Mumbai Cuisine - by food author Howard Hillman

Mumbai Cuisine

Indian
cuisine area
Mumbai (Bombay)

a concise guide
for diners & travelers

Why the cooking
in Mumbai is special

If you can visit only one Indian city for its food, let it be Mumbai, the country's most cosmopolitan city.

What makes it particularly enticing is you can enjoy in its restaurants many of the top local specialties from India's other cuisine areas.

And, although Mumbai has borrowed many dishes from other regions, it does have some interesting specialties of its own.

Insights on the
cuisine of Mumbai

Culinary geography

It straddles India's north-south culinary border. This means, for instance, that Mumbai residents readily eat both rice and wheat bread.

Historical influences

Mumbai's food has been influenced by the rich but not too spicy styles of cooking from the surrounding Maharashtra and Gujarat regions. Another major influence is the Parsis, Zoroastrians who migrated in the 8th century.

Famous specialties

Dhan Sak

The Parsis of old prepared this rich (dhan means "wealth") dish with a mixture of mutton, tripe, several kinds of lentils, and many vegetables. Dhan Sak is traditional for celebrations and family gatherings.

Khicheri

A plain dish of rice and lentils, always accessible to the poor, the ill, and the homesick Indian abroad.

Min Vela Curry

A mixed-fish curry (pomfret, mullet, and mackerel are popular) with spices, tamarind, and coconut.

Bhel Puri

A very popular food sold by street vendors. Eaters use a small puffed bread to scoop up a sauce or chutney.

Bombay Duck

Although this dried fish preparation is world famous, it is more beloved by Anglo-Indians than by Indians.

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