By: Dinyar Patel [Dinyar Patel is an associate professor of history at the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai. His award-winning biography of *Dadabhai Naoroji, Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism,* was published by Harvard University Press in May 2020.] Published in: *Scroll* Date: May 6, 2026 Source: https://scroll.in/article/1092477/podcast-shrimp-in-banana-cake-saravle-macroli-and-bombay-duck-everywhere-mumbais-world-of-food *Note:* Pleas access the source to read the listen to the podcast. "Pronoti Datta [*In the Beginning There Was Bombay Duck* (Speaking Tiger, 2026)] uses food and restaurants as windows into Maximum City’s complex social and political landscape Above all, Mumbai’s cuisine is adaptable. In Datta’s account, the figure of the Goan baker and chef constantly hovers in the background. Goans, long exposed to European ingredients and methods of cooking, were instrumental in shaping so much of the food we eat today. They staffed some of the city’s first prominent restaurants and labored in the kitchens of rich merchants and industrialists. Along the way, they took certain uninspired and insipid Western dishes and added a heady dose of masala. Perhaps, thanks to them, even today’s Chicken Cecilia is more palatable than its original form.
Through agents like the Goan chef, food in Mumbai became dazzlingly international." -- *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CAH3OY9xvResDvTJ2YMhH9_MrHibed1auQvtNbxrpxqBGTedusw%40mail.gmail.com.
