The season with the most vibrant and extensive produce is finally here! Winter has officially arrived and nothing represents the changing season and the sheer bounty of winter more gracefully than the local markets of Bombay. Carts brimming with red carrots, green peas, hara chana, ponkh (tender jowar or sorghum), fresh toor (pigeon pea), corn, radish, pink guavas, and a whole lot more. And with the new season, also comes a new menu at The Bombay Canteen. Celebrating and reimagining regional Indian cuisine with each season, our latest offering is inspired by the abundance of winter.
Curated by Executive Chef Hussain Shahzad, the Winter Menu heroes the incredible diversity of India’s culinary repertoire with an array of dishes, redolent of unique and comforting flavours. The winter menu features delicious new seasonal dishes with unique interpretations including Canteen Undhiyu ‘Okonomiyaki’, Green Pea Tokri Chaat, Sarson Ka Saag Kulcha, Calcutta Mughlai Rezala, Gutti Aloo Roast, Mushroom Tehri, Bohri Chicken Kari, Ambur Mutton Biryani, Assamese Fish, Prawn Malai Curry, Strawberry Honey Cake among others. Signature winter classics making a comeback this season include Charred Carrots, Smoked Pumpkin Launji, Hara Chana Salad, Bone Marrow Nalli Nihari and the Guava Tan-Ta-Tan.
The Winter Menu
Begin your meal with a selection of Chotas including Canteen Undhiyu Okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake of vegetables traditionally found in the popular Gujarati winter staple Undhiyu, topped with a spicy-tangy red chilli chutney, green garlic masala (traditionally used in Undhiyu) and flecked with delicate, crunchy potato, purple yam, carrot and beetroot chips. If chaat is what you crave, the Green Pea Tokri Chaat, is a warm chaat offering with green pea ragda within a Kataifi pastry tokri, topped with burrata cheese, tender green peas, green wheat kachumber and pickled pumpkin, served atop a creamy besan chutney.
The immensely popular Begum’s Baked Brie is back, and this season it is served with persimmon jam, guava cheese, smoked almonds and a drizzle of house-made Naga hot honey, with a side of seasonal, red-corn crackers! Scoop up the unctuous Smoked Pumpkin Launji (vegan and gluten-free) with charred ponkh, fragrant mustard oil and chunky Kashmiri chilli crisp with the flaxseed khakhra, or try the Surat special Corn Locho!
Their version of Locho is made with corn (instead of chana dal), and is topped with crispy corn, scallion chutney, locally made Belper Knolle (a variety of Swiss aged pepper cheese), and sprinkled with crunchy corn. Also, on offer are some of last year’s winter show-stoppers, including the much-loved Charred Carrots, with pickled onions, goat milk cheese and toasted pistachios and the Hara Chana Salad, a creamy hara chana hummus with roasted in-season cape-gooseberries, toasted almonds, pickled tendli and crispy pao papad.
Taking a cue from the food stalls that dot Bombay’s - Mohammad Ali Road, the Bone Marrow Nihari is a rich yoghurt-based curry with pickled chillies, mango-ginger and served with the rather unusual Bohri lamba pao, from a traditional bakery located near Minara Masjid, Mumbai. Other options include the delicious Khasi Pork Taco with grilled, sesame crusted pork belly and Naga chilli salsa, served in a rice bhakri, Chilled Seabass Sev Puri with a zesty nimbu chunda, kairi chutney, and pickled chillies, and Andhra Bheja Fry with a spicy gongura, green chili masala and pickled shallots.
No menu change is complete without the addition of Kulchas inspired by late Chef Floyd’s Kulcha Club - the famous pizza style kulchas, first served at the award-winning restaurant Tabla in New York. This season’s star is Sarson Ka Saag Kulcha, an ode to everyone’s winter favourite. Traditionally cooked Sarson ka saag is stuffed inside a pillowy soft kulcha, then topped with corn-cream and finished with pickled chillies and mooli (or radish). Don’t miss out ordering the Crab Kulcha with butter garlic crab meat, narthangai zest and a gently-poached egg.
The season’s Badas are just as promising, so plan that long overdue Bada party with an order of the slow-cooked Dum ka Rajma made with Jammu rajma cooked overnight in a tomato-onion gravy with garlic and green chilli. The Dum ka Rajma is then smoked with coal and topped with cream to give it a rich and velvety texture, perfect for winters! The hearty Calcutta Mughlai Rezala cooked in yogurt, cream and cashew paste, comes with black carrot kofta topped with a fragrant lime-leaf oil, chilli oil and toasted makhana, is a twist on the traditional delicacy. Gutti Aloo Roast, inspired by the Chettinad specialty Urlai Roast, combines gutti and badami varieties of indigenous potatoes from Assam, with a green masala made with coriander, mint and curry leaves, green chillies and toasted poppy seeds.
The Bohri Chicken Kari, is a Bohri winter special - an immensely comforting chicken curry or kari, made with red chillies, peanuts, cashews and sesame seeds topped with a soft cooked egg and fried onions. Assamese Fish, our interpretation of the traditional Assamese sour fish curry, is wrapped in pickled arbi or Colocasia leaves and gently char-grilled. Served with a curry topped with crispy mango ginger, it is a real treat for seafood lovers. The iconic Bengali favourite Prawn Malai Curry made with fresh coconut milk and cream, Gondhoraj lime leaf and pickled chillies eaten with rice, makes for a delightful main course option.
A generous portion of something sweet is always a great way to wrap up your meal! As we celebrate the arrival of blushing pink, winter guavas, the beloved Guava Tan-Ta-Tan served with red chilli ice cream and guava caramel, makes a comeback too. An ode to the season is the delightful Strawberry Honey Cake with lime cream, fermented honey and mead-poached strawberries, served with a side of strawberry sorbet.
What: New Menu at The Bombay Canteen
When: Monday to Sunday: 12 pm - 1 am and Saturday-Sunday: 11 am - 1 am
Where: Kamala Mills, Lower Parel
Price: Rs 1,500 + for two
Contact: +91 8880802424
