Summer 2025 Edition: lots of eating, not much picture taking or reporting.
MAASLI
Seafood and more in a very specific style – GSB / gaud saraswat brahmin. Lately of the Konkan coast, possibly having originated in Kashmir (centuries ago). And yes, meat-eating Brahmins.
We decided to try two thalis at lunch to try a range of dishes without overdoing it. The first was a bombil thali, which isn’t a common offering. The second was a chicken thali, which I always order if it’s on offer.
My favorite dish at coastal places is Fried Bombil / Bombay Duck (a type of local fish, not duck) but I am often disappointed. Not so here – exactly perfect.
The version I had in Hong Kong recently was good, but this is the platonic ideal 
The bombil thali came with a few pieces of the perfectly fried bombil, a bowl of a regional specialty (called phanna curry) with a 3’ baby pomfret – a size I have never seen (as what we call baby pomfret at home is. 5-7" personal-sized fish 
), a tiny serving of pungent dried prawns sauteed with masala, chapatis, and rice. Plus a little bowl of sol kadhi – an extract of kokum and coconut.
The chicken thali came with my usual coastal favorites – chicken “sukka”, a dry masala prep, and chicken “gravy”, a saucier and different regional prep. We asked for “bhakri” with this, which is a rice flour flatbread. There was also a tiny bowl of a third kind of gravy, which was also delicious.
Everything was delicious, but it’s hard for me to stray from my favorites that I crave all year – the bombil and the chicken sukka. Next time, I will try some of their less “standard” favorites – the community uses a spice called Tirphal, similar to Sichuan peppercorn, in several dishes, which is unusual in these parts.
