The dough is prepared by adding boiling water to the flour and mixing it thoroughly. The dough should be firm and pliable. Salt may be added to enhance the flavour, although this is optional.
Located along the western coastline of Mumbai’s northern suburbs, Madh Island is bound by the Arabian Sea to the west and Malad Creek to the east, which separates it from Versova. Commuters travelling between Madh and Versova use ferry services operating across Malad Creek. The first ferry starts at 5 am. Ferries run every 15 minutes, and the journey takes about five minutes. The ride fare is ₹3.00.
Koli women are actively involved in various economic activities related to fishing and maritime livelihoods and play a central role in maintaining the household in the absence of male family members who are away at sea. In addition to taking care of their household affairs, they run small businesses that add to the family income.
The Versova-Madh ferry service is used by a wide range of commuters, some even plying two-wheelers stacked on the flat decks. Daily commuters include students going to school, daily wage labourers, working professionals, and fisherwomen with their daily catch headed for the markets.
In the local Marathi dialect, tandula means rice, and bhakri means roti, resulting in the tandalachi bhakri, or rice roti. While the basic preparation method remains the same, there are variations of bhakri made with different flours. These include jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet), and nachni (finger millet), which are common in different regions of India.
The raw ingredients are mixed at the mill. The mixture is finely ground into powder form. A single kg of masala takes about 4–5 hours of pounding and grinding to blend the powder effectively.
In the final steps, the bottle is sealed with a cap, tightly wrapped in cloth and tied with a string. East Indian families recall a time not so long ago when they collected empty beer bottles to be repurposed for storing masala. Over time, glass bottles have been phased out and replaced with airtight containers, which can store larger quantities and are easy to stack. Bottles are still used, although sparingly.
In addition to their signature bottle masala, Veera and Natasha Almeida make fish masala, puri masala, and indyal (vindaloo) masala. Though various factory-made spice blends exist in the market, bottle masala remains uniquely East Indian and holds a special place in the East Indian community as a symbol of their culinary tradition and heritage.
The pounding machine has a mechanical sieve attached to it, through which the masala is sieved to remove lumps and impurities. The mills are operated by women, who did the work manually in the past using a mortar and pestle.
Jevayla Ye translates to ‘come eat’ in the East Indian dialect, which is the basic idea behind Veera Almeida’s cooking venture. The spice blends are packed in airtight pouches with illustrated branding, representing the East Indian community and their association with spices.