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In the old British Quarter of Bombay, stands a century old building. Britannia & Co, one of Bombay’s oldest and most renowned Irani cafes was established in 1923 by an Irani migrant, Rashid Kohinoor, father of Boman Kohinoor. Initially serving just continental food to the British officers stationed in the South Bombay estate, Britannia slowly grew, and post independence, added traditional Parsi food to its menu. With no hang-ups about social status, ethnicity or religion, this iconic cafe went on to become one of the culinary legends of Bombay.

Whilst trading with Tamil merchants in India, the British walas were introduced to Kari, a thin, soup like spicy sauce, which they picked up as ‘curry.’ Spice blends for cooking this dish were exported to Britain. The fate of Indian food in Britain was sealed. From here on in, any Indian food would be described as ‘curry,’ probably with little expectation that it would go on to become one of the nation’s favourite foods.