Mumbai's defining street food, often called the city's burger. A spiced mashed-potato fritter (vada) deep-fried in gram flour batter, stuffed into a soft bread roll (pav) with dry garlic chutney and a fried green chilli on the side. Cheap, filling, and everywhere. The ones near railway stations and at dedicated stalls are usually the best.

A thick, buttery mash of mixed vegetables cooked down with a special spice blend, served with soft pav rolls toasted in butter, raw onion, and a wedge of lime. It was invented in Mumbai as a quick meal for textile mill workers and is now a citywide obsession. The amount of butter involved is part of the point.

A vegetarian sandwich that's a genre of its own. White bread layered with boiled potato, beetroot, cucumber, tomato, onion, and a punchy green chutney, sometimes grilled with cheese and butter into a 'grilled sandwich'. Sold from carts on every office street corner. Simple, fresh, and oddly addictive.

The classic beach chaat. Puffed rice tossed with chopped onion, tomato, boiled potato, crunchy sev, and sweet-and-tangy tamarind and green chutneys, finished with crushed puri. It has to be eaten immediately before it goes soft. Best enjoyed standing on a beach at sunset, which is exactly where you'll find it.

Hollow crisp puris filled with spiced potato and chickpea, then dipped in cold tangy flavoured water and eaten whole in one bite. Mumbai's version uses smaller puris and sharper, tangier water than the north. The vendor fills them one at a time and you eat at speed. A street-food rite of passage.

A Maharashtrian classic that hits hard. A spicy curry of sprouted moth beans topped with farsan (crunchy savoury mix), onion, and coriander, served with pav to mop it up. It ranges from mild to genuinely fiery depending on where you eat it. A proper breakfast or hearty lunch, more local than the tourist-trail snacks.

Despite the name, it's a fish, not a duck. Bombil is a soft local fish, coated in semolina and spices and shallow-fried until crisp on the outside and tender inside. A coastal Maharashtrian and Koli staple, and a must-try if you eat seafood. Best at the no-frills seafood places rather than fancy restaurants.

Prawns marinated in a red spice paste, coated in batter, and deep-fried until crisp. Named after the Koliwada fishing communities who created it. Crunchy, spicy, and served with onion and lime. One of the great Mumbai seafood snacks, and a good entry point into the city's coastal cooking.

Mumbai's version of a wrap, invented in the city in the 1960s. A paratha rolled around spiced filling, chicken, mutton, paneer, or egg and vegetables, with tangy masala and onions. Quick, portable, and a favourite late-night and after-college food. The original Tibbs Frankie chain still runs across the city.

The breakfast of old Mumbai. A soft bun split and slathered with butter (maska), dunked into sweet, milky Irani chai. Served in the century-old Irani cafes run by Zoroastrian families, in rooms with marble tables, bentwood chairs, and faded mirrors. As much an experience as a meal.

A cold dessert-drink of rose syrup, vermicelli, basil seeds, milk, and a scoop of ice cream, served tall in a glass. Sweet, fragrant, and exactly what you want in Mumbai's heat. The old Mughlai sweet shops do the best versions, and it's a fixture after a meal in the Mohammed Ali Road area.

A full Maharashtrian or Malvani coastal meal on one plate: fish curry, fried fish, prawns or crab, solkadhi (a pink kokum-and-coconut drink), rice or bhakri, and sides. The Koli, Malvani, and Gomantak (Goan-Maharashtrian) restaurants do this best. The right choice if you want to eat the real coastal food of this region in one sitting.