bombay diary: soam for lovely gujarati food

soam is a fairly new pure vegetarian, family-friendly restaurant in bombay located opposite babulnath temple near chowpatty beach. it specialises in the cuisine of gujarat and offers a clean and modern indian ambience. the menu changes every month so there are always new things to look forward to every time you go. my father has been raving about soam so i was keen to check it out when i was in bombay last weekend.

we went to soam for lunch on a sunday. it was only around noon when we got there but the place was buzzing already and many families were patiently waiting to be seated. luckily for us, my mother has called ahead to book a table. we ordered lassis to cool off from the scorching heat outside while we browsed through the menu wondering what to order.

the farsan plate looked most appetising as a starter. farsan means savory snack in gujrati and usually refers to anything salty, fried and crunchy. that encompasses everything from chivda to khandvi. i think that all farsan is made from chickpea flour and it's pretty amazing how many different creations are possible starting with this basic ingredient. we were treated to kachoris and dhoklas along with spicy coriander chutney. the kachoris were filled with a yummy peas filling. the dhoklas were cone-shaped and came wrapped in a dry leaf.



my main dish was a mango curry with rotis which was surprisingly delicious given the combination of sweet and sour flavours. i was stuffed on the farsan so could not eat much of my main dish. i must go back to soam to taste all the other delicacies of gujarati cuisine.