Irani café

File:Yazdani Bakery in Fort.jpg in Mumbai, India]]

Irani cafés are Iranian-style cafés in the Indian subcontinent.{{cite news |author=Jayshree Bajoria |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4485523.stm |title=India's Iranian cafes fading out |date=27 April 2005 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=2007-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008115339/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4485523.stm |archive-date=8 October 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/06/02/711946179/parsi-cafes-a-centuries-old-tradition-in-india-are-vanishing|title=Parsi Cafes, A Centuries-Old Tradition In India, Are Vanishing|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2020-03-14|archive-date=12 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712223124/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/06/02/711946179/parsi-cafes-a-centuries-old-tradition-in-india-are-vanishing|url-status=live}} They were originally opened by Zoroastrian Irani immigrants to British India in the 19th century, fleeing Safavid persecution or looking for better economic prospects.{{cite journal | title = Emigration of Iranian Elites to India during the 16-18th centuries | url = http://asiecentrale.revues.org/480 | access-date = 2013-12-17 | first = Haneda | last = Masashi | journal = Cahiers d'Asie Centrale | date = October 1997 | issue = 3/4 | pages = 129–143 | archive-date = 14 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130714180857/http://asiecentrale.revues.org/480 | url-status = live }} In India, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad boast a number of Irani cafés, which are very popular for Irani chai (tea).{{Cite news |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/food/Quintessentially-Hyderabadi%E2%80%94Irani-Tea/2015/03/05/article2699181.ece |title=Quintessentially Hyderabadi—Irani Tea |date=6 March 2015 |website=New Indian Express |access-date=20 November 2017 |archive-date=24 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924025426/http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/food/Quintessentially-Hyderabadi%E2%80%94Irani-Tea/2015/03/05/article2699181.ece |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |author=Naomi Lobo |date=20 May 2007 |url=http://www.fravahr.org/spip.php?breve260 |title=Irani cafés: Inheritance of loss |publisher=India Express |access-date=2007-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206100038/http://www.fravahr.org/spip.php?breve260 |archive-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} In the 1950s, there were 350 Irani cafés in Mumbai; only 25 remained in the city as of 2005. Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, it is estimated that the number of Irani cafés has shrunk from 450 in the 2000s to 125 in 2024.{{cite web|access-date=2024-08-12|title=Hyderabad: Why Irani cafes in this Indian city are dying out|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg2rn0kexxo|website=www.bbc.com}} Karachi, Pakistan, was also home to many Irani cafés.{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1196370/|title=Where have the Iranian restaurants gone?|work=Dawn|date=26 July 2015|access-date=26 July 2015|archive-date=28 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728205214/http://www.dawn.com/news/1196370|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://images.dawn.com/news/1176209/looking-back-at-karachis-irani-cafe-culture|title=Looking back at Karachi's Irani cafe culture|work=Dawn|date=10 September 2016|access-date=10 September 2016|first=Asif|last=Noorani|archive-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910142212/http://images.dawn.com/news/1176209/looking-back-at-karachis-irani-cafe-culture|url-status=live}}

History

They were originally opened by Zoroastrian Irani immigrants to British India in the 19th century after they fled from Safavid persecution in West and Central Asia.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/irani-cafes-make-a-millienial-comeback/article24280012.ece|title=Irani cafes make a millenial comeback|last=Krishna|first=Anubhuti|date=2018-06-28|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-05-31|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=5 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705132940/https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/irani-cafes-make-a-millienial-comeback/article24280012.ece|url-status=live}}

Writing for the Hindu Business Line, on "Mumbai's Irani hotspots", Sarika Mehta stated, "The classic format of these cafes is basic with a subtle colonial touch; high ceilings with black, bent wooden chairs (now cane in some cafes), wooden tables with marble tops and glass jars that allow a peek into the goodies they hold. With huge glass mirrors on the walls to create a feeling of space, visitors are greeted with eagerness and a whiff of baking. The speed of operations is impressive and service quite hassle-free."{{Cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2006/10/06/stories/2006100600020100.htm|title=The Hindu Business Line : Mumbai's Irani hotspots|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002220028/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2006/10/06/stories/2006100600020100.htm|archive-date=2007-10-02|url-status=dead|access-date=2007-12-24}}

Irani chai and osmania biscuits.jpg|Irani chai and Osmania biscuits served in Hyderabad

Britannia irani cafe.jpg|Britannia Café, an Irani café at Ballard Estate, South Mumbai

Brabourne restaurant dhobi.jpg|Interior of Kayani and Company, an Irani café

Fare

Irani cafés may serve bun maska (bread and butter){{cite book | last=Miguel | first=H.S. | title=Mumbai | publisher=Intellect Books | series=Intellect Books - World Film Locations Series | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-84150-632-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q0_v3jr6TCAC&pg=PA58 | language=id | access-date=21 February 2018 | page=58 | archive-date=11 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811082957/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q0_v3jr6TCAC&pg=PA58 | url-status=live }} or brun-maska (hard buttered croissants),{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/alvida-brun-maska/226888|title=Alvida, Brun-Maska {{!}} Outlook India Magazine|last=Koppikar|first=Smruti|date=28 March 2005|website=Outlook India|access-date=2020-03-14|archive-date=5 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105065015/https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/alvida-brun-maska/226888|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Noronha|first=Paul|url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/leisure/byebye-to-brun-maska/article4034217.ece|title=Bye-bye to Brun maska?|date=2012-10-27|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-03-14|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830092952/https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/leisure/byebye-to-brun-maska/article4034217.ece|url-status=live}} and paani kam chai (a strong Iranian tea, {{abbr|lit.|literally}} 'tea with less water'), or khari chai (very strong tea), mutton samosas, and kheema pav (minced meat served in bread rolls), akuri (scrambled eggs and vegetables), berry pulao, vegetable puff, vegetarian/chicken dhansak (a spiced lentil dish with meat and vegetables) and biryani, cherry cream custard, cheese khari biscuits, plain khari biscuits, coconut jam and milk biscuits and Duke's raspberry drink.

Many Irani cafés offer sweet and salted biscuits{{cite book | last=Damle | first=J.Y. | title=Pune: Tradition to Market: a Study of Changing Trends in Consumption with Special Reference to Service Sector in Hotel Industry | publisher=Kalpaz Publications | year=2011 | isbn=978-81-7835-895-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S95pZp81RSsC&pg=PA117 | access-date=21 February 2018 | page=117}} like rawa (semolina), til-rawa coconut, nankhatai (sweet, crisp flaky Irani biscuits), Madeira cake (tutti-frutti biscuits).

Cultural references

Nissim Ezekiel wrote a poem based on instruction boards found in his favourite Irani café: the defunct Bastani and Company in Dhobi Talao, Mumbai.{{cite web|url=http://newsblog.aol.in/bloggers/sunanda-sudhir/|title=Sunanda Sudhir|publisher=newsblog.aol|access-date=2007-12-25|archive-date=11 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111155431/http://newsblog.aol.in/bloggers/sunanda-sudhir/|url-status=dead}}

In 2020 Neeraj Udhwani made the film Maska.