Eating Against the Tide
Stories, Recipes, and Research from Mumbai's Coastline
FIRST EDITION | 2026 | MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA
ISBN: 978-81-689567-0-4
Pages: 200
MRP: ₹950
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Eating Against the Tide: Stories, Recipes, and Research from Mumbai’s Coastline is a new book from The Locavore that explores Mumbai’s relationship with the sea through the lives, knowledge, and food traditions of its Koli fishing communities. It is a culmination of a six-month-long storytelling and public engagement project that spotlights Mumbai’s Kolis and their evolving relationship with the sea.
The Koli community is at the frontline of the food systems in Mumbai. The original Indigenous fisherfolk of this coastline, they face numerous challenges posed by rapid urbanisation and the ongoing climate crisis, often resulting in not only their displacement, but also a loss of livelihood and heritage. Despite these pressures, the Kolis have managed to stay afloat. This book is an attempt to shed light on how the community resists and persists, and what the journey tastes like.
Building on the questions raised in the documentary film Against the Tide (2023) directed by Sarvnik Kaur, this book carries the film’s concerns into the everyday reality of the city: What does it mean to live with the ocean today? Who harvests our seafood? And what knowledge, resilience, and uncertainty lie behind the fish we eat? This is an invitation to Mumbaikars to eat seasonally, sustainably, and locally, and to recognise the human stories behind the catch.
Part cookbook, part visual archive, and part record of a coastline in transition, Eating Against the Tide by The Locavore is an invitation to look more closely at the fish on our plates, and at the people and places behind them. Across its pages are photo essays and interviews from Mumbai’s Koliwadas, profiles of 15 locally significant seafood species, 20 home-tested recipes, a practical guide to buying seafood, maps, photographs, and research on the city’s changing coastline.
Look Inside the Book
Stories from Mumbai’s Coastline
Meet people whose lives and livelihoods are intertwined with the sea, from fishers navigating changing waters to women harvesting shellfish, drying fish, running kitchens, and sustaining the everyday infrastructure of Mumbai’s fishing communities.
Fish Spotlights
Learn about 15 species of seafood found along India’s coasts including their local names, habitats, breeding seasons, recommended buying sizes, and stories from fishing communities.
Recipes
Cook your way through a collection of 20 home-tested seafood recipes spanning Koli kitchens and regional food traditions from across India—from Mandeli Masala and Ghol Curry to Bangda Recheado and Kusia Jalukia.
ChefTZac’s Guide to Buying Seafood
A practical guide to choosing, buying, storing and cooking seafood better.
Photo Essays
Maps and Research
Explore Mumbai’s Koliwadas and changing shoreline through maps, photographs, interviews, and research that place food within the larger story of the city and its coast.
What People are Saying
‘I sell fish because it is my passion. I am a Koli from the new generation who still wants my people to be in business because Kolis are the soul of the sea. We understand fish, the tides, and the sea, and this book shows that our story is not just alive, but still making waves.’
—Prachita Koli (@thekolinbai), Entrepreneur
’Before Mumbai looked at the sea, the Kolis were already listening to it. This book doesn’t romanticise the Kolis, nor does it mourn them. It simply spends time with them. And sometimes, that’s enough to change the way you see a city.’
—Ranveer Brar (@ranveer.brar), Chef
‘At a time when “sustainability” is invoked with little understanding of what it means, Eating Against the Tide tells the story of a people who have practised it for generations, offering both, a compelling introduction to Mumbai’s fishing communities and an invaluable guide to understanding and cooking seafood.’
—Saee Koranne-Khandekar (@skoranne), Author and Culinary Consultant
‘This book is a delicious, deeply human journey into the coastline, the community, and the kitchens that nourished this city. After this you’ll never look at the city’s shores—or its plate—the same way again.’
—Kunal Vijayakar (@kunalvijayakar), Food Writer, Actor, and YouTuber
‘Eating Against the Tide is a rich visual account of the relationship between Mumbai’s coastlines and the communities who live there. Chef Thomas Zacharias’ vision to integrate food justice, sustainable food practice, and honour communities who feed us is radically transforming how food is cooked, tasted, imagined, and written about in contemporary India.’
—Dolly Kikon (@dollykikon), Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
“Before Mumbai was a city, it was islands. The Kolis turned the sea’s wild harvest into culture through cuisine, and shaped the city we know. This book remembers!”
—Aaron Savio Lobo (@meenscientist), Marine Conservation Scientist
The Mumbai Koli Project is the official impact campaign of the documentary film Against the Tide (2023), directed by Sarvnik Kaur. The project was led by The Locavore in close collaboration with Sarvnik Kaur, Koli community leader and fisherman Ganesh Nakhawa, and Impact Producer Sonia Parekh. It is supported by the Doc Society’s Climate Story Fund, which enables independent media storytelling and impact strategies around the world.
The Koli community is at the frontline of the food systems in Mumbai. The original Indigenous fisherfolk of this coastline, they face numerous challenges posed by rapid urbanisation and the ongoing climate crisis, often resulting in not only their displacement, but also a loss of livelihood and heritage. Despite these pressures, the Kolis have managed to stay afloat. This book is an attempt to shed light on how the community resists and persists, and what the journey tastes like.
Use it for everyday cooking especially for sautéing, frying, or tempering, where its deeper, roasted coconut flavour comes through best. Because it’s hot-processed, it also works well as a finishing oil drizzled over dals, vegetables, or rice just before serving for added aroma.
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"This book shows that our story is not just alive, but still making waves."
—Prachita Koli (thekolinbai), Entrepreneur
"Before Mumbai looked at the sea, the Kolis were already listening to it. This book doesn't romanticise the Kolis, nor does it mourn them. It simply spends time with them. And sometimes, that's enough to change the way you see a city."
—Ranveer Brar, Chef
"This book is a delicious, deeply human journey into the coastline, the community, and the kitchens that nourished this city. After this you'll never look at the city's shores or its plate the same way again."
—Kunal Vijayakar, Broadcaster, Actor, and Author
"Before Mumbai was a city, it was islands. The Kolis turned the sea's wild harvest into culture through cuisine, and shaped the city we know. This book remembers!"
—Aaron Savio Lobo, Marine Conservation Scientist