Mumbai Food: Indulge in Pathare Prabhu cuisine at Jogeshwari

Saas-bahu duo to whip up a community meal at their ancestral home in Jogeshwari

A typical thali

"It's all about the seafood," laughs Sunetra Sil Vijaykar, on being asked to describe Pathare Prabhu food.

But, there's a lot more to the cuisine of one of Mumbai's oldest communities than seafood. And if you're curious, bring your appetite along for a typical Pathare Prabhu meal at Vijaykar's ancestral home in Jogeshwari this Sunday. "This is a family event. My mother-in-law Dr Padmaja Vijaykar and I have been organising these meals since last September. We started off with a few informal meals and they were so popular, we made it official," says Sunetra, who flies down from Gurgaon for every event. "We host people once every two to three months."

Guests at an earlier pop-up

The menu features a lot of seafood and other Pathare Prabhu staples. There's Bombil Bhajji (Bombay Duck fried in besan), Vangyachye Aani Bhoplyache Kapa (rice flour coated brinjal fritters and rawa coated pumpkin fritters), Surmai Rawa Fry, Paplet-Kolambi Bhujne (traditional pomfret and prawn curry), Mutton Kalwan (mutton curry cooked in coconut, green chillies, tamarind and coriander), Karandiche Lonache (shrimp in spicy pickled masala), Keema Pulao, and Tomatochi Sheer (tomato and coconut curry). Desserts includes Kela Podi — sweet banana pancakes made by slow cooking bananas with jaggery, stuffing them in rotis and then baking them, and Sago Kheer. In addition, you get homemade lemonade and chutneys.

"We want to give people a feeler of Pathare Prabhu cuisine. We source some of the ingredients from our garden, and everything from ghee to masalas, is prepared at home," adds Sunetra.

And, with the meal comes a dash of snippets and stories about the cuisine.

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