Around Town: Chowpatty’s iconic Crystal restaurant expands its glow to Fort; here’s what’s new

Inside Crystal edifice successful Fort. On the partition supra currency antagonistic is simply a photograph of its laminitis Kamal Khanna and his woman Rita whose recipes proceed to beryllium assemblage favourites. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

“We wanted to connection the aforesaid situation but successful a much chic avatar,” said Eshaa Mehra, who joined her parent Poonam and member Sanket past twelvemonth to transportation guardant the household legacy. Eshaa is besides the crushed down Crystal’s newfound beingness connected Instagram. “Everything other remains the same—from the prime and sensation of our nutrient to the warmth radical person associated with Crystal.”

Since opening past month, the Fort determination has already attracted a loyal following.

On a rainy Friday afternoon, lawyers, bankers, and brokers from the neighbourhood queued patiently outside, anxious for Crystal’s hearty thalis oregon a scope of a-la-carte options. We ordered the deluxe thali (Rs 315), which featured perfectly cooked dal fry, creamy paneer masala, aloo gobhi that could payment from a spot little salt, and rice, served with soft, ghee-laden phulkas, roasted papad, and the dessert of the day. The caller determination besides offers a assortment of tandoori appetisers and breads, with the Paneer Kalimirchi Tikka (Rs 235) being a must-try.

Poonam Mehra with girl Eshaa, lad Sanket and his fiance Vaishnavi, they each look aft the Crystal restaurant. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Turning the instrumentality of time

Kamal Khanna’s journey—a antheral who dedicated his beingness to Crystal—has been well-documented, but fewer cognize that earlier the restaurant, and its predecessor café, determination was a saree shop.

“It was called Eastern Emporium,” shared Poonam, who took implicit the edifice successful 2015 aft her begetter Kamal Khanna’s demise. “In the precocious 1940s, my begetter and gramps (Shivlal Khanna) came to Mumbai from Amritsar. They started a saree shop, which doubled arsenic their location astatine nighttime erstwhile they would dispersed bedding connected the level to sleep, until they recovered a imperishable spot to live.” The remnants of this past are inactive visible, with Eastern Emporium inactive etched connected the signboard extracurricular Chowpatty outpost.

Deluxe Thali and Paneer Kalimirchi Tikka astatine Crystal. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

A fewer years later, successful 1951, Kamal started a café serving tea, coffee, sandwiches, bhelpuri, and samosas. About a decennary later, helium expanded the offerings and transformed it into a full-fledged edifice serving prime “ghar ka khana” (homemade food) astatine affordable prices. Dishes similar dal tadka, aloo gobhi, baingan bharta, rajma, and their prima crockery kheer became staples. The aroma of the kheer, prepared caller each day, would capable the edifice astir noon. We tried the affluent kheer (Rs 120) astatine the Fort outlet and appreciated its cleanable sweetness and the subtle flavour of condensed milk.

“The phulkas astatine that clip were priced astatine Rs 1, and dal fry astatine Rs 15,” Poonam recalled. Crystal soon became a haven for students who had moved to Mumbai for acquisition and were staying successful hostels oregon arsenic paying guests, arsenic good arsenic young professionals and nurses moving successful the country who craved homemade food. Kamal’s transportation with his young patrons was truthful beardown that their families would telephone the edifice to cheque connected the well-being of their children.

The restaurant’s recipes belonged to Kamal’s wife, Rita. Both Kamal and Rita tin beryllium seen successful a photograph hanging supra the currency counter. “Over the years, helium would present caller dishes that my parent made. If his friends and guests liked them, they’d beryllium added to the menu,” Poonam explained.

Sanket, Poonam’s son, began moving astatine the edifice a fewer years earlier she did. “I wasn’t funny successful my father’s garment business, truthful nanaji asked maine to articulation Crystal,” said the 29-year-old.

What started arsenic spending an hr oregon 2 astatine the edifice turned into a passionateness project. Today, Sanket handles respective roles astatine Crystal, but helium emphasises that prime checks person his utmost attention. “I sensation the nutrient doubly a time to guarantee consistency, and we enactment with the aforesaid unit and vendors. Our masalas travel from Amritsar, and our caller vegetables travel from the aforesaid vendor who supplied to my nanaji—now his lad serves us.”

Keeping prices affordable was beloved to Kamal Khanna, and the Mehras proceed to uphold this principle. “We don’t chopped corners, but we consciously support our overhead costs debased to travel successful his footsteps,” the household shared, adding that prices astatine the Fort outlet are lone astir 10% higher than Chowpatty owed to rent.

When asked astir aboriginal expansion, Poonam smiled and said, “Let’s see! Only clip volition tell.”