We’ve been in Bombay for 10 days now. It’s been a hectic week and a half. First we were getting set up at our flat, figuring out where to do all our shopping and so forth. And then my students arrived last Sunday and we plunged into a breakneck pace of outings and activities. First up, last Monday was our welcome lunch, at the iconic Gujarati restaurant, Soam in Babulnath. The last time I ate at Soam—back in December 2018—was when I was last in Bombay, doing prep work for this trip. I ate there then in the company of my old friend Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal. Rushina, who is a bit of a big wheel in the Indian food world, is curating our food/community-centered explorations while we’re here in Bombay, and she suggested that we kick things off at Soam. I was very quick to agree.

I had enjoyed my meal at Soam greatly in 2018. Eating there with Rushina meant that an endless parade of food came out. On this occasion as well, we did not have a standard experience. By which I mean that because our group was so large (26 of us plus Rushina and her assistant) that it was not feasible to have everyone order their own meals. Given that almost everything on the menu was unfamiliar to all the members of the group, this was not a bad thing. Instead, Rushina had created a set menu for us, with a number of the restaurant’s greatest hits coming out in coursed progression, almost like a tasting menu. And a very good meal it proved to be.

We began with a choice of drinks: masala chaas, masala chai or masala soda. Most of the others went for the chai but I can never resist chaas (spiced buttermilk). From there began a progression of small bites. First up was the panki, which comprises spiced besan batter spread on banana leaves and “steamed” on a pan. I adore panki and went through mine so quickly that I almost failed to take a picture of the unfurled panki itself. Then a procession of farsan.

In order they were: vatana ghugra, moong dhokla, makai vadi, palak-cheese samosa, and khopoli batata vada. Ghugra are empanada-like fried dumplings, filled here with vatana or mashed green peas. I really liked this and was glad to have a second forced on me. The moong dhokla was nice enough but I think I prefer the more familiar khaman dhokla. The makai vadi are small gooey corn cakes—very nice with chutney. The palak-cheese samosa was very reminiscent of spanakopita and was a favourite of most people at the table. The last of this round, the khopoli batata vada, basically a fried potato patty, was also a crowd pleaser.

Then a couple of larger dishes. First, jowar bhakri (millet flatbread) with methi pithla. Pithla is somewhat similar to kadhi, made with besan/chickpea flour, here with methi or fenugreek leaves added. Very nice. Then shrikhand-puri with batata nu shaak. I was curious to see what my students would make of shrikhand, a dish I was not a fan of at their age (hung, sweetened yogurt). They all loved it! We also all loved the simple batata nu shaak (lightly spiced potatoes) that we alternated scooping up with the puris.

That left only dessert. This was a duo of their jalebis—more tart than sweet and just lovely—and their malai-chickoo kulfi, which was also very tasty. (Chickoo is the name in most parts of India for sapodilla.)

For a look at the restaurant and what we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down to see what’s coming next from Bombay.

The long tables set up for our party took up most of the center of the restaurant. We were also taking up a lot of their tables at lunch time. Service was efficient, however, and we went through the meal quickly enough without feeling rushed at any point. I can’t tell you how much this meal cost as it’s part of the larger package of food outings we are doing. I can tell you that a visit to Soam is a necessity when visiting Bombay.

Okay, next up: a thali-centered Malvani lunch at Shri Datta Boarding House in Lal Baug.

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