History

Britannia and Co opened in Ballard Estate in 1923 and is run by the Kohinoor family. Bachan Kohinoor introduced berry pulao using imported Iranian zereshk berries layered through saffron rice with chicken or mutton. Her son Boman ran the cafe for decades until his death at 97 in 2019, and Britannia still imports the same zereshk berries from Iran for the dish.

Common allergens: Nuts, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 90 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g mutton or chicken, cut into bite pieces
  • 300g basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes
  • 2 medium onions, sliced thin (for fried onion garnish)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped fine (for the gravy)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 100ml yoghurt
  • 100g zereshk (Iranian barberries) soaked in warm water 15 minutes
  • 50g cashews
  • 4 green cardamom pods
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • Pinch of saffron in 2 tablespoons warm milk
  • 50g ghee
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons sugar (for sweetened berries)

Method

  1. Heat 30g ghee in a heavy pot. Fry sliced onions until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain.
  2. In the same pot, fry cashews until golden. Remove and set aside.
  3. Add chopped onion to the pot. Cook 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste, cook 1 minute.
  4. Add mutton pieces and brown 5 minutes. Add tomato and cook 8 minutes until soft.
  5. Add yoghurt, salt and 300ml water. Cover and cook 45 minutes until mutton is tender (15 minutes for chicken).
  6. Meanwhile boil 600ml salted water with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and cumin. Add rice and cook 6 minutes until 70 percent done. Drain.
  7. Layer rice over mutton in the pot. Top with saffron milk. Cover tightly and cook on low 12 minutes.
  8. Drain soaked berries. In a small pan heat 1 teaspoon ghee, add berries with 2 tablespoons sugar, toss 30 seconds until glazed.
  9. Top the cooked pulao with sweetened berries, fried onion and cashews. Serve hot.

Tip from the editors. Iranian zereshk are essential; substitute dried cranberries only as a last resort. The berries should be tart, not sweet.

Where to eat berry pulao

Berry pulao in Mumbai

Britannia and Co ★ 4.7

Parsi$$fortMon-Fri 12:00-16:00, Sat 12:00-22:00, closed Sun

Britannia in Ballard Estate has poured Iranian zereshk berries over mutton pulao since 1923. Lunchtime only weekdays; Saturday opens until 22:00.

Signature: Berry pulao, Sali boti, Caramel custard

Order: Mutton berry pulao with a side of sali boti.

Tip: Cash only; arrive by 13:00 weekdays or the berry pulao runs out. Closed Sunday.

Wakefield House, 11 Sprott Road, Ballard Estate, Fort, Mumbai 400001

Jimmy Boy ★ 4.2

Parsi$$fortMon-Sat 08:00-23:00; Sun 08:00-16:00, 19:00-23:00

Fort Parsi institution at Vikas Building off Horniman Circle since 1925; only place in Mumbai serving Lagan nu Bhonu wedding meal, Patra ni Macchi, Salliboti.

Why locals love it: Off Horniman Circle in a heritage building, Parsi wedding-thali room with no signage past the entrance; locals book the Sunday thali a week ahead.

Tip: Sunday Parsi wedding thali is the order; book ahead. Cash and card both accepted.

Vikas Building, 11 Bank Street, Off Horniman Circle, Fort, Mumbai 400023

The Bombay Canteen ★ 4.7

Modern Indian$$$lower-parelMon-Fri 12:00-15:30, 19:00-01:30; Sat-Sun 11:00-01:30

Floyd Cardoz, Sameer Seth and Yash Bhanage opened The Bombay Canteen in Kamala Mills in 2015 and reframed regional Indian cooking as a tasting-format menu.

Signature: Eggs kejriwal, Ghee roast chicken seekh, Gulab nut

Order: Eggs kejriwal at brunch, ghee roast chicken seekh at dinner.

Tip: Sunday brunch books out a week ahead; the Canteen Experience tasting runs 3754 rupees.

Unit 1, Process House, Kamala Mills, Senapati Bapat Road, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013 Book →

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