Book-A-Table supper club · 13 & 14 June 2026

Martyr! A Persian table and a gallery at home

Over 13 and 14 June 2026, Book-A-Table hosted three sittings for Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! at the sisters' home in Bengaluru. The menu came from Cyrus Shams's Iranian-American world: kuku sabzi, chicken fesenjan, gheymeh bademjan, noon barbari and saffron rice. Eight artists from Bangalore and Chennai turned the flat into a gallery for the weekend.

The book: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
When: 13 & 14 June 2026
Where: The sisters' home, Bengaluru
Format: Three sittings over two days, with a home art gallery

Host in a Book-A-Table apron laughing and gesturing on a cream sofa beside a sunlit window and colourful cushion — Hosts mid-story, aprons on, the afternoon just beginning

The bookWhy Martyr!

Kaveh Akbar's debut novel Martyr! (2024) follows Cyrus Shams, an Iranian-American poet in Indiana, newly sober and grieving, who wants his death to count for something. It's a book about addiction, inheritance, art and home.

Art runs all through the novel, so for the first time we turned our home into a gallery. Eight artists from Bangalore and Chennai answered our open call, guests wandered the work between courses, and two pieces sold, one of them a painting by Kriti. Every sitting opened with the same question: where do you think home is?

At the tableHow the afternoon went

Three sittings across one weekend, the most we've hosted in two days.
A Book-A-Table original cocktail with Sangam World Malt whisky and rose, and a rose kombucha for those not drinking.
Guests moved through the gallery before sitting down and returned to it between courses.

In the glassSangam whisky and roseA Book-A-Table original cocktail with Sangam World Malt whisky, served in stemless glasses scattered with dried rose petals and carried round on a tray as the lamps came on.More from the bar cart →

ContentsWhat was on the table

1Kuku SabziPersian herb frittata, our eggetarian optionStarter
2Shirazi SaladSalad
3Watermelon, Feta and Mint SaladSalad
4Chicken FesenjanBraised in walnut and pomegranate molassesMain
5Gheymeh BademjanSplit pea and aubergine stew with dried lime and saffronMain
6Persian Hot Dog SandwichesPotato or chicken sausageMain
7Noon BarbariBaked fresh for each sittingBread
8Saffron RiceOn the side
9BaklavaSweet
10Cherry and Orange Cream Cheese CanapésSweet

The full story behind each dish is on our Substack.

Read “What Cyrus Ate” on Substack →

Blue Gramiyaa olive oil tin beside a white rose and baby's breath in a blue glass vase — Small details, a white rose and good olive oil

A tray of whisky cocktails in round glasses, each topped with dried rose petals — A tray of rose-strewn cocktails, ready to pour round

Rose-petal whisky cocktail on a navy Sangam bar mat beneath a glowing whisky bottle display — Behind the bar: whisky, roses and a beautiful harmony

Bottle of Sangam World Malt Whisky from Rampur Distillery glowing amber on a bar — Sangam World Malt, the evening's spirit of choice

Round painting of a hand holding a rose engulfed in flames against a black background — Art on the walls: a rose held through the flames

Two guests laughing heartily on a sofa, holding rose-petal cocktails in warm lamplight — The kind of laughter that only happens at home

Two women on a cream sofa holding amber cocktails, listening intently in golden lamplight — Listening closely, glasses in hand

Guests browsing framed artworks on a living-room wall while another reader turns a book's pages — Wandering the home gallery between courses

Close-up of amber whisky cocktails in stemless glasses with ice and floating dried rose petals — Rose petals, amber light, and the first sip

Questions about this supper

When was the Martyr! supper club?

Book-A-Table's Martyr! supper club, based on the book by Kaveh Akbar, took place on 13 June 2026 at the sisters' home in Bengaluru.

What was served at the Martyr! supper club?

Kuku Sabzi, Shirazi Salad, Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad, Chicken Fesenjan, Gheymeh Bademjan, Persian Hot Dog Sandwiches, Noon Barbari, Saffron Rice, Baklava, Cherry and Orange Cream Cheese Canapés. The full story behind each dish is on our Substack.

Will there be another edition like this?

Each book is a one-off, but every new edition is announced on Instagram first. Here's how to book a seat.