Enjoy culinary innovations for Bong new year!
15 April 2013 1:13 AM GMT
If spring has melted into a hot, hot summer, can the Bengali new year be far away? Well, get ready for a different gourmet experience if you happen to be in the city of joy...with all true blue Bengali restaurants opting for fusion fare instead of sticking to the dal-bhat-mangsho routine.
Take the restaurant 6 Ballygunge Place for example. Bite into the succulent murgir kebab noshi – a recipe that originates in the famous kitchens of Thakurbari (Rabindranath Tagore’s home) of North Kolkata. ‘It is spiced with red chillies, kashundi, dahi and garlic paste. The chicken is fried first’, explains Partha Banerjee, manager of 6, Ballygunge Place.
The speciality restaurant is also serving Chingri bhuna and Gandharaj grilled fish for the first time this year...dishes that are popular in Bangladesh. ‘Both the dishes are not typical of West Bengal. Bangladeshi chefs flavour most of their dishes with onion, garlic and ginger – and the fish number is marinated with lime and flavourful’, said Banerjee.
Kewpies, another Bong food outlet has gone for interesting new a la carte items which are not quintessentially Bengali –like Chicken Jahanara, tak dind aloo and prawn jhal friezi. Priced between Rs 255 to Rs 395 for a portion, these dishes have been dug out by foodie-chef-author Rakhi Purnima Dasgupta from the Anglo-Indian repertoire. If you want to do the regular fare, opt for the nabobarsho thali – complete with luchi, pulao, two vegetarian and two non-vegetarian dishes – with pabda and keema items being added this year. Wrap up with sweet payesh/malpoa – and it will set you back by a meagre Rs 635 per thali.
Another five star outlet, Durbari, at Swissotel Kolkata has turned the desi pantabhat (fermented rice) into a spicy platter, with fried fish thrown in. ‘Most five stars ignore this Bangla dish which goes back ages in time. Since most of our guests are international, we decided to serve them something innovative this time’, said a spokesperson of the hotel.So welcome the New Year with a different gastronomic experience!
Take the restaurant 6 Ballygunge Place for example. Bite into the succulent murgir kebab noshi – a recipe that originates in the famous kitchens of Thakurbari (Rabindranath Tagore’s home) of North Kolkata. ‘It is spiced with red chillies, kashundi, dahi and garlic paste. The chicken is fried first’, explains Partha Banerjee, manager of 6, Ballygunge Place.
The speciality restaurant is also serving Chingri bhuna and Gandharaj grilled fish for the first time this year...dishes that are popular in Bangladesh. ‘Both the dishes are not typical of West Bengal. Bangladeshi chefs flavour most of their dishes with onion, garlic and ginger – and the fish number is marinated with lime and flavourful’, said Banerjee.
Kewpies, another Bong food outlet has gone for interesting new a la carte items which are not quintessentially Bengali –like Chicken Jahanara, tak dind aloo and prawn jhal friezi. Priced between Rs 255 to Rs 395 for a portion, these dishes have been dug out by foodie-chef-author Rakhi Purnima Dasgupta from the Anglo-Indian repertoire. If you want to do the regular fare, opt for the nabobarsho thali – complete with luchi, pulao, two vegetarian and two non-vegetarian dishes – with pabda and keema items being added this year. Wrap up with sweet payesh/malpoa – and it will set you back by a meagre Rs 635 per thali.
Another five star outlet, Durbari, at Swissotel Kolkata has turned the desi pantabhat (fermented rice) into a spicy platter, with fried fish thrown in. ‘Most five stars ignore this Bangla dish which goes back ages in time. Since most of our guests are international, we decided to serve them something innovative this time’, said a spokesperson of the hotel.So welcome the New Year with a different gastronomic experience!
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