I recently did a video series showcasing the various types of pulaos available in Mumbai.
Why not biryani, you ask?
The answer is simple. While a lot has been spoken about biryani, hardly anyone talks about poor old pulao. The world of pulaos is multifaceted and deserves its own space in the sun. In Mumbai, you have a variety of pulaos to choose from thanks to the multi-ethnic composition of its population.
Thus was born #pulaomumbai. Each episode focused on a specific pulao and a restaurant where you can get it. I had a one-member crew working with me. A young videographer named Sristy Kedia. She shot and edited the series. The two of us would usually walk into a restaurant, order our food and shoot. No one batted an eyelid. I guess one has Instagram influencers to thank for this. Restaurant owners and waitstaff are unfazed when people shoot reels these days.
Here’s what we covered:
1. Bengali Mishti Pulao: Calcutta Club
The Bengali mishti pulao is the only pulao in the series that is not a one-dish meal. It is also called basanti pulao after its turmeric-infused yellow colour.
Mishti pulao acts as a foil to festive dishes such as kosha mangsho, chingri malai curry or alur dom. Mishti means ‘sweet.’ Unlike the zarda pulao which is almost like a dessert, the mishti pulao is not that sweet. Its mildly sweet taste offers a mellow contrast to the spicy and oily tones of the dishes it is paired with.
The Calcutta Club in Oshiwara is a humble little eatery that serves home-styled Bengali food. It has many loyalists. Each bite of the mishti pulao and kosha mangsho that I had took me back to my childhood in Kolkata. No wonder the restaurant is so loved.
2. Goan choriz pulao: Soul Fry
I love rice. I love Goan sausage. It is no surprise that a dish that combines the two has my heart. The sausage pulao, from what I gather, is made by cooking rice along with chicken stock and Goan sausages. This gives the rice a sharp sour flavour with delectable bits of sausage strewn across the dish. Life becomes truly beautiful when you come across a piece of choriz fat.
I first came across Goan sausage at Infanteria in Calangute. I fell in love with it and ordered it on subsequent visits to the restaurant. Infanteria is in north Goa. Most of our trips to Goa these days are to the south. We go to Martin’s Corner when there. A sausage pulao is a must for me and I dive into the pot of sausage pulao as if there is no tomorrow.
A little bit of searching told me that Soul Fry, which is figuratively in my backyard, offers sausage chilli fry. It is mentioned on their delivery menu, but not in the restaurant. They will make it for you without any fuss when you ask for it.
The pulao that I tried there took me straight to Goa from Bandra! To think that it was so close to me all this while. I have to make up for lost time!
3. Veg tava Pulo: Ashok’s pav bhaji cart
Most pav bhaji stalls in Mumbai offer something called a ‘tava pulao.’ This consists of rice tossed with vegetables such as potatoes, green peas, cabbage, tomato and a bit of bhaji.
Watching the rice and veggies pirouette together on the tava is a mesmerizing experience. I am told that the sales of pav bhaaji and pulao match each other. This makes sense given that we Indians are fond of rice and many would prefer to have rice for lunch.
I was not a fan of Tava Pulao. I did not like it the first time I tried it two decades back and have stuck to pav bhaaji since then.
I went to Ashok’s stall in Fort. This is in the khao gulley which is at a right angle to the Bombay Store and at the opposite side of the Kashmir Emporium. You will not find it on Google Maps.
He makes both pav bhaji and tava pulao. I have the pav bhaji when I go there
I was apprehensive about whether I would like the pav bhaji and about what to do if I did not.
It turned out that I loved it! The freshness of the vegetables, combined with pav bhaaji masala drenched rice that gave it a slightly tangy flavour profile, was mind-blowing. Ashok is my favourite pav bhaaji maker. It is no surprise that his tava pulao won my heart.
4. GSB Seafood pulao: Maaslii
The GSBs or Gaud Saraswat Brahmins are to be found across the Konkan coast of western India. They are supposed to have migrated from Kashmir to Konkan, stopping at places such as Bengal on the way. GSBs speak a dialect of Konkani which is unique to where they live on the Konkan coast and this varies from place to place. Their food reflects the local flora and fauna. What unites all GSBs is their love for fish.
Maaslii, a newly launched restaurant in Worli, offers dishes from the GSB stable along with Malwani dishes. Co-owner of Maaslii, Prasad Naik, introduced me to the seafood pulao during the shoot. It is a very mildly flavoured dish, where the seafood is the hero with the rice being content to stay in the shadow The slightly sweet and non-spicy yellow rice which was the bedrock of the dish reminded me of my Bengali food heritage. This made me tease Prasad about the GSBs having picked the recipe when they stopped in Bengali. Just joking.
The seafood pulao is served with seafood gravy on the side for those who find it bland or dry. I felt neither and it was the runner-up when it came to my favourite pulaos on the shoot.
5. Yakhni Pulao: Noor Mohammadi Hotel
Noor Mohammadi Hotel was founded in 1923 by Abdul Karim. It completes a hundred years this year. Karim was a halwa paratha maker in Moradabad. He came to Mumbai and opened a bhatiyarkhana. A basic eatery from which he sold nalli nihari, roti and yakhni pulao. “He introduced yakhni pulao as many of his customers wanted a rice dish to go with nihari,” says his grandson and co-owner of Noor Mohammadi today, Raashid Hakim. The three dishes from the original menu have been retained even though the restaurant’s repertoire of dishes has been expanded.
The yakhni pulao is a north Indian dish which made with buff at Noor Mohammadi. A lot of its flavour comes from the meat stock that is used. It is similar in taste to that of the Moradabadi pulao that you get in Delhi. An influence of its founder’s origins.
I know that one should not play favourites, but this was my favourite pulao in the series. Its subtlety won my heart.
