| |
The Parsis are Zaroastrian Iranians who fled a Muslim invasion of Iran and landed up in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Their cuisine is a curious cross between Persian and Gujarati, and can be found nowhere other than in this part of India. Daily specials are chalked up on a blackboard and the regular Parsi menu features dishes like chicken, mutton or vegetarian dhansak—a lentil stew thickened with pumpkin and served over rice fried in ghee (clarified butter), optionally topped off with a kebab. No alcohol is served and the place is not air-conditioned.
|
This chain is famous for unpretentiously delicious malvani, Mumbai’s local coastal cuisine, and Maharashtrian seafood dishes like bombil fry (the tiny Bombay Duck whitefish in batter fried to a crisp), a stunning garlic crab and fried tiger prawns. Wash it all down with the hot and spicy kokum and coconut-flavoured sol kadhi drink. The Andheri restaurant always seems a cut above the rest, and the Phoenix Mill’s location is a little pricier than the other two.
|
Indian restaurants [name]d Gaylord can be found as far afield as Hawaii and Hong Kong and the inspiration for them all is this restaurant in Churchgate. The Mughlai cuisine here stands out. Sample the usual kebabs and biryanis as well as specialities such as the murgh kali mirch (pepper chicken) and murgh achari (chicken in aachar, or pickle sauce). The Gaylord also has a fantastic ‘Indian continental’ menu featuring chicken a la Kiev, chicken chasseur and lamb bourguignon.
|
Celebrity chef Ananda Solomon’s Konkan Café spotlights the regional delicacies of the lush Konkan coast that stretches from Mumbai in the north to Mangalore in the south. The thalis (set menus) are well priced and make a good introduction to this spicy and seafood-intensive cuisine. If you decide to order a la carte, be sure to have the Mangalorean fish curry with rice or the prawn gassi (red curry) with fresh neer dosas (rice pancakes). Round your meal off with fresh coconut ice cream topped with coconut shavings, or with the delicious sevai kheer (rice pudding).
|
Bengalis like fresh-water fish and turn up their noses at Mumbai’s seawater bombil, bangda and surmai. So Oh! Calcutta imports all its fish straight from the Hooghly river that flows through—you guessed it—Calcutta. The macher paturi is a fresh-water fish deboned and then coated with mustard, green chillies and spices, then steamed in a banana leaf. The Bengali vegetable dishes stand out too. Jhinge posto features squash, potatoes and chillies lightly stir-fried in mustard oil. Finish off with distinctive Bengali desserts like sandesh, a wedge of cottage cheese flavoured with delicately sweet rosewater.
|
| |
|