A CHEF’S GUIDE
Chef Prateek Sadhu take us on a tour of his favourite spots in Mumbai.
At his Mumbai restaurant Masque – recently named this year’s One To Watch by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants – chef Prateek Sadhu shares stories about India, including his own. Born in Jammu and Kashmir, Sadhu grew up around farms, food and accomplished family cooks. After honing his craft at high-powered international kitchens, including Per Se, Alinea and Noma, he returned home and began earnestly championing farmers and artisans around the country. Sadhu’s
Mumbai hit-list mirrors his own international tale and includes everything from regional Indian favourites to contemporary American cooking.
More than just curry
One of the biggest messages I keep reiterating is that India isn’t just a curry nation. We’re beyond curry.
We’re beyond chicken tikka masala. We’re beyond naan. India isn’t just one dish. Indian food is 29 states and every state has its own cuisine. Even though Mumbai is overwhelming, it’s a good introduction because you can – if you look hard enough – get any regional style of Indian food.
It’s really important to drop your perceptions and just come with an open mind and an open heart. If you’re closed, you’ll find it difficult to adjust. Just accept how the city is. It’s crowded, yes. It’s noisy, yes. But if you accept it, you’ll have a blast.
Mumbai breakfast
My favourite breakfast place is Café Madras, which specialises in South Indian breakfasts. It’s an institution and has been there since the early
1900s. There’s always a big queue. My recommendation is to go early, stand in queue, and just order a couple of my favourites. One is the podi upma, a semolina porridge with podi, which is a dry chutney made of spices and ground lentils. The second is rawa masala dosa. It’s really crisp and crunchy and has everything.
One of the restaurants that people don’t really talk about is Peshawari in the ITC Hotel. It specializes in North West frontier food. Northern Indian food has been influenced a lot by migration from central Asia. There are a lot of kebabs and a lot of rich gravies and biryanis. You’ll find really authentic flavours here. This is one restaurant travellers should visit to really understand the nuances of classic Indian food.
The Portuguese touch
O Pedro does modern Goan food and is another restaurant I really like. India was a British colony but Goa was one of few regions ruled by the Portuguese. You can still see their lasting influence. Goan food has homemade cheeses and Chorizostyle sausages that we now call Goan sausages. The cuisine also has a lot of sourness, which comes from the local toddy vinegar they use.
Regional classics
Bombay Canteen is another great restaurant. It focuses on regional Indian food with influences from all over the country. There is a duck curry inspired by the chef’s grandmother that is served with a beautiful appam (rice flour pancake). They also do an egg dish called egg kejriwal: there’s toasted bread, a spicy green chutney, melted cheese, and then a fried egg on top. It’s a really classic take on an egg dish that’s quite popular in Mumbai.
Street food
One thing that everybody needs to try is vada pav. Vada pav is basically a burger and Ashok Vada Pav is the best place to have it. Pav means bread, and vada is the stuffing. It’s made of potatoes, onions, curry leaves, mustard, fresh green chillies and mustard oil.
Vegetarian snacks
Swati Snacks is somewhere people need to go to if they’re in Mumbai.
It’s one hundred per cent vegetarian. Anyone coming to Mumbai needs to understand that vegetarian food is in our DNA. It’s not a fad. It’s just normal and how we eat. And Swati Snacks is one place where you can go and try snacks from the region of Gujarat, which is the vegetarian state of India. Try the panki – a type of pancake cooked between banana leaves.
An American in Mumbai
Alex Sanchez, a chef from San Francisco, has been here for 10 years and has just opened a new restaurant called Americano. He does really new and really fun modern American – a little like Californian-style food. His pizza is amazing and he also does classic pastas like tortellini en brodo. These kinds of foods are really good for the entire food culture of the city.
Indian-Chinese
Indian food is the most popular food in India, but the second most popular is Chinese. We’ve adapted Chinese food to our own taste, which is spicy and sour. It’s one of the go-to foods for everybody. Yauatcha is one of the most well-known restaurants serving Cantonese food; another is Ling’s Pavilion, which does more Indian-Chinese.