The Story of Mumbai Ka Sizzler!
Mumbai Sizzlers are loved by everyone. Who doesn’t enjoy the hissing sound, the sizzling sensation, and the super-hot meat served on a rustic wooden plate? But aside from the recipe and furthermore the procedure, the history of sizzler and how it came to be, is really interesting!
A Complex Origin Narrative
In Mumbai, sizzlers have been a mainstay for more than 50 years, it turns out. Although the exact origin of the meal is unknown, the most popular origin narrative goes something like this:
When Del Johnson, a Californian ice cream salesperson, went to New York City in the 1950s, he observed steak being served on a sizzling dish. Johnson was enthralled by the food, so in 1958 he made the decision to create his own establishment in Culver City, California, called Sizzler Family Steak House. One of the restaurant’s hallmark dishes was sizzling steak plates.
Johnson sold Sizzler to Jim Collins (not a relative) in 1967 as the eatery began to grow. Collins transformed Sizzler into the chain that many Americans are still familiar with and adore today—a relaxed, family-friendly restaurant known for its reasonably priced steak, shrimp, and unlimited salad bar.
Around this time, the company discontinued offering steaks on sizzling platters for sale. Firoz Irani, an Indian businessman, dined at a Sizzler restaurant in California in the early 1960s and, like Johnson, was mesmerized by the spectacle of a sizzling hot plate spitting and smoking up a room. According to legend, Irani brought that idea back to Mumbai and created his own extravagant variation, fusing global elements like pasta and Mexican cheese with regional favourites like samosas and paneer from India, as well as spices like garam masala or fenugreek. The Indian sizzler is the result of this.
In any case, that timeline appears to be provided by the majority of sizzler restaurants in India.
Irani opened The Sizzler sometime in the 1960s in Churchgate, a posh area of Mumbai close to the renowned but now-demolished Excelsior Theater. The sizzler is widely regarded as having originated at that restaurant.
After a few years, The Sizzler shuttered, but Irani’s son Sharookh quickly launched two replacement eateries: Touche in 1967 in Mumbai and The Place, Touche the Sizzler in 1971 in Pune. They were both experts in the sizzlers that his father had created. Soon after, sizzlers were being served in eateries all over India. Kobe Sizzlers and Yoko Sizzlers, two of the most well-known sizzler chains, first appeared in the late 1980s. With locations across India, Dubai, Qatar, and Oman, they have contributed to the sizzler’s rise to fame on a global scale.
Even though the meal gained popularity, it was first regarded as a gourmet delicacy.
Indians were forced to enjoy sizzlers only in luxury restaurants that could afford the necessary cookware because they couldn’t be made at home without a cast-iron platter. However, the popularity of the dish truly took off when India’s middle class began rapidly expanding in the 1990s and 2000s and more people could afford to eat at restaurants. A typical sizzler today costs between 300 and 500 rupees, which isn’t cheap but is comparable to the price of a great restaurant lunch.
In the 1990s and 2000s, when sizzlers were at the height of their vogue, they were the dish you would order to impress guests and a date night dinner for when you wanted to flaunt your wealth. They still play a significant role in Mumbai’s diverse food scene today. Today, sizzlers are sold across India with wide-ranging flavours from Mexican sizzlers (like a burrito bowl served on a fajita platter) to samosa sizzlers to momo sizzlers (topped with Indian-Nepalese dumplings).
For such mouth-watering sizzlers, visit Desi Hype!
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