Intimate dining over niche, regional cuisines in Mumbai

Mumbai, renowned for its myriad diners, restaurants and cafes, also boasts a vibrant home dining scene - featuring niche cuisines from Maharashtra like Bohri, Pathare Prabhu, Kutchi Memoni, Goan, Konkani, Malvan, Koli and more.

As opposed to the impersonal aura that commercial eateries have to offer, these dwellings bind diners with their food on a deeper, more intimate level. Allowing an exchange of food stories, patrons trace the evolution of dishes - as they journey to one's plate. Delving deeper into this emerging culinary trend, Midday caught up with home chefs, serving piping hot broths made right in their kitchens.

Dining narratives
One such intimate space is Rupa Shah's home in Chembur which goes beyond mere substance. Bringing back a generational knowledge of cooking Pathare Prabhu as well as Goan cuisines, this septuagenarian takes diners on a seafood adventure, reinventing classic Marathi and Gujarati dishes. When asked about what makes her food unique, she chuckles, and shares, "It's the Parabi masala which is used by the Pathares only. We make it at home with secret ingredients."

While the menu is loaded with regional delicacies, the full menu remains a surprise until one visits. The writer was welcomed with a Pathare Prabhu vegetarian meal, starting with a refreshing aam panna, shortly followed by a textured dish of ratalyacha kees. Next up on the main course was aluwadi, thecha, Ananasache Sambhare (exclusively made by Pathares), shengdana amti, ghavan topped with Fodnichi kakdi, summing up with the dessert, saagu.

For a Northerner, discovering this hyper-local cuisine was a revelation. Rupa, with her diverse heritage - Goan mother, Gujarati father and Gujarati husband, all while living in Mumbai - offers a one-of-a-kind blend of flavours. Having hosted 100+ guests at 'Gossip & Garnish,' she indulges guests with unique and authentic delicacies, leaving one with a memorable trail of spices.

However, Rupa isn't working solo; her daughter-in-law, Bistriti Poddar, assists her with tastings and hosting guests every week. Instantly putting guests at ease, she has designed the décor with a semi-casual ambiance, infused with natural light and inspired by natural elements. It sets forth an ideal setting for stories, uncovering recipe secrets and engaging in friendly banter.

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Call: 7506264307
Cost: Rs 800 (veg), Rs 1000 (non veg)

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Cutchi chronicles
While the name - The Cutchi Memon Table - may be a tad inspired, the food that is part of Bandra West-based Faiziya Soomar's The Cutchi Memon Table meal box is not. An interesting mix of Bombay Muslim, Kutchi Memoni and a bit of Bengaluru Muslim fare goes into her boxes that include appetisers like a couple of Russian cutlets, mains like nalli nihari or Bengaluru-style biryani and desserts such as phirni or khubani ka meetha.

Learning cooking at a very early age from her cookery class instructor aunt, Soomar is all about experimentation. "I love what I do, and continuously try to push the envelope by improvising on my dishes and by creating new ones," says Soomar. That is why her a la carte menu also has some unusual dishes like white biryani and cashew korma.

Call: 9820398922
Cost: Rs 500 onwards (one-person meal box)

Feast like royalty
The five-dish, weekend-only Daawat-e-Ruksariyat (veg and non-veg) is the brainchild of Jogeshwari-based home chef Ruksar Memon whose daawats or home feasts were such a hit with friends, that she recently started delivering them across Mumbai. "I had no clue who a home chef was until my friends encouraged me to start my business."

"I believe that food must be cherished and shared, which is the crux of a daawat," says Memon, who makes sure to send a small box of dates to kickstart the meal, along with a disposable table/floor cover, as daawats are generally eaten sitting down on the floor.

While the menu keeps changing every weekend, one can expect to relish appetisers like the signature foil chicken, mains like mutton rogan josh, shahi chicken biryani, paneer makhanwala and desserts like shahi tukra and matka rabdi. Also available on special order is a Memoni Muslim version of khau swey called khausa and a mutton khichda, among other a la carte Mughlai dishes.

Call: 9930831336
Cost: Rs 2,499 onwards (for four) and Rs 1,299 onwards (for two)

Served with love
Spoon of Love is an all-vegetarian, delivery-only virtual restaurant from Sewri and focuses on Mexican, Lebanese and Southeast Asian cuisines. It is the idea of hotel management graduate Charmy Mody who calls her two categories of set boxed meals ‘lovemeals'. "While ours is a relatively new brand, it is based on an old truth - that when we make things that we love, it just doesn't feel like work anymore."

Both categories of meals are packed in sealed, biodegradable, pastel pink boxes. The Abundant Lovemeal is a four-item box with dishes like a deconstructed falafel for starters and a cottage cheese tsingou and chilli basil rice for mains. The more elaborate Love Galore box has an additional khau swey and a dessert - salted Nutella shot or a tiramisu cup. They also offer an a la carte menu.

Call: 7045699255
Cost: Rs 720 onwards