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Sea, Salt And Spice: A History of Mumbai through Food
Sea, Salt and Spice is a definitive culinary biography of Mumbai - a city shaped as much appetite as by tides and trade. Long before it became shorthand for ambition, excess and overcrowded trains, Bombay was a porous island city, its kitchens stocked by fishermen, merchants, settlers and empire.
With curiosity and flair, Meher Mirza traces this history through what was cooked, preserved, traded and from Koli hearths and Peshwa courts to Portuguese enclaves, colonial ports and the restless streets of the late twentieth century. Moving nimbly across centuries, she shows how geography, climate, gender, religion, caste and commerce worked their way into everyday meals.
Richly illustrated with maps, photographs and archival texts, Sea, Salt and Spice blends scholarship with storytelling, wit with insight. This is not a guide to what to eat or where to eat it, but a spirited biography of a city - one that finally gives Mumbai, and its food, their due.
With curiosity and flair, Meher Mirza traces this history through what was cooked, preserved, traded and from Koli hearths and Peshwa courts to Portuguese enclaves, colonial ports and the restless streets of the late twentieth century. Moving nimbly across centuries, she shows how geography, climate, gender, religion, caste and commerce worked their way into everyday meals.
Richly illustrated with maps, photographs and archival texts, Sea, Salt and Spice blends scholarship with storytelling, wit with insight. This is not a guide to what to eat or where to eat it, but a spirited biography of a city - one that finally gives Mumbai, and its food, their due.
591 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 6, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 25, 2026
Meher Mirza’s book Sea, Salt & Spice: A History of Mumbai Through Food is spread across four parts, of which the second is The Edible Empire: Bombay Under the British Raj. Here, tucked between descriptions of the consolidation of Bombay, the food of the nabobs, the changing tastes of Bombay’s residents—and more—is an advertisement, reproduced from The Bombay Chronicle of 29 November, 1922. It announces the ‘grand opening’ of the Madras Brahmins Hindu Restaurant, next to the Parsi Agiari in Fort. ‘Sweetmeats in pure ghee’ are offered, as are ‘Coffee, Tea, Cocoa and other fine Cold Drinks… Ice Cream a speciality.’ At the bottom of this modest-sized notice is a footnote: ‘and also we sell the world-Renowned Sovereign Ringworm ointment in our Restaurant.’
It’s a quirky advertisement. There is an element of variety—a hint of the cosmopolitan nature of Mumbai—in that along with the ghee-soaked mithai, there is also ice cream. There is, upfront, the name of the restaurant, which reinforces the spectre of casteism, hanging over the entire concept of eating out in India back then.
In those few square inches of an old ad are several of the more pertinent points Mirza makes through the course of this book. Religion and caste as influences on food. Mumbai as a melting-pot. The influence of colonialism. The fusion of Indian and Western.
That is not all there is to Sea, Salt & Spice, though these are among the more prominent and oft-encountered aspects of Mumbai’s foodways in the book. Through the course of it, Mirza shows how Mumbai came to be, how it grew, how it evolved—and how food played a vital role in this evolution, irrespective of the phase the city (or proto-city, as the case may be) was in.
After a brief introductory note, Mirza begins the first part of the book, The Wonder That Was Bimbasthan, which explores the pre-colonial period pertaining to the area that went on to become Mumbai: the ancient tribes, clans and ruling dynasties, the food they produced and consumed, the trade links that connected them to lands overseas.
This leads to the second part, Souls & Spices, which traces the consolidation and development of Bombay under the Portuguese, who ‘came to look for Christians and spices’. There are interesting nuggets of information here, from what the Portuguese ate in the estado, to how their influence changed the food of the people they converted, and—a vital part of food history not just here but across India—the effect of the Columbian Exchange.
These two chapters are short compared to the two chapters that follow: The Edible Empire (which is about Mumbai under the British Raj) and Main Character Energy, which traces developments in food and cuisine in the post-Independence era. Since these cover not only very eventful periods in the city’s history, but also periods which are well-documented, there is plenty of food for thought in this latter part of the book.
