31 March 2009

45 Amil Colony, Hyd

As a young person, I always loved visiting my grandmother's house in Hyderabad (of the Sindh variety). It was an almost magical place, complete with a dusty courtyard full of crevices pregnant with stories and mystery, populated with characters that are hard to forget. There was Pohro (old man in sindhi), a young laid back man for whom no electrical/DIY task was too difficult (he could connect up a whole street to one VCR player); Rajjan, a stern looking driver who was the most effective child scarererererere I had ever seen; Mausi, an elegant and fragrant lady, who had been responsible for the up bringing of what seemed like all the humans that ever lived.

My favourite person of all had to probably be the least likeable, Meesri, a moustachioed greasy man, who had been afflicted with looks and a demeanor that generated all kinds of suspicion. But the man, as far as I was concerned, had stardust in his hands. He could conjure up wonderfully tasty dishes that I would happily sell my mother for. One of his very best was the simple yet delicious egg roll- as far as I could tell at the time, he would simply mix up some tomatoes, chillis, salt, pepper with eggs, and fry this potion, then place it in a chappati, that itself was warm and fluffy. Knowing Meesri would be serving up these treats every morning meant that I would make sure to get up earlier than all my hungry cousins, go down to the kitchen, give Meesri a peck on the cheek, act cute (I know I was young but well aware of what being cute can get you) and hope that he would fill my roll up some more.

Heaven.

Perhaps I enjoy egg rolls more than most, but I am convinced that there are many others for whom an egg roll is heaven, especially an Indian egg roll. It seems to me that despite the rather sophisticated and discerning palate of the non indian customer in England, the joys of Indian breakfast dishes have yet to be experienced here. The simplicity of the indian egg roll, something which even our nutritionally deficient vegetarian friends must appreciate and share(I joke-some of my best friends are vegetarian), means that it will simply not do for the leaders of the Mooli revolution to ignore the claims of The Breakfast Mooli (take note of the effectiveness of capitalisation-I joke as some of my best friends only use small case to write). What do you all say?


If you have any doubts go to 45 Amil Colony and ask for Meesri.

11 comments:

sameer said...

the thought of young tariq giving Meesri a peck on the cheek to get some more unda cracks me up.

and after reading your egg roll description, i thought fuck it, mooli's should open for breakfast!

dan has been saying this for months and a few weeks back i made a killer scrambled bhurji type roll with salsa (stay with me here) which was to use mathew's favourite word... divine. and what about indian inspired porridge with cinnamon and cardamom?

[of course we need to think of operations, location etc but in principle, utilizing your biggest fixed cost (rent) for a longer period of time is always a good idea]

Gautam said...

@TB I heart egg rolls. So breakfast, per se, is a good idea for reasons @sameer lists. But can you do a brekker with only 2 or 3 things? Or do you need a larger menu? As for the porridge - ragi! daliah! and yes, cardamom and nutmeg and all things spice... Lassi! And Chai! And...

*sigh* I need some breakfast now...

mathew said...

tariq, i love the idea of the Breakfast Mooli, but irresistible (see i know more words) as it will be, will Soho rise at the crack of dawn for bfast having partied most of the previous night ?

gautam - going to inflict salty lassi on my colleagues at UBS today. will be interesting to see how it goes.....

mathew said...

there is this very exciting parsi version of egg burji no?

Gautam said...

Akuri, saar. Akuri. In a paav.

Unknown said...

Mr T! What a beautiful impassioned plea for the egg roll. Obviously now I would totally love Mooli's to serve one...especially since I have never tried. Maybe the office ppl that will buy lunch moolis also want breakfast? Or the all-night clubbers on the weekend.

TaB said...

Thanks peeps. I envisaged keeping it really simple. Just one dish, not to complicate (cost and brand wise) Mooli's message- come here in the morning and you can have one of our great egg rolls. Simple. Tasty, filling, warm and uncomplicated. Like the process. But adding the porridge etc, well yes that would be great, but I agree with Sam (when we last spoke) that 2 out of three meals are the aim.

Incognitus said...

Porridge with cinnamon & cardamom, egg rolls, chai... am hungry now! ...2-3 killer items and you have my loyalty! :)

even tho I am a convert veggie now, T's almost-coming-alive musings on egg rolls that left deep marks on a young impressionable (and devious?) T, makes me want for one!

The Breakfast Mooli ...some idea!

As for who would want: When the place is a sunk cost, there is only an incremental cost to testing that hypothesis (Mooli's can have a loyal breakfast following)!! My sense is if Mooli's has breakfast act right, this should be a big 'smiler'

Anonymous said...

dude porridge at moolis is the gayest idea i have ever heard

burji roll is not a bad idea if economics can work

anon

Anonymous said...

TAB -

i like your idea for a breakfast roll. would the mooli master have to give people a peck on the cheek as well?

anon nyc

TaB said...

My pecking days are over unfor.