Is the panipuri getting better in Mumbai, or have I just lived here too long? This Sunday’s random cycling took me to to the sylvan surroundings of Khar Station West where, right across the road from the station, a largish cart piled high with sev and other sundries caught my attention. Hungry and hot, I... Continue Reading →
Mango mania is in Mumbai in many forms, but one of the more unusual ones came from Mad Over Donuts – a savoury donut called Mango Mazaa, that’s one of the seven mango-themed donuts on offer in their (what else) mango special. Though I’ve never written about it, I think very highly of MOD. Its... Continue Reading →
I went to a wedding recently that did not serve khao suey. Wedding catering in Mumbai tends (unless you’ve lucked out with Parsi connections) to be vegetarian. Worse still, the current trend is live counters serving all kinds of “international” flavours (they all taste as authentic as my maid’s ‘Guccie’ watch). Two perfectly respectable Maharashtrians... Continue Reading →
The 50 best restaurants in the world have been named again by Restaurant Magazine. I haven’t blogged about this list in a while (since 2005, in fact) but lists are like motichoor laddos – I can’t resist them. In what seems a significant irony the list this time is sponsored by the very antithesis... Continue Reading →
Vir Sanghvi feels that sushi is the new trend for the boredwithtikkamasala Indian. I’m quite fond of sushi, but evidence to that trend being broad based is still sparse in Mumbai. To mainstream, sushi must be available at places that don’t require a platinum Amex (or a scamworthy bag of money); this is sadly lacking.... Continue Reading →
Tea is, after water, the most consumed drink in the world. The brown liquid has shaped world history; empires have been built and destroyed on the quest for the leaf and it was not entirely accidental that Boston decided to choose tea for their party in 1773. Again in America tea (of a new political... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago, I blogged about finding in dense heart of Versova an unusual cabbage pakora. Mumbai doesn’t make pakodas out of cabbage; I hadn’t really seen them before, and didn’t see them since - till today. Wandering the equally narrow and dense lanes of Worli village, the fisherman’s colony that leads up... Continue Reading →
Some time ago, I decided to impress Sunanda by cooking for her. So I decided, what better than to lean on my heritage? I dont quite remember why but vegetarian was a requirement so much of my standard repertoire had to be put aside. Not to be deterred, I dug deep and real-Bengali dishes bori... Continue Reading →
Bits and pieces of food experience have been accumulating, not enough to carve a post out of, but enough to cobble together into a potluck. The first was my visit to Chennai, where a last minute google search found me a late late lunch at Ponnusamy, just a short deviation off the straight line between... Continue Reading →
Mumbai is full of ghasphoos, especially the kind espoused by our northern neighbour. Even in this sea of veggie wonders, however, some dishes stand out and one of them is the near–mythical undhiyu. I say near-mythical with reason; there are so many stories around its origins, ingredients and preparation, starting with the name itself –... Continue Reading →
The Well Fed Bong 