The tiffin tins of Mumbai
Samyukta Nair, founder of the Indian restaurant Bombay Bustle (bombaybustle.com)
in London’s Mayfair guides us through some of the dishes traditionally transported in tiffin tins – tiered lunch boxes – that are delivered by tiffin tin carriers in Mumbai.
Dosas A dosa is a type of pancake made from a fermented rice and black gram batter. Although its origins lie in south India, dosas are now popular all over the country.
Pav A slightly sweet bread roll that originally comes from the state of Maharashtra but can be found as an accompaniment to much of Mumbai’s street food.
Misal pav is a popular breakfast dish from the Maharashtrian region of India. It’s a fiery mix of fresh spices, sprouted beans and potatoes
topped with fresh lime juice, crispy sev, onions and coriander. It’s served with a freshly toasted pav.
Kheema pav This is one of Mumbai’s most popular street food dishes. Kheema is a robust, peppery curry usually made from lamb or goat mince cooked with onion, garlic, ginger and spices and is almost always served alongside a pav. Podi idli are steamed rice cakes made from fermented black lentils and rice. They’re lightly fried in a coarse mixture of ground dry spices that typically contains dried chillies, urad (beans), chickpea and sesame seeds. Bambaiya ragda Typical of the Gujarati region just outside of Mumbai, these consist of a crispy potato patty, dried pies or chickpeas, tamarind chutney and honey yogurt. Variations of ragda have become a popular onthe-go dish all over Mumbai.
Kolhapuri chicken is traditionally a curry from the Kolhapur region made using a marinade of cinnamon, ground bay leaf, garam masala, chili powder and grated coconut. At Bombay Bustle, we marinate the whole chicken before spit roasting it over an open fire.
Appam (also called hoppers) are a type of bowl-shaped pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It’s most often found in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where these ingredients are readily available and is eaten for breakfast or dinner alongside a selection of curries and chutneys.