I would like to thank Mumbai Masala, specialists in cuisine from the eponymous west coastal Indian city, for transporting me back to a time and place I hold dear.
As I tucked into an ambitious selection of dishes from the restaurant one recent evening, my memory was vigorously stirred and I swear I could hear the voices and see the faces of friends from my youth summoned from the recesses of my brain via powerful scents and bold flavours. The central medium for this time travelling experience was, wait for it . . . goat. Bear with me.
You see, I lived in Montreal between the ages of 11 and 23. These are formative years for an individual, a time when one’s fundamental identity takes shape.
Looking back at my youth through the lens of adulthood, I believe that the most valuable education I received during this period of my life was cultural in nature rather than academic.
It is overly simplistic to speak of Montreal using the tired, largely political juxtaposition of Francophone versus Anglophone. To me, the most fascinating insights about the city come from the population that comprises the broad, catchall category of Allophone, or those whose mother tongue is self-identified as neither French nor English.
The neighbourhoods of Quebec’s largest urban centre are populated with people from all over the globe who bring with them the rich and storied traditions of their homelands.
In my high school, in the urban neighbourhood of Cote-des-Neiges, I was a visible minority, one of only five Caucasian youths in a school otherwise attended by students of West Indian and Indian descent. It was there that I first realized that my understanding of the world and its people was superficial, limited by my exposure to largely like traditions.
I quickly began to absorb the culture of my peers in that school, hungrily feasting on new perspectives of the world. Additionally, I feasted on the unforgettable new foods introduced to me by my friends. Ackee and saltfish, spicy beef patties, dal, samosas; these were the flavours of my youth. But of all the dishes that imparted an indelible mark on my sense memory, no other conjures as intense a feeling as curried goat, a dish that is not so easy to come by in North Vancouver.
Mumbai Masala offers a lovely, deep and rich rendition of goat curry, with heavy chunks of bone-in goat meat covered in a bronze-hued, thick and spicy sauce packed with flavours of cinnamon, cumin, garlic, and coriander.
They say it is a poor workman who blames his tools, but I do think that the English language is ill equipped to describe the flavour of goat meat. Heady and pungent approximate the character, but these adjectives are often used pejoratively; if you are in any way disinclined to try goat on the basis of a preconception about its gaminess, I would hate to solidify your prejudice.
The meat is not dissimilar to lamb, but retains a firmer texture when slowly braised. I recommend requesting the dish spicy, as I did, as the marriage of aromatic goat meat and biting, hot chili is one for the ages.
Lost in nostalgic reverie, it took me a few moments to realize that other dishes had been presented to me and my family, with whom I was dining. At the opposite end of the spectrum from the goat was a vegetarian dish of black lentils, Dal Mumbai, a house specialty that is slowly simmered overnight to achieve incomparably complex and rich flavours.
The lentils remarkably retain their shape and texture despite the lengthy preparation, and boast gorgeous flavours of fenugreek, tomato, onion and garlic. The texture is creamy, lending itself well to dipping with hot naan.
We also sampled wonderful Fish Madras, generous morsels of tender white fish in a succulent and rich, gingery, garlicky curry sauce. I remember this dish from Mumbai Masala’s earliest days up on West 16th Street and I am glad to see that it is still featured on the menu.
Once the fish has been devoured from the curry, I have to confess I love to just spoon up the delicious sauce like soup.
Next up was a novel paneer preparation, made with bite-sized cubes of the cheese with strips of bell peppers, onions and chilies. The dish was sort of like an Indian take on fajitas, particularly when eaten with naan. The fresh crunch of the peppers and long strips of onion were a departure from the much more integrated textures of the other curries.
Finally, because it is consistently demanded by the kids and is, in my opinion, an excellent gateway dish into more robust curries, we ordered Butter Chicken, mildly spiced and creamy, with its signature, child-friendly bright orange, tomato-based sauce and large chunks of innocuous white chicken meat.
Our meal, including rice and naan for four, was $84 before gratuity.
Mumbai Masala is located at Park & Tilford Centre, 333 Brooksbank Ave. 604-984-8888 mumbaimasala.ca
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
