Mumbai food: 5 regional cuisine pop-ups to look forward to this year

Apricot ChickenRetain Malwas royal fareAnuradha Joshi Medhora Home chef Charoli FoodsI want to do more popups focusing on seasonal produce My last popup featured winter dishes and I got a special fowl Kadaknath flown in which you only get in Jhabua Madhya Pradesh My focus this year will be exploring the diversity of the cuisine and bringing some exclusivity to itIn the city you cannot do a lot of grilling putting things in the earth and cooking I want to do all of that mdash give people the experience of eating outdoors I am in talks with a few experiential travel companies to help me do this For the royal families it was all about the experienceSantre Ka MaansFoodwise there will be a lot of seasonal stuff The cuisine is dependant on seasonal produce mdash as summer approaches expect Aam Ka Pulao or Mutton Cooked in Aam There are 32 royal houses in the Malwa belt of MP and I will never run out of menus This is a dying cuisine and you wont get to eat it at a restaurantEat like an East IndianMeldan Dcunha Owner and chef Soul FryRegional food did really well last year Our new menu which features East Indian Goan Koli and Mangalorean food is doing well and got in a lot of customersThis year my focus will be on hosting separate food festivals celebrating one cuisine at a time In February I will start with an East Indian festival There will be Duck Moilee Potato Chops Paya Stuffed Capsicums with Mince Dal Kebabs and other dishes Currently I am experimenting with trials at home and inviting friends over from the community for their feedback These days people love eating communityspecific food and I want to showcase both popular and lesserknown dishesShark Fish CurryInnovations bawastylePerzen Patel Home chef Bawi BrideI am looking at ways to expand my menu of offerings One thing I have recently introduced on my menu is Conti food rather the Parsi definition of Continental foodThis includes Gymkhana Sandwiches with egg cheese and mayo Apricot Chicken and Chicken Cheese Pasta BakesParsis enjoy this food their idea of Conti food has lots of white sauce and cheese There is a lot of nostalgia associated with itIn a bid to get people to try other Parsi fare I have introduced lesser known dishes mdash Bharuchi Akuri a heritage dish of eggs made with dried fruits and coriander the winter specialty Vasan Nu mdash a sweet made with dried fruits and ghee and Im also experimenting with readytocook masalas Expect a dhansak masala soonA slice of Arunachal in Mumbaigitika saikia Home chef Gitikas PakghorThis year I want to explore food from unheardof and forgotten communities It has been on my mind to explore Arunachali food Arunachal Pradesh has over 20 tribes there is a lot of food to explore I will explore it one tribe at a time Earlier I had brought in a few dishes in my Seven Sisters popups We dont know anything about their foodIve been exposed to the Singpho tribe since theyre accessible from my mothers home and they have blended well with the Assamese community besides my sisterinlaw belongs to the tribe The community takes pride in the herbs they have access to One of the dishes to expect is Pasa a soup made of raw fish pounded together with a particular leaf This leaf is found only in February and March in certain parts of the state Another introduction will be Tupula Bhat a sticky rice steamed in a leaf called Kou PaatTupula BhatI want food from the North East to be wellrepresented in mainstream diningA diverse spread from Mangaloreprabha kiniHome chefThere is a lot more to Mangalorean food than what people are aware of and I want to bring in that variety through my popups There is food from the Tuluvas the Goud Saraswat Brahmins GSBs and popular food that is eaten by people irrespective of their caste The common elements are the currybased gravies and the extensive use of coconut This year expect fish preparations that are slightly different and many more vegetarian dishes made using different tadkas and masalas These are recipes you wont find in restaurants even in MangaloreFried Pomfret