New Delhi, Aug. 29 -- Did you know that in Bandra's Chimbai village, in 1914, a group of fierce Koli women physically confronted a senior police inspector, who tried to impose a ban on drying 'bombil' or Bombay duck because of its strong odour? It may sound like a scene straight out of a Hindi film, but it is one of many vignettes from Mumbai's fascinating food history that author Meher Mirza has woven into her book Sea, Salt & Spice: A History of Mumbai Through Food.

Mirza is a Mumbai-born and bred food and culture writer, who has been writing about the city and its food history for various media platforms from a post-colonial lens for over a decade. Her debut book goes back to the first century when the city was split into small island...