Mumbai Food: Sindhi eatery at Khar serves homestyle Shikarpuri delicacies

Unlimited Sindhi vegetarian thali

Macroni in a sabzi, with peas? I remember asking a Sindhi colleague, as we tore off a piece of koki and dug into her dabba of macaroni peas patata for a greedy bite. This was our first crash course in Sindhi food, which we discovered is heavy on onions, tomatoes and turmeric.

This afternoon, we are expanding our knowledge with a full course of a vegetarian thali at Juss by Sindhful. The eatery, by Sannat Ahuja and his mom Kanchan, serves homestyle Shikarpuri delicacies from the northern region of the Sindh province. It's mid-week and an empty 28-seater restaurant greets us as we walk in at 1 pm. The staff is friendly and courteous and encourage our decision to go for an unlimited vegetarian thali (Rs 450).

Interiors of Juss

Spiced crunchy phulko, tikra, dunked in spicy green chutney lines our stomachs while we wait for the thali. Looking around, we notice that a jute meshwork drops from the ceiling, cobbled with fairy lights. "It's like eating under the stars," a fellow foodie we are with announces. The walls display artworks of a woman cooking over a chulha, while another is a fine canvas of the Ghanta Ghar, a marketplace in Sindh province. We smile at the customisation of Ahuja scribbled on an entry gate.

Juss, according to the menu, is not just another word, but stands for the magic and love in the hands of the person cooking your food. Items are divided into naasto (Sindhi fusion small plates), namkeen (papad and more), khado (mains), meetho (dessert) and pe pe pe (beverages).

Our thali arrives, filled with delicacies including the sanna pakodas (onion fritters), double deep-fried aloo tuk (double fried smashed potatoes with red chilli powder), aloo raswalle, daran ji haji, bhindi basar, Sindhi curry, bhuga chawal with a side of papad and a glass of chilled rose sherbet.

Our recent memory of sai bhaji is the one prepared by food blogger Ankiet Gulabani, when we hung out in his kitchen as he simmered dal, palak and veggies. Not only did we lick our fingers clean, we took the leftovers home to reminisce the flavours. This one is a let-down, a bit bland, lacking in salt and masala.

But the daranji bhaji wins our heart. Boiled besan dumplings are spiced and kept overnight and cooked in onion, tomato and a khataas prepared from a secret recipe made using dried anardana (pomegranate). With hot puris, we've won a ticket to heaven. We ignore the phulka that came cold and chewy in the form of a trianglular paratha.

For the first time, we taste bhindi paired with onions, and it takes on a sweeter tone. All the dishes have a home-cooked touch that we find comforting. What is this fuss about Sindhi curry? Now we know. Divided on the basis of recipes from northern and southern parts of Sindh, this curry is tomato-based unlike the popular besan variant. It is soupy, tangy, and our mouth waters with an aftertaste as we write this. We sip on rose sherbet between bites, and by the time we reach dessert, the restaurant is packed. A kitty party is on in full swing on one side, and a solo patron is confessing that she'll swap her meetings for an afternoon nap. We're still in the game, gorging on warm gulab jamuns; just that our eyes are heavy and our stomach filled with a satisfied meal.

AT: 4, Gangotri CHS, 5th Road, Khar West.
CALL: 7700087788
TIME: 11.30 am to 4 pm; 7 pm to 11.30 pm

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