Food for thought, really, is how Sea, Salt & Spice may be described in toto: through Mirza’s detailed and entertaining descriptions of all that Mumbai has produced, consumed and traded in the way of food and drink over the past centuries, one realizes, again and again, how food interacts with other spheres of life. How religion and race govern who is allowed to eat what and where (the ‘Brahmin hotels’ are a case in point, as is the fact that elite British clubs wouldn’t admit Indians). How migrations change food habits. How commerce affects our diets. How hunger, food shortages, disease, even the media—has an impact on what we eat.
Mirza’s writing is light and very readable, yet never frivolous. This is solid work, based on equally solid research: the writer has obviously dived deep into her subject. There are footnotes aplenty, and a QR code at the beginning of the book allows readers to access additional notes. As the icing on the cake, the book is embellished with dozens of interesting vignettes and sidebars. Reproduced here, in colour, are old paintings and drawings, photographs, advertisements, excerpts from newspaper articles, recipes, and more, each contributing towards making the book that much more enjoyable.
Through her writing, Mirza covers, too, the gamut of all that food implies. Its production (the fate of the Koli fishermen as the city evolved, or the establishment of Aarey Milk Colony, for instance) and its sale (the iconic Irani cafés; the city’s historic hotels; khanawalis; Indian Chinese food). There are insights into shortages of food, into health fads, into the dabbawallahs. Into just about any way in which Mumbai has interacted with food in its long and interesting past.
In her introductory note to the book, Mirza writes: ‘… food is geography, anthropology, economics, politics and history—it will always hold up a mirror to the society of its time’. A truth that is reinforced time and again through this invaluable book, which entertains as thoroughly as it informs.
(From my review for The New Indian Express, here: https://www.newindianexpress.com/life...)
It’s a quirky advertisement. There is an element of variety—a hint of the cosmopolitan nature of Mumbai—in that along with the ghee-soaked mithai, there is also ice cream. There is, upfront, the name of the restaurant, which reinforces the spectre of casteism, hanging over the entire concept of eating out in India back then.
In those few square inches of an old ad are several of the more pertinent points Mirza makes through the course of this book. Religion and caste as influences on food. Mumbai as a melting-pot. The influence of colonialism. The fusion of Indian and Western.
That is not all there is to Sea, Salt & Spice, though these are among the more prominent and oft-encountered aspects of Mumbai’s foodways in the book. Through the course of it, Mirza shows how Mumbai came to be, how it grew, how it evolved—and how food played a vital role in this evolution, irrespective of the phase the city (or proto-city, as the case may be) was in.
After a brief introductory note, Mirza begins the first part of the book, The Wonder That Was Bimbasthan, which explores the pre-colonial period pertaining to the area that went on to become Mumbai: the ancient tribes, clans and ruling dynasties, the food they produced and consumed, the trade links that connected them to lands overseas.
This leads to the second part, Souls & Spices, which traces the consolidation and development of Bombay under the Portuguese, who ‘came to look for Christians and spices’. There are interesting nuggets of information here, from what the Portuguese ate in the estado, to how their influence changed the food of the people they converted, and—a vital part of food history not just here but across India—the effect of the Columbian Exchange.
These two chapters are short compared to the two chapters that follow: The Edible Empire (which is about Mumbai under the British Raj) and Main Character Energy, which traces developments in food and cuisine in the post-Independence era. Since these cover not only very eventful periods in the city’s history, but also periods which are well-documented, there is plenty of food for thought in this latter part of the book.
Food for thought, really, is how Sea, Salt & Spice may be described in toto: through Mirza’s detailed and entertaining descriptions of all that Mumbai has produced, consumed and traded in the way of food and drink over the past centuries, one realizes, again and again, how food interacts with other spheres of life. How religion and race govern who is allowed to eat what and where (the ‘Brahmin hotels’ are a case in point, as is the fact that elite British clubs wouldn’t admit Indians). How migrations change food habits. How commerce affects our diets. How hunger, food shortages, disease, even the media—has an impact on what we eat.
Mirza’s writing is light and very readable, yet never frivolous. This is solid work, based on equally solid research: the writer has obviously dived deep into her subject. There are footnotes aplenty, and a QR code at the beginning of the book allows readers to access additional notes. As the icing on the cake, the book is embellished with dozens of interesting vignettes and sidebars. Reproduced here, in colour, are old paintings and drawings, photographs, advertisements, excerpts from newspaper articles, recipes, and more, each contributing towards making the book that much more enjoyable.
