Pat A Cake Pat A Cake Baker's Man
The opening line from the much loved nursery rhyme buzzed in the mind of Meher Heroyce Moos, as she walked to Paris, the romantically named bakery. Unpretentious and charming, this tiny shop is tucked away in the bylanes of Dhobi Talao. A must visit.
The opening line from an old and much loved nursery rhyme buzzed around my ears, as I walked to the romantically named Paris Bakery recently. The origin of the name of this perennially crowded shop, located halfway down the narrow Our Lady of Dolours Church lane, off Princess Street, is shrouded in rather vague and varied reasons.
But does that matter, when one can ‘eat one’s cake - and have it too'?
Its present owners are Tafti Iranis, originally from the small Iranian village of Taft. The affable Kaikhushroo Ardeshir Nejadkay, who hails from a family of agriculturists, arrived in Bombay at the tender age of ten, and worked with his father as an assistant baker at their Brabourne Bakery in Chira Bazaar, concentrating only on breads.
The family acquired the present Paris Bakery in 1963 from its previous Irani owners and turned things around for themselves and for us, forever.
Behind the 100 square foot frontal façade lies a full-fledged old fashioned bakery in operation - with all sorts ofovens and good old man power for kneading, rolling, cutting, baking - the works!
A treasure trove of freshly baked goodies spill out from this shop every day from 8.30 am to 8 pm. But beware, it's closed between 2 and 4.30 pm.
Danesh, Kaikhushroo’s son, certainly has the gift of the gab. He repeatedly told me in no uncertain terms, that though many recipes may have been tested over time, he alters them off and on to suit his and the customers' tastes.
Walking around with him, I noticed several pre-baked trays of the shop’s special butter khari - which owe their perfect crispness and light layers, to being brushed with three ingredients - pure butter, pure ghee and vegetable ghee. This combination gives the khari 16 transparent layers when it comes out of the oven, in its puffed up avatar. Khari twists are also available in methi and cheese flavours.
I was quite intrigued with the rolling out of the sugary palmiers (fan shaped crisps) as his trained staff gently shaped them from very small cut-out strips. The transformation was amazing.
Some days are speciality days -Thursday is baking day for the much coveted full milk buns mixed generously with butter and plump brown raisins - a steal at Rs. 10 for two. Fridays see soft warm pizza discs roll out in trays to handle any fillings that your household demands. The shop also offers fresh green coconut chutney paste and home made mayonnaise for the asking.
On weekends, baby bhakras are also lined up on the shelves, which slowly start resembling an Aladdin’s Cave of Munchies. There are bags of yummy cheese papris - the larger squares suitable for a variety of toppings and teeny Cheese Bites; Garlic Melba Toasts; Garlic Onion Sticks; Maska Batasas - both large and small; and from the toast family, the brun pao in chunky portions, waiting to be ducked into steaming cups of Irani chai.
The fastidious and the health conscious can feast on Oat and Bran Rusks and Soya and Oat Crisps.
As for the assortment of cakes and sweet biscuits, the list is endless and leaves your mouth watering. There are Cashew Nut Macaroons, Wine Biscuits, Shrewsbury, Ginger Rounds, tempting Indian-style Short Bread, Eggless Cakes (made out of cans of condensed milk!), Fruit Cakes with Apricots, Caramel Custard, Jam and Elaichi Sprinkled Nankhatais; on rare days, Sponge
Fingers and the all time favourite: Mava Cake - not in traditional cupcake form but aromatic large square portions - ample enough to whet and comfort the appetite of any true food loving bawa.
The pricing, given the superb quality of the products, is quite reasonable.
Paris Bakery has no outlets anywhere and the business is run with three other Irani partners. While leaving you drooling over this vast canvas of flavours, a wee word about the family members of our incorrigible baker. He is a true family man and spends his leisure time with his dignified father, his charming wife Behnaz and two lovely daughters - Znoishta (a name taken from the Avesta prayers) and Zenia (meaning a flower).
Paris Bakery, 278, Dr. C. H. Street, Our Lady Of Dolours Church Lane, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai - 400 002. Tel: 022 2208 6619
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