New Delhi, June 6 -- For one of his tasting menus in Mumbai, chef Akash Deshpande plates up a piquant dried bombil or Bombay duck over a brioche toast. The dish is served along with bombil mousse shaped like seashells, and prawn papad clipped to resemble the bamboo frames used to dry fish along the coastline. He calls the course "Bombil", a fish synonymous with the coastal communities of Maharashtra, and the city's food culture. "My mother grew up in Konkan, and so, when there is no fresh fish or meat, she prepares a sukhat with dried fish," says the chef and co-founder of Luv restaurant while talking about his inspiration.

At a time when fine-dining menus evolve with fresh takes on hyperlocal cuisines, the culinary culture of Maharashtr...