Shhhh. Don’t tell the other pulaos this. I don’t want them to feel bad.
6. Mughlai Tava Pulao: Shalimar
Next door to Noor Mohammadi lies Shalimar. A much bigger restaurant than Noor Mohammadi and newer too.
It has something called ‘chicken tava pulao’ on its menu. The tava pulao in Mughlai restaurants, unlike biryanis, only comes in chicken. You are most likely to miss it when looking at the rice section on menus as it is tucked between the many biryanis on offer.
The tava pulao of these restaurants is different from the tava pulao of pav bhaaji stalls though in principle it is similar. Rice, chicken, masala, and vegetables are tossed together on a tava on and served. The dish is prepared on order unlike in the case of biryani which is cooked in advance. My guess is that chicken is used as it cooks faster. My friend Kurush calls it a frying pan pulao.
I am conflicted about whether I prefer the biryani at Shalimar or the tava pulao. I think my vote would go for the former by a fair bit. I would urge you to try it yourself and decide.
7. Berry pulao: Britannia & Company Restaurant
Noor Mohammadi is not the only restaurant to complete 100 years this year. Britannia turned 100 too. It was opened on 16th August 1923 by Rashid Kohinoor who had come to Mumbai from Yazd in Iran. It is home to Mumbai’s most famous pulao, the berry pulao. So named because of the zereshk barberries from Iran that are added tp the dish.
Rashid’s son, the late Boman Kohinoor, was a legendary fixture in Mumbai’s food landscape. Even at the age of 80, the soft-spoken gentleman would go to each table and take the order. Oh, and he was besotted with the British royalty. Getting to interact with him as much a part of the Britannia experience as was the food,
His wife introduced the Iranian berry pulao to the Britannia menu in 1982. It consisted of saffron rice crowned by berries, crowned by half-boiled eggs, fried onions and chicken. ‘It flopped,’ says her son and current owner, Afshin Kohinoor. Afshin has a flair for drama unlike his father and is quite the raconteur.
‘Indians wanted masala. My mother removed the onions and eggs in response, added the Parsi khattu mithu masala (sweet and sour) masala to it and suddenly it became a hit. In Iran, only chicken is used in berry pulao but I have chicken, mutton, prawn, veg” concludes Afshin.
The funny thing is old man Boman would often tell us that his sons would sell the property when he was gone. Turns out that he was wrong. His son runs it today but thinks that his children (Boman’s grandkids) would not be interested in running this place after hi,
It is easy to see why berry pulao popular so popular with Western tourists. It is not spicy at all! And is served with some Irani idiosyncrasies (of the owners) on the side.
Some feel that the price of berry pulao is much higher than what it should be.
I have a simple answer as a marketing professional to this. The Kohinoors have built a brand and are milking it. And a brand is not meant to please everyone.
Did I like the berry pulao? I was too full to enjoy it by the time we shot at Britannia. I took the leftovers home and quite enjoyed it the next day.
8. Prawn and seafood pulaos: Fresh Catch
Fresh Catch was started in Mahim by the late Francis Fernandes. The restaurant’s promise was just that. The freshest quality of seafood.
I caught up with Ankita Fernandes, the daughter of Francis, and the co-owner of Fresh Catch. This was at the new Bandra outlet. (Mahim is shut for now due to renovation)
She introduced me to the seafood and prawn pulaos of Northern Karnataka. The seafood pulao is synonymous with festive occasions in her community, says Ankita. The prawn pulao, made with freshwater prawns, is more of a comfort dish. Try both and you will see the subtle differences in terms of spicing of both.
My favourite? The prawn pulao.
Ankita’s? The seafood pulao.
9. Kolambi Bhaat: Nav Chaitanya
This prawn pulao belongs to the Malvan coast of Maharashtra. It was introduced by owner and chef, Surekha Walke, to Nav Chaitanya. Nav (new) Chaitanya and Chaitanya were set up by her to introduce Mumbai to ‘original Malvani food.’ The restaurants have become very popular and have a long queue to get in.
The one thing that was missing from the menu was a standalone rice dish, says Surekha tai. She introduced the kolambi bhaat (prawn pulao) to address the request by diners who wanted a rice dish.
Back home in Malvan, says Surekha tai, this is a one-pot dish to be made in a hurry. It consists of short-grained rice and prawns which are cooked with minimal spices. Grated coconut is added at times.
She has improvised it for the restaurant. Here long grained precooked basmati rice is tossed together with spices, prawns and grated coconut on a pan and is made to order.
It tastes delicious, To get a more authentic flavour you can add a dash of sol kadi (the kokum and coconut milk-based drink) to the rice.
10. Parsi Mutton Pulao Dal: Jimmy Boy
Jimmy Boy is a century-old establishment. It started as a bakery called India Hotel and was converted into a restaurant in 1999. The name was changed to Jimmy Boy.
You get the lagan nu bhonu (Parsi wedding feast) set here. Featuring in that is the mutton/ chicken pulao dal. You can order this dish by itself as well.
Why is the most famous Parsi dish, dhansak, not a part of the wedding meal menu?
That is because dhansak is had on the 4th day after a death in the family. Hence not on auspicious occasions.
What’s the difference between the two?
In dhansak, the meat is in the dal. The dal in the pulao dal is sans meat.
Dhansak comes with caramelised brown rice which has no meat in it. Kebabs can be served on the side
The pulao in the pulao dal has meat. The dal has no meat in it.
This is a rare, if not the only, instance of a dal being combined with a meat-based pulao.
Please let me know if I have left out any other pulaos in Mumbai. If so, which is this, and where do you get it? Happy eating.
You can catch the #pulaomumbai series end. You can catch it in my Instagram reels folder, X and Facebook.
