The idea in a frying pan

Sandwich and Chicken potato chops

As one enters Uttan village, 15 km away from Mira Bhayandar, typical East Indian picturesque homes with Mangalore-tiled roofs and porches line the street. Just like Bandra's Chapel Road, after every yard, a crucifix stands guard. The sea is just a five-minute walk away for the Rodrigues family. "It [the village] is the last remaining bastion of the East Indians. This is probably the only place where we can live like our ancestors did 150 years ago," says Mogan Rodrigues, 41.

Almost 16 years ago, Rodrigues, who has a law degree, gave up practicing to become a freelance tour guide with India Tourism. "While this place is a picnic hotspot, nobody comes here to experience the culture and heritage," he says. On his part, Rodrigues is spreading awareness about his culture which is a unique blend of Maharashtrian and Portuguese influences, through walks and meals.

The most recent walk was organised in collaboration with Hallu Hallu, a walking tour project birthed in 2019. The participants also had the chance to learn of Rodrigues' love for cooking, which he says he isn't trained in but learnt from his mother, Agnes. "She would never let me tamper with the ingredients. ‘Majhi sasu hey karaychi naahi' [my mother-in-law never did it] mom would say. She is right; why make a fusion mess of traditional dishes? I just wish East Indian food was more easily available across Mumbai restaurants."

East Indian dishes feature less spice than their neighbours', allowing the key ingredients to shine through. While the food is characterised by meats, vegetables also get their due. The foogath or French beans is a common and loved preparation (Rs 70).

Chicken Moile

Two months after the nationwide lockdown, Rodrigues suggested to his wife Sheron that they start a food venture. She laughed. "No one took me seriously. So I said, I will take photos of East Indian coconut pancakes and put them on social media. On the first day, we received multiple orders. And that's how we decided, we'd do this commercially," he remembers.

He calls his newborn business, Figiterr. "Since we were only selling pancakes in the beginning, which are made on a frying pan, I thought I will call the venture Figiterr. It means ‘frying pan' in Portuguese. It is a story I love telling people. I mean, who knew that along with an amalgamation of Maharashtrian and Anglo Indian British cuisines, East Indian food is majorly influenced by the Portuguese, too."

Today, he runs an elaborate food delivery service. Customers can either order in or pay a visit to Uttan to enjoy the meals. On some days, Rodrigues takes customers for a stroll through the village.

On Rodrigues' menu is the bharleli kombdi or stuffed chicken [Rs 1,100], sorpotel, chicken moile [Rs 300], pork vindaloo, prawns green curry [Rs 300], fried dry bombil [R70], rice roti [R20 per piece], chicken potato chops [Rs 130], a wide range of homemade cakes, pithi che laroo and coconut pancakes [Rs 15 per piece].

We start with two appetisers: chicken potato chops and East Indian sandwiches. Filled with plentiful chicken mince, this non-veg starter is to die for. The green chutney in the sandwich is essentially like a pesto of sorts. The chicken moile is a thin gravy made using bottle masala pounded at home.

But, what we enjoy most is the prawn green curry with steamed rice. This is a mild spiced coconut curry served with white pumpkin. When the cold air of winter hits, this almost always makes it to the menu. The fried dry bombil is soaked in water for 30 minutes, cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked on low flame, and until crisp.

The coconut pancake is a traditional dessert roll made from a flour crepe and stuffed with freshly grated coconut. It reminds us of ukadiche modak, a Maharashtrian sweet dumpling filled with grated jaggery and coconut. Rodrigues says, "It continues to be popular even after we have started serving elaborate East Indian dishes."

Coconut pancakes

Ingredients
1 freshly grated coconut
250 gm flour
Sugar-as per taste
1 tsp vanilla
Water-as required
1 egg
Pinch of salt
Edible food colour (optional)

Method
Coconut stuffing: Mix sugar coconut and heat it up on low flame until sugar dissolves. Lastly, add vanilla.

Batter
Mix water, flour, egg, salt to make thick batter.

Making Pancakes
Grease the pan. Pour spoonful of batter and swirl it so that it has a lacy appearance. Cook for a minute. Remove and stuff it with coconut mixture.

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