Mumbai

This handsome tribute to Mumbai—formerly Bombay—captures the vibrancy of India’s coastal metropolis through striking photography and insightful essays by local writers.

Rather than focusing on scale or skyline, the large-format volume (9⅜” x 11⅜”, 366 pages) feels surprisingly intimate, centering on the city’s people, neighborhoods, and richly layered food culture.

Some essays trace Mumbai’s evolution as a trading hub shaped by waves of migration; others delve into specific festivals, street foods, and communities.

While not primarily a cookbook, the book includes recipes that highlight the diversity of the city's culinary influences: an okra dish from Sindhi migrants displaced by Partition, a spiced rice from Maharashtra brightened with lime and coconut, and a slow-cooked meat and lentil stew from the Parsi community, whose ancestors arrived from Persia in the 7th century.

Mumbai is the first in a projected series celebrating Indian cities, with future volumes on Lucknow and Kolkata in the works.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.