Your guide to Sindhi food in Chembur

Sindhis have called Chembur home ever since Partition, when a large tract of land next to the Bombay Presidency Golf Club was requisitioned to create colonies for the refugees streaming in across the border. This swathe of land was eventually dubbed “Sindhi Society” and has been a haven for the Sindhi community for the past 70 years. Traces of the Sindhi presence crop up in the street and colony names (like Choitram Gidwani Road and Navjivan Society) and the many restaurants that serve Sindhi fare. You can sample authentic Sindhi cuisine at all of these places in Chembur.

Jhama
Jhama has been around for nearly 70 years and is famous for its gulab jamun (Raj Kapoor – whose RK Studios is nearby – famously had these sweets shipped to his friends in Russia in 1960s). They also have a vast selection of crunchy savoury snacks and milk sweets such as samosa chaat, sev burfi, and gajar ka halwa. Around the Sindhi New Year aka Cheti Chand in March/April, Jhama offers sinfully deep fried Sindhi snacks every Sunday. At 4 p.m., they set up a massive vat of chola, and you can choose either a samosa or heart-shaped pattice, to which they add chunks of pav dipped in the chola gravy along with a heapful of the chola itself.

Lakhumal Kundanmal Farsan Mart
This unpretentious snacks mart has been selling Punjabi and Sindhi items for the last 30 years. Jostling for space along with the samosa, pattice, and mathri are the traditional Sindhi items like tikki and bhajiya. Their crowd favourite is the stuffed mirchi bhajiya, a snack of green chillies stuffed with potatoes, dipped in besan, and deep-fried. Visit in the evenings before 6 p.m. for the best snacks. It will be crowded but worth it.

Gopal’s Chicken and Mutton Tandoor
At Gopal’s, you can find meat skewers done Tandoori style with Sindhi marinades. Try the chicken or mutton grilled in their signature Sindhi green sauces as well as the traditional fiery red sauce, all served fresh off the tandoor. They also serve bheja and kheema pattices and their “sandwich”, a cutlet on a pav, served with spicy onion gravy and chutney. Sindhis from Chembur also swear by their roast chicken. This is traditional street food and essentially a takeaway joint so there is no seating, and while you can expect great flavours at a cheap prices, don’t go expecting high standards of hygiene or service.

Sindhi Tadka
Sindhi Tadka is a home-delivery service that is the labour of love of Chembur-based home chef Madhu Jagtiani who dishes up authentic Sindhi delicacies like bea aloo (lotus stem and potato in an onion gravy) and bhuga chawal (browned onions added to Basmati rice) as well as Sindhi kadhi and rice. Kadhi is the quintessential Sindhi dish, but I discovered it’s also completely lactose-free. Unlike other kadhis made with curds, this one is actually made from vegetables like okra, potatoes, drumstick, carrot, and cluster beans tossed in a besan gravy. Madhu adds tamarind to the base for a slight tang, and in a very Sindhi amalgamation of the sweet with the savoury, she packs sweet boondi to be sprinkled over the kadhi chawal. Non-vegetarians can take their pick from dishes like bhugal mutton (mutton in an onion gravy), phote mutton (mutton in a cardamom gravy) or Dahi and Palak Mutton as well as Paya Gravy.

Sindh Pani Puri House
This snack/chaat shop has been around for nearly 65 years. Their menu may boast of the usual items like pani puri and dahi batata puri, but their dishes are made Sindhi style – e.g. the pani puri has boondi and not ragda toppings. For 60 bucks, the dahi bhajiya is a good place to start your culinary adventure with Sindhi street food.

Vigs
Vigs is an unpretentious hole-in-the-wall eatery that serves the best dal pakwan, kulchas, and chola bhatura, all to be topped off with sinfully creamy Punjabi Lassi or pudina chaas. Dal pakwan is traditionally a breakfast food– a delicious chana dal served with a fried maida puri flavoured with salt, pepper, and ajwain. Vigs has been serving up its calorie-laden fare for nearly 60 years and has added items to its menu like adrakee paratha and cheesy beet kulcha to its fixed but delicious repertoire.

— By arrangement with thecitystory.com