Adios Aqa Joon

Krishnaraj Iyengar

May you have a great day and a great life. That’s how Aqa Boman Kohinoor would bless every customer leaving his quaint, heritage Mumbai restaurant after a mouth-watering meal. Americans, Spaniards, Greeks and Aussies would indulge in selfie sessions with the passionate nonagenarian who would personally table hop, taking orders and displaying a letter by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth commending him for his hallmark contribution to cuisine.

The warmth and old world charm of his 1923 heritage restaurant  Britannia & Co preserve the passion of Aqa, fondly called ‘Aqa Joon’. He passed away in Mumbai recently, bringing to an end an important chapter in India’s culinary history.

Known among connoisseurs as ‘Iran’s culinary ambassador to India’, Aqa was born in Iran’s Yazd province to entrepreneur Rashid Kohinoor, who became one of Mumbai leading Iranian Zoroastrian restaurateurs of his time. In the world of the legendary ‘Chai-bun maska Irani cafes’ of Mumbai, Britannia stands apart as the pioneer of original and authentic Iranian cuisine. Having witnessed eons go by, including India’s independence struggle, Britannia, though originally renowned for its British delicacies, rose to fame with a unique brand of cuisine that embodied Iranian, Parsi and local Indian elements.

Aqa Kohinoor offered for the very first time, homely Parsi delicacies on a global platter with his signature dhansaak, a wholesome rice preparation served with a tantalising daal, sali boti (mutton with gravy and fried noodle toppings), paatrani machhi, a typical traditional Parsi fish dish and his mouth-melting custard, a Parsi interpretation of crème brulee. 

But his most significant contribution, as patrons the world over believe, was the introduction of the authentic cuisine or Iran to the Indian palate. Zereshk polo or berry pulao, as the Kohinoors christened it, is a signature Iranian rice delicacy with nuts, barberries and meat.

While Aqa never compromised in his usage of original Persian barberries imported from Tehran, his late wife, Bacha Khaanom, added the Indian touch. “My mother realised that Indians would never eat dry rice (lukhha bhaat). So she added a one-of-its kind masala gravy with a secret recipe to suit Indian taste buds, something that the otherwise dry zereshk polo is devoid of. In Iran, it’s just rice, meat and barberries,” explains Afshin, Aqa’s son and veteran Iranian chef. 

Baaghlavaa, the original Persian version of the baklava with pistachio, sugar syrup and rose water along with gaz-e-shirin, Persian nougat became synonymous with Aqa’s unique genre of cuisine that now finds many imitators in Mumbai.

An austere man of principles, he would fondly reminisce about witnessing the freedom movement first hand. “The atmosphere of those days is still fresh in my consciousness. I remember lying on the stairs of my school during the Non-Cooperation Movement. I would follow Gandhiji every morning during his prabhat pheris. Bapu’s energy was truly mystical,” he would say.

Faith was Aqa’s philosophy that kept his spirit going. He would often quote an old Persian poem: “Agar teer-e-aalam bejombad bejaay. Na barrad ragi na nakhwaahad khodaay.” Even if the world shot at you all its arrows, not a vein will be pierced if God protected you.