A hoarding in front of the stall of a wacky bawa proclaiming in bold letters "NO VEG. ONLY NON-VEG” added to the amusement and curiosity of passers-by. Of course the men won’t admit it but an advantage they had was a gaggle of admiring women, Rotary exchange students from around the world, who hung out and helped at the stall, the bawas being their friends.
"We added to the repertoire of our dishes and abracadabra they vanished like magic!” After testing the waters and being convinced of the potential of their venture, Doongaji and Barai quit their jobs and ran their stall at Traffic Park six days a week, in addition to taking home delivery orders. Bhagwagar left for Switzerland to pursue higher studies.
"The next step was obvious,” say the partners. "We needed a small but comfortable place where people could experience authentic everyday Parsi food like dhansak that many had heard of but never eaten, instead of just snacky take aways.”
With sound family backgrounds, bank loans to finance the project were not a problem. They were lucky to find a small, road facing residential flat in a decent neighborhood that after four months of re-designing and re-constructing was converted into a warm, friendly, inviting restaurant with a lot of Parsiana (literally and figuratively) attached to it. Like comfortable old chairs and tables from the Doongaji attic, quirky bawa cartoons on the walls, cover pictures of Parsiana magazine and other such Parsi memorabilia. Old friend architect Samruddhi Chaphale designed the interiors and was enthusiastically involved from the day the first tile was laid to the morning they opened their doors to the public. It was his first project.
"Finding the premises and the funding were the lesser problems,” shared Barai. "The biggest challenge was staff — cooks, waiters, and cleaners. They had to be sourced and trained. And motivated to stay with us!”
Their strongest support during the labor pains and the birth of The B.A.W.A. were Annu and Shiraz, Yohann’s parents. Being a successful businessman himself, Shiraz could guide them with licenses to be got and red tape to be gone through. Annu gave unstintingly of her time, energy, recipes and expertise. Donning apron and cap, she would be training and supervising in the kitchen in the early days.

(From left): Dhansak, kheema sali, strawberry milkshake and sausage fest

The B.A.W.A.’s partners have their duties well defined. Doongaji manages the kitchen and kitchen staff. Barai looks after marketing and procurement. They have a very pleasant young manager in Rishad Dalal who is just out of college and has been with them since the beginning — which means less than six months!
When The B.A.W.A. was nearing completion they had a jashan. On November 22, 2015, Yohann’s grandmother Najamai, a much loved and respected lady of 86 years and her great-grand-daughter, three-year-old Zara, inaugurated the eatery in the presence of family and close friends. Three days later The B.A.W.A. opened its doors to the public.
The appeal of the Parsi interiors and ambience is matched by authentic Parsi food. The menu card, is in the shape of a pankha (fan) that priests and agiary goers use to cool themselves.
When it started, The B.A.W.A. was open for lunch and dinner. But cashing in on the presence of the VCA (Vidarbh Cricket Association) grounds and the Bishop Cotton School playground nearby and the number of people who come there to play cricket, jog or walk in the mornings, they started opening for breakfast at 7 a.m. The Irani chai (tea), leelee choy (chai with mint and lemon grass), bun-maska, akoori (masala scrambled eggs) and Parsi pora (omelette) are popular breakfast servings. Behind the regular breakfast menu is a hilarious list of "THINGS WE DON’T SERVE — chola-bhatura, bread-pakora, aloo-poha, pani-puri, sarso-ka-whatever, etc. etc.” There are bits of humor tucked in everywhere.
Having heard rave reports of the dhansak from non-Parsi friends, I wanted to try that. I was out of luck! Dhansak is on the menu only on Sundays. Instead I tried a Chicken Bon-Bon, a large patty stuffed with shredded chicken and cheesy white sauce. Annu used to make it for Yohann when he was a child. So it has a special place in the restaurant owner’s heart. This was followed by long-grained fragrant white rice and a delectable chicken curry — spicy enough to rouse the taste buds without over-powering the flavor or aroma of all the other ingredients. Chilled, tangy lemonade "Pallonji’s established 1865” was the perfect accompaniment to the meal. It comes all the way from Bombay with a choice of raspberry, ginger, orange or icecream soda. A good Parsi lagan nu custard enriched with nuts and raisins was the sweet end to a satisfying meal.
Other interesting items on the menu include patra ni machhi, sali-boti with pav, mutton vindaloo, berry pulav, Bharuchi akuri, papeta par endu and more.
Prices have been kept very affordable. A filling meal for two would come to around Rs 600, unless you are ordering fish. The B.A.W.A. does not have a liquor license at present. "Our pricing is reasonable because we do not have high overheads. Our advertising budget is zero. People come back to us for the good food and service,” said Barai.
The logo of The B.A.W.A. — a picture of an endearing bawaji with a pheta on his head enjoying a hearty meal of chicken and fish with raspberry and the words, "Great Food, Good People and Smiles All Around” — seems to sum up the mindset and the mood of the restaurant.
There was a group of happy, hearty turban-clad Punjabis and their families having lunch. As I was leaving, I stopped and ask how they enjoyed the bawa experience. "We love it! It takes us back to the Irani restaurants we went to when we were in Bombay,” said one sardar. "Excellent food, yaar (friend),” chimed in another.
The owners share two of Najamai’s recipes with Parsiana readers:

SHANGYPU
Lime juice (5 cups)
Water (5 cups)
Sugar (10 cups)
Add sugar and water, put on stove, stirring till one thread syrup is formed. Let it cool.
Add the lemon juice and mix well.
Serve over crushed ice and fresh mint leaves.

BHARUCHI AKURI
Onions (3, medium sized — finely chopped)
Ghee (3 tbsp)
Eggs (6)
Raisins (2 tsp)
Charoli (2 tsp)
Potato sali (50 gms)
Milk (½ cup)
Ginger-garlic paste (2 tsp)
Green chillies (6 — finely chopped)
Fresh coriander leaves (few sprigs — finely chopped)
Salt (to taste)
Add ghee in a pan and fry the onions till they turn golden brown. Add raisins and charoli and let them brown. Add green chillies and the ginger-garlic paste and cook on a slow flame.
Remove the mixture from the fire. Add milk, eggs, salt and mix. Add coriander and potato sali and scramble on a slow flame. Do not over cook.
Turn over onto serving plate and sprinkle some more sali over it. Serve hot.