This post is long overdue. I had been to Bombay this November and my greatest foodie-buddie AP took me on a food tour. We sampled food in Bombay, Thane and Pune, trying make as wide a sampling as possible within a couple of days (I had to increase the number of meals in a day to accommodate all the variety).
Day 1:
Bombay - lunch at Sindhu Durga at Dadar West (land mark Maharashtra Navanirman Sena head quarters).
Sindhu Durga serves primarily Malwani/Konkani food. Our menu consisted of the following:
Mori mashala fry (spicy shark fry)
Jawala Bhajji (jawala - tiny prawns, Bengali: কুচো চিংড়ি/ঘুষো চিংড়ি, bhajji - fry)
- This was dominated by fresh green chilli and chopped ginger.
Bombil fry - Bombil or Bombay duck is perhaps the favourite of coastal Maharashtra. In Bengali it is called bamaloh or loita (লইট্যা/লোটে) and more popular among people from East Bengal. Most West Bengali's feel disgusted by its slithery look and thus this is one of the cheapest fish there. But let me assure you, it tastes fantastic when cooked properly. Sindhu Durga did a great job of this.
Rawas fry - Rawas is Indian Salmon, though I am not sure I know it. From images on the web it looks very similar to "ভোলা" in Bengali.
Kokamwati - Kokam is a fruit commonly used as spice in the west coast of India. It is somewhat sour in taste. Kokamwati is a tangy drink prepared from kokam.
Aamati - this is just spicy gravy (ঝোল in Bengali) accompanying rice.
[Malvani food eaten elsewhere]
Mutton Sagoti - Sagoti is a spicy curry with meat or fish. This has thick gravy.
Day 2:
Morning-Afternoon - Thane
Mamaledaraji mishal pav(adjacent to Collector's office, opposite Jila Parishad) - World's best mishal pav is available here (according to AP). Unfortunately, it is closed on Sunday, so I could not try it. In stead we had Mishal pav in a nearby restaurant and had this very special sweet made from the milk of postpartum cow.
Mahesh Lunch Home
Another common friend SD living in Thane took us to this place. Great food again, and here is our menu:
Crab soup - very similar to sweet corn soup, with crab meat in stead of corn
Surmai mashala fry - Surmai/Vanjaram is one of the more expensive fishes in India. This dish was not a dry fry, but had a kokam based thick gravy.
Prawn koliwada - crispy fried prawns
Clam masala - clams fried with lots of chopped onion, ginger and green chilli
Day 2 (evening):
Tea centre (next to Churchgate) - Thanks to AP and RS for taking me here. As the name suggests, this place is dedicated to tea. It in deed has a wide variety of fancy tea. We tried White tea, Earl Grey, Camomile and Herbal tea. This is the first commercial establishment where I found tea served in its full glory.
Roadside kebabs - We at some kebabs at a roadside stall near World Trade Centre in Bombay. This was a discovery of RS who is a regular customer now. The owner claims that his grandfather was a cook at Bade Miyan and that he inherits the recipes. The kebabs were good, if not exceptional. We missed kheeri kebab (kebab prepared from the meet of cow udder, supposed to be very juicy and should melt in the mouth) which, according to RS, is the most fantastic product of this shop.
Gokul's - is an unusual bar in Bombay. While it attracts very posh customers, the ambience is intentionally kept un-posh.
Baghdadi - a very busy restaurant a few steps off Gokul's on the other side of the road. The food is very cheap but not extraordinary.
Day 1:
Bombay - lunch at Sindhu Durga at Dadar West (land mark Maharashtra Navanirman Sena head quarters).
Sindhu Durga serves primarily Malwani/Konkani food. Our menu consisted of the following:
Mori mashala fry (spicy shark fry)
Jawala Bhajji (jawala - tiny prawns, Bengali: কুচো চিংড়ি/ঘুষো চিংড়ি, bhajji - fry)
- This was dominated by fresh green chilli and chopped ginger.
Bombil fry - Bombil or Bombay duck is perhaps the favourite of coastal Maharashtra. In Bengali it is called bamaloh or loita (লইট্যা/লোটে) and more popular among people from East Bengal. Most West Bengali's feel disgusted by its slithery look and thus this is one of the cheapest fish there. But let me assure you, it tastes fantastic when cooked properly. Sindhu Durga did a great job of this.
Rawas fry - Rawas is Indian Salmon, though I am not sure I know it. From images on the web it looks very similar to "ভোলা" in Bengali.
Kokamwati - Kokam is a fruit commonly used as spice in the west coast of India. It is somewhat sour in taste. Kokamwati is a tangy drink prepared from kokam.
Aamati - this is just spicy gravy (ঝোল in Bengali) accompanying rice.
[Malvani food eaten elsewhere]
Mutton Sagoti - Sagoti is a spicy curry with meat or fish. This has thick gravy.
Day 2:
Morning-Afternoon - Thane
Mamaledaraji mishal pav(adjacent to Collector's office, opposite Jila Parishad) - World's best mishal pav is available here (according to AP). Unfortunately, it is closed on Sunday, so I could not try it. In stead we had Mishal pav in a nearby restaurant and had this very special sweet made from the milk of postpartum cow.
Mahesh Lunch Home
Another common friend SD living in Thane took us to this place. Great food again, and here is our menu:
Crab soup - very similar to sweet corn soup, with crab meat in stead of corn
Surmai mashala fry - Surmai/Vanjaram is one of the more expensive fishes in India. This dish was not a dry fry, but had a kokam based thick gravy.
Prawn koliwada - crispy fried prawns
Clam masala - clams fried with lots of chopped onion, ginger and green chilli
Day 2 (evening):
Tea centre (next to Churchgate) - Thanks to AP and RS for taking me here. As the name suggests, this place is dedicated to tea. It in deed has a wide variety of fancy tea. We tried White tea, Earl Grey, Camomile and Herbal tea. This is the first commercial establishment where I found tea served in its full glory.
Roadside kebabs - We at some kebabs at a roadside stall near World Trade Centre in Bombay. This was a discovery of RS who is a regular customer now. The owner claims that his grandfather was a cook at Bade Miyan and that he inherits the recipes. The kebabs were good, if not exceptional. We missed kheeri kebab (kebab prepared from the meet of cow udder, supposed to be very juicy and should melt in the mouth) which, according to RS, is the most fantastic product of this shop.
Gokul's - is an unusual bar in Bombay. While it attracts very posh customers, the ambience is intentionally kept un-posh.
Baghdadi - a very busy restaurant a few steps off Gokul's on the other side of the road. The food is very cheap but not extraordinary.
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