Through her writing, Mirza covers, too, the gamut of all that food implies. Its production (the fate of the Koli fishermen as the city evolved, or the establishment of Aarey Milk Colony, for instance) and its sale (the iconic Irani cafés; the city’s historic hotels; khanawalis; Indian Chinese food). There are insights into shortages of food, into health fads, into the dabbawallahs. Into just about any way in which Mumbai has interacted with food in its long and interesting past.
In her introductory note to the book, Mirza writes: ‘… food is geography, anthropology, economics, politics and history—it will always hold up a mirror to the society of its time’. A truth that is reinforced time and again through this invaluable book, which entertains as thoroughly as it informs.
(From my review for The New Indian Express, here: https://www.newindianexpress.com/life...)
September 9, 2026
A bit all over the place.
September 26, 2026
As someone who grew up in Bombay, this book was something I knew I would be very critical of going into because the city and the food are so close to my heart. This book, though, was excellent. Even without looking at the dust jacket, I could read that the author is from Bombay. This book is a love letter to the city through its food, its history and detailed research.
Before buying it, I do remember thinking “ugh another book about food and India. This time it’s about Bombay.” With the number of books about Indian food history, it tells you how central it is to an Indian cultural identity. But this book takes that one step further and uses it as a lens to look at not only the Portuguese and British colonial history, but also what came before and after. The history and objects of study in this book are expansive. Though, I’m sure many elements can be treated as the focus of a single dedicated study or a book, this book does a great job of covering so many with so much love and research.
So much of the book I recognise as iconic hallmarks of what makes Bombay, Bombay, and yet I didn’t know so much of its history. As a historian now, I am disappointed in myself.
A lot of things stood out to me as worthy of a mention, but reading about the intrepid Goan Catholic aunties during Prohibition and their speakeasies, as I have a drink in Goa is quite the irony.
There is also quite an interesting section about proteins, how the protein craze isn’t all that new, but existed in Bombay in 1949. Another lovely section was the discussion about eggs, and the complicated relationship between Indians and eggs.
Though, one thing I did miss (and it’s very very minor) is more maps. Maps of the changing Bombay through the times. The boundaries weren’t constant, and they changed with changing names and rulers and colonisers. It would have been a great visual reminder.
That being said, this book was amazing. I found my self smiling and reminiscing about Bombay frequently through this book.
4.75/5.
Before buying it, I do remember thinking “ugh another book about food and India. This time it’s about Bombay.” With the number of books about Indian food history, it tells you how central it is to an Indian cultural identity. But this book takes that one step further and uses it as a lens to look at not only the Portuguese and British colonial history, but also what came before and after. The history and objects of study in this book are expansive. Though, I’m sure many elements can be treated as the focus of a single dedicated study or a book, this book does a great job of covering so many with so much love and research.
So much of the book I recognise as iconic hallmarks of what makes Bombay, Bombay, and yet I didn’t know so much of its history. As a historian now, I am disappointed in myself.
A lot of things stood out to me as worthy of a mention, but reading about the intrepid Goan Catholic aunties during Prohibition and their speakeasies, as I have a drink in Goa is quite the irony.
There is also quite an interesting section about proteins, how the protein craze isn’t all that new, but existed in Bombay in 1949. Another lovely section was the discussion about eggs, and the complicated relationship between Indians and eggs.
Though, one thing I did miss (and it’s very very minor) is more maps. Maps of the changing Bombay through the times. The boundaries weren’t constant, and they changed with changing names and rulers and colonisers. It would have been a great visual reminder.
That being said, this book was amazing. I found my self smiling and reminiscing about Bombay frequently through this book.
4.75/5.
September 16, 2026
Nice , thoroughly researched book on history of food in Mumbai from pre Portuguese to Post Liberalisation.
Interesting information and history of how food and culture evolved in Mumbai.
Recommend.
Interesting information and history of how food and culture evolved in Mumbai.
Recommend.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Impeccably researched and deliciously narrated, Meher Mirza's book is a rare feat of ambition that makes you time travel through a city and live through its many, vibrant food cultures within 270-odd pages.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews