A Walk through Mirchi Gully,Lalbaug,Mumbai
It was the search for our community masala that led my cousin Archana and me to Lalbaug.We belong to the Twashta Kasar community,whose people lived mainly in Girgaum,Mahim,Alibaug and some parts of Konkan.Earlier we got our masala from a lady in Pune but she moved away.Asmita Kadu, who belongs to my community and to the well known Facebook group Angat Pangat, kindly gave me her receipt from RB Khamkar Masale at Lalbaug with all ingredients and quantities mentioned. These sun dried spice mixtures are made from December to mid June..Lalbaug was an area where millworkers lived ...Girangaon.Many people still come from the Konkan and Kolhapur to get their masalas ground here. There are many shops with the"Khamkar" name and one called "Chavan" which is equally well known.The Khamkars here are all related.This is the third generation selling masalas. The main ingredient of most spice mixes appears to be red chilli (mirchi)so no surprise that