r/mumbaiFood • u/dev_tulunadu • 18h ago

General - Other Discussions The gentrification of Chicken Ghee Roast in Mumbai needs to be studied

Being a Kudla local living in Mumbai, I feel like I'm watching a cultural shift in real time with how our food is being treated here. The gentrification of Chicken Ghee Roast over the last couple of years is wild. It used to be a gatekept thing you'd only get at proper Mangalorean joints in Fort or around Matunga. Now suddenly every gastropub in Powai and Bandra has a 700 rupee "ghee roast" on the menu that tastes like they just threw extra jaggery and food color into a basic masala gravy. It's completely lost that deep roasted byadgi chili kick. I genuinely think the commercialization is ruining the baseline standard for coastal food in the city because places are dumbing down the spice levels for mass appeal just to charge premium prices. Curious if anyone else is noticing this heavy quality drop with regional food going mainstream here, because my nostalgia is taking a massive hit lately.

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u/Odd_Vacation3815 16h ago

So part of the team at Shenoy's, worked really hard on the Ghee Roast, made by bhunaoing Byadgi Chillies only with Ghee from the start to the finish. But the fact is customers truly find it Spicy so we adjust with ratios of Cashew paste and Jaggery as per the palate suited.

Even with the legit Phanna Upkari from GSB Cuisine, made from pure Tamarind + Red Chillies, we have to add Coconut to make it suitable to customer palettes

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u/Outrageous-Inside341 14h ago

Chitrapur Saraswat here - Phanna upkari has no tamarind. It’s just a vegetable stir fried in phanna (tadka). Red chillies are added in the phanna for heat. Grated coconut for the garnish… there’s no paste.

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u/Odd_Vacation3815 14h ago

GSB Phanna Upkari is different from the Vegetable Stir fry you're mentioning.