City Parsis upset over sale of ‘Parsi Kulfi’
Nagpur: What’s there in a brand name? For the Parsi Panchayat in the city, it has become a matter of sentiment. A delicacy sold in elite clubs and other eateries of the city named as ‘Parsi Kulfi’ has evoked displeasure of members of the community. It’s not a communal sentiment, but attachment towards a 100-year-old brand Parsi Dairy in Mumbai, they say. A well-known name in Mumbai, and famous for its Kulfis, it is also loved by Parsis living elsewhere.
On Sunday, the Parsi Panchayat headed by Aspi Bapuna who also heads the Dinshaw’s Group which sells the famous ice-cream brand, published a legal notice. It reads “there is a secret of more than seven decades behind manufacturing the Parsi Kulfi. What is being sold in the name of Parsi Kulfi is mere substandard Kulfi which nowhere matches superior taste of the original.”
The Panchayat has not informed the management of Parsi Dairy about the issue. Bakhtiyar Irani of Parsi Dairy told TOI from Mumbai that they were not aware of the controversy and it was shocking if people were misled by selling Kulfis using their name.
Bapuna said it was found that in one of the elite clubs a ‘Kulfi’ was sold as ‘Parsi Kulfi’. “Though the menu and bills simply name it as Kulfi, the waiter introduced it as ‘Parsi Dairy Kulfi’. This was to mislead people that it was the same brand from Mumbai. After objections were raised, the name was eventually changed to Parsi Kulfi, deleting the word Dairy which still is misleading,” Bapuna a told TOI.
The recipe of the Parsi Kulfi is a closely guarded secret and is only available within the community. “So, a Parsi Kulfi has to come from only a Parsi. Even as an ice-cream maker, Dinshaw’s does not sell Parsi Kulfi, though it may plan in the future,” said Bapuna. Irani from Paris Dairy, however, confirmed that they have been sending consignments to some vendors in Nagpur.
