Friend's Union Joshi Club

Mumbai's archival kitchens: When Dhirubhai missed Kokilaben's fresh phulkas

Before his wife returned from Yemen, the man behind the Reliance empire was once a regular at this 100 year-old Kalbadevi bhojanalaya. The Friends Union Joshi Club serves a homeflavoured unlimited veg thali, with the history of public dining in Mumbai, on the side

Na mat bolo, taste toh karo', the servers chide you, placing a teaspoonful of bhaji in your thali. It's difficult to say no when you see their warm smiles. And because the food tastes so great, you find yourself relenting, like Oliver Twist, asking for more. Simple food that tastes like what Gujarati wives churn out, has been the defining feature of meals at The Friends Union Joshi Club (TFUJC). One look at the establishment, and you know it's the food that's at the centre of the experience. The large and airy dining hall is bereft of embellishments; shopkeepers and businessmen drop by for an inexpensive,filling, tasty meal.

The ancient Kalbadevi establishment and its long winding name has roots in the history of public dining in Mumbai, when restaurants didn't exist and caste laws determined who ate where and with whom. About a 100 years ago, the only places where male workers employed in the city, living away from their villages and families, could have a meal were bhojnalayas or khanavals.

The men ate, and often rented sleeping space in these establishments usually run by a couple. They were exclusivelymeant for members of a said village or community. "These bhojnalayas came to be called clubs," explains Ashok Purohit, whose father bought TFUJC from proprietor Suresh Joshi almost 50 years ago.

In response to a query regarding his clientele, Purohit pulls out a battered laminated paper article that mentions late industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani as a regular customer in the late 1950s before wife Kokilaben returned from Yemen. By this time, the demographic profile of Kalbadevi had changed and other communities had begun to patronise the eatery.

Clearly Ambani, like other customers over the decades, was impressed by the simplicity and freshness of the food. Purohit explains that the vegetables are cooked only an hour before mealtime, and supplies are purchased every morning.

Unlike the gleaming glass and steel kitchens of modern restaurants, at TFUJC, the kitchen looks like it hasn't changed in 100 years. In one corner, a cook grills rows of crisp, biscuit-like bhakris on a flat metal table-sized grill. Next to him, sits a bhatti on whose bed of blazing coals, a stream of thin phulkas are tossed to puff up and lend them a smoky lightness.

Though many of the Gujarati traders moved out of Kalbadevi once the wholesale markets shifted to Navi Mumbai, many still remain with Marwari businessmen filling in the vacuum. "The food now is a mix of Gujarati-Marwari, as the style of cooking is similar and both communities have fairly similar tastes," says Purohit. The thali (priced at Rs 100) includes unlimited servings of four vegetables, sweet and savoury kadhi and dal, chaas, a choice of phulkas, masala rotis, bajra rotis, bhakris, a variety of farsan, pickles, relishes and salad, and of course, rice or khichdi. A sweet dish comes for Rs 20 extra. "Where else can you find a light, fresh, unlimited meal at this price?" Purohit asks, not really expecting a reply.

At: 381-A, Kalbadevi Road, Narottamwadi.
Call: 22058089.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLel5gdKp94

Published 25-04-2010 Sunday Mid-Day