Authentic Gujarati and Marwadi Food
On the busy streets of Lower Parel is a cozy restaurant called Green Gujarat. The brainchild of Marzy Parakh, a man who wears many hats of philanthropy, started this venture for people to experience how easy it is to go vegan. A hotelier by profession, Marzy has been spearheading a drive to help those who are in need since he was 17 years old and has been working tirelessly to help the differently-abled for the past 18 years. “We have got over 1000 individuals under one roof to form LIVE TO GIVE, a unique Citizens’ movement that enables regular citizens to facilitate help to needy individuals from home,” Parakh said. Marzy has been doing incredible work for the community and he has also been felicitated by the Maharashtra Government.
Green Gujarat was started with the purpose of helping people realize that vegan food is tasty and easy to make. They have a nostalgic menu with traditional and regional dishes from Rajasthan, Gujarat and some famous Parsi dishes. Some of these dishes a vegan would not have the opportunity to eat in daily life.
While most vegan restaurants carry European, Asian or western menus, Marzy chose the foods he missed the most after going vegan. “This is a cuisine that people would like to eat every day and could be a problem solver for many people.”. Marzy solves the problem for office goers who are looking for simple cooked home food and Green Gujarat has a Thali option that people love and is offered at a price which does not burn their pockets.
Rajasthani and Gujarati cuisines are dominated by ghee, buttermilk and other dairy products, so surely there have been challenges for Marzy. “One thing I was sure of was that everything had to taste like the original dishes, and that is why we took so long to start the place. The chefs were surprised at how well the vegan options substituted the dairy products”.
The restaurant has positioned itself as a vegetarian place as people have a mind block towards vegan food. However, the menu is vegan, from the buttermilk to the dal batti.
Our starters were paneer lifafa, White Dhoklas, Patra, Papad ni churi, which was very unusual, and coconut pattice, which cannot be stopped at just one. Mains were Dal Bhatti Churma, Kathiyawadi Undhiyu and roti. After this heavy meal we were served with freshly made jalebis, not made in desi ghee or oil, but in vegan ghee and we promise you, you will devour it.
We usually recommend a few of the dishes we try at any place, but in this case, it’s going to be hard because everything that was served tasted beyond our expectations.
What started with the need to satisfy his own daily needs took shape into a venture that will be a boon for most office-goers in and around that area. Green Gujarat has a sit-down place for 25-30 people, with a takeaway, and they also cater to party orders. There have plenty of Jain options too.
