Mumbai Masala Restaurant - Indian Cuisine
(1 coupon)Known as Mombay to the rest of the World, this city was always known to the Gujaratis and Maharashtrans as Mumbai in honour of the goddess Momba Devi. Ai means mother. Bombay: The Portuguese liked the area and called it "Buon Baha" - beautiful sea. The British, as usual, corrupted that name to Bombay and made it the seat of the Indian Raj. Today Mumbai, a city whose history lies in its streets and gullies, is studded with temples, mosques, and Churches, and obscure fishing villages recently contrasted by a transformation into a modern metropolis. Urban enclaves of the Rich are lined by slumsof the poor; chi restaurants stand behind vendors wetting the taste-buds of those passing with Papri Chaat and Sitafur juice. Movie theatres flourish in this city from the air conditioned multiplex theatres to the sweltering antique projector run cinemas. Bound by this thread of Bollywood Masala films and the basic staple of Indian cuisine - "Daal Masala", food and movie permeate the being of every Mumbai-ite. The origin of the word "masala": you guessed it - a mixture of spices. Every family has its own variety from dry mixtures - Garam Masala, Chaat Massala, Sada (simplae) Masala, Channa Masala - to cooked curries - Fish Masala, Vindaloo Masala, Paan Masala, and then the British poured masala over Tandoori Chicken and called it "Chicken Tikka Masala". Here, variety unmistakably is the spice of life. Mumbai, throughout its history, has been influenced by traders, by conquerors and by conversions - it remains one the few cities where one can celebrate Buddhist, Hindu (multiple) Muslim (Sunni, Shia etc.), Sikh, Catholic, Protestant and Zoroastrian festivals, all with equal zeal, with all its communal dietary laws. And the food, a individualised yet communal, MUMBAI is the MASALA of life. Eat - In * Take-Out * Delivery * Catering * Banquets 604-984-8888 138 West 16th Street, North Van, BC, V7M 1T5 * Fax:604-968-7378 www.mumbaimasala.ca