Sunlight is streaming into Esha Sahor Lepcha’s cosy living room, which overlooks the expansive Gulmohar Garden in the nether regions of Versova. A copy of The Dhammapada — a collection of the Buddha’s sayings — is lying atop a pile of books on a table, revealing her religious beliefs. This is where she will host a pop-up tonight serving modern Tibetan food, a cuisine that is thoroughly underserved in Mumbai.

There is in fact only one restaurant worth its salt — Sernyaa in Oshiwara — that does similar dishes. It is, not so coincidentally, run by Lepcha’s uncle. “They have a black sauce there that you won’t find anywhere else. But every time I ask my uncle about how it’s made, he says, ‘Oh, it’s just beans.’ I guess he wants to keep the secret to himself,” she laughs.