A sizzler is a medley dish invented in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. It is cooked and served on a hot metal plate that is placed on a wooden holder when taken to the customer's table. The dish is inspired by the Japanese

Teppanyaki , often confused with , is a post-World War II style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word ''teppanyaki'' is derived from ''teppan'' ( 鉄板), the metal plate on which it is cooked, and ''yaki'' ( 焼き), whic ...

, in which vegetables and meat are cooked on a very hot metal griddle, to keep the inside soft and moist, and make the outside crunchy.

History

The

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n sizzler was invented by

Firoz Erani Firouz ( fa, فیروز; also spelled Farooz, Firuz, Pirooz, Firoz), Pirouz ( fa, پیروز, also spelled Pirooz, Piruz, Piroz), Feroz (Hindi/Urdu; also spelled Feroze, Phiroze), Fayrouz ( ar, فيروز), Phiroj, are masculine given names of Pers ...

in Mumbai in 1963, and his restaurant near Excelsior cinema was called "Sizzler". He was inspired by an American version of Japanese Teppanyaki at a restaurant called Sizzler which he visited in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Firoz's second wife Tachiko was Japanese. In 1967, they shut down their restaurant "Sizzler" and moved to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. Firoz's son Shahrookh Erani continued the tradition of serving sizzlers, and opened "Touche" on Warden Road in the same year. In 1971, he moved to

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

where he started a new restaurant "The Place: Touche". The restaurant is still popular today, is managed by Farida Vachha, and carries the mantle of being the original sizzler restaurant of India. In 1975, a businessman called

Vazir Rizvi Vazir may refer to: *Vazir Agha, Pakistani writer *Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli, Azerbaijani writer *Vazir, Iran *Vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in th ...

started his own restaurant (and later chain) called "Kobe Sizzlers" in Mumbai. Other restaurants such as Yoko Sizzlers and Fountain Sizzlers soon followed suit in Mumbai, and Zamu's and Yana in Pune. Most large cities in India now have restaurants that specialise in sizzlers, and some of the iconic sizzler restaurant chains have branches in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Description

A sizzler is essentially a single dish meal, in which meats and vegetables are cooked in a sauce on a hot metal plate. The dish has been described as an "open-roasted, grilled or shallow fried piece of meat, chicken, fish or vegetable patty, served on an oval shaped metal or stone hot plate, kept on a wooden base. The word "sizzler" comes from the sizzle that one hears after heating the dish under a grill. The metal plate is heated to the point right before service, that when the finished steak is placed on it, it sizzles (you can literally hear the hissing sound) and the smoky flavour makes the dish more enticing." In terms of preparation, the equipment and method for all sizzlers is the same, despite the large variety of ingredients and sauces.

References

{{reflist Indian cuisine