Restaurant: Mumbai Chowk
City: Newark, CA

The concept of Food Touring was sparked at this place, when I had dinner with friends on Jan 6th. Unfortunately, the first post wasn’t Indian food because I did not take any photos that night. I finally had the chance to come back with my parents on Friday night!

My dad and I both love lamb and spicy food, so my dad picked Kolhapuri Mutton, which is lamb cooked in special Kolhapuri masala. The lamb was very tender and flavorful. Overall, this dish is very spicy, so if you can only handle mild spiciness, do not get this dish.

Kolhapuri (a city in southwest Maharashtra, in western India) is known for its delicious & spicy mutton curries. (Sanjeev Kapoor)

There is nothing subtle about this dish. Its red, hot and pungent.The taste hits you right away because of the generosity with which garam masalas are added. The chillies are hair raising. Especially if the lavangi, that firecracker of a mirchi ,is part of the ingredients. Its sparks define Kolhapuri food. Almost painful to the palate, once eaten most people are not ‘twice shy.’ In fact many remain fans forever, addicted , craving that colourful gravy, situated as they are, far away from the rugged terrain that surrounds the place of it’s origins. (The Cook’s Cottage)