It seems just like the other day whenBengali friends of mine were telling me that there were few Bengali restaurants because you just couldn’t translate into business the magic that mothers and grandmothers (and a few fathers) wielded in the kitchen. That was, of course, before a phenomenon called Oh! Calcutta. But now the story of Bengali cuisine in Delhi goes beyond that well known restaurant. Several intrepid Bengalis (and those of you who think that’s a contradiction in terms, please go eat your monkey caps) are now presenting us with the best of Bengali cuisine in different parts of the city.
I was invited to a new restaurant in the city last week. Our friend, Radha, wanted to take us there because the restaurant is being run by a young family friend. I said yes readily, for I enjoy Bengali food and liked the name – Bong Appétit.
Bong Appétit is in the main Malviya Nagar market. If you enter the market from the Outer Ring Road side, you’ll see a restaurant called Open Oven on the left. Take the left turning there, and you’ll soon find Bong Appétit on your right. The address is L-71, Shop No. 1B (9968094422 and 011-41841010).
It’s a small restaurant, done up well with bright colours and lights. The young man in charge, Chef Baron (he has a long Bengali name, too), used to be with the Merchant Navy and quit everything to pursue his passion for food. He is also a keen photographer, so you’ll find a series of striking black-and-white photographs on the wall. The restaurant can accommodate about 12 people, so it’s best to book a table. It’s closed on Mondays, and open from noon to 11 pm on all other days and does free home delivery to areas within a distance of 3 kilometres.
We had a mix of dishes – and each one of them was memorable. We started with meat-and-pea chops (Rs.120), fish rolls stuffed with minced fish and shrimp and chicken cutlets (both Rs.150). The stuffing was tasty, and the coating nice and crispy. I have often eaten chops and cutlets which have a thick coating, and hardly anything inside. These ones were just right, I am told that the peas kochuri with chholar dal (Rs 100) is excellent, but by the time I heard this, I couldn’t eat another morsel.
We then ate some fluffy luchis — Bengali puris, prepared with maida – and kosha mangsho (Rs 350). I quite like the way I prepare my kosha mangsho (mutton in a thick curry), but this wasn’t bad either. The gravy, thick with onions, was mildly sweet, and went well with the luchis (Rs.15 per luchi).
Then we had the piece de resistance – a platter of rice pulao with steamed hilsa pieces on it. The rice was fragrant and had a lovely mild aroma. The chef tells me that the rice is cooked in hilsa oil, which gives it its own taste and flavour. One kilogram of hilsa pulao (the menu calls it hilsa biryani, but the chef explains it’s more of a pulao) with four fish pieces is for Rs 1000.
The restaurant also offers combo meals (Rs.450 for the everyday thali and Rs.650 for the feast (consisting of almost everything!).
At the end of the meal, we suddenly discovered that we hadn’t eaten any of the vegetarian stuff. So we had the dhokar dalna (Rs.150) – soft and delightful dal cakes in gravy.
For dessert, Radha recommended the mango patishapta (Rs.150 for one) – a rice-powder crepe stuffed with grated coconut, rabri, khoya and mango pulp. It was one of the best patishaptas I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve had quite a few good ones.
Once you are there, I would urge you to buy the chef’s bottled chutneys — mango, tomato and dates, aam shotto (sweet aam papad) and pineapple, for Rs.150 each. The chef graciously gave me one, and I can’t tell you how my meals have looked up since then!
Bong Appétit is good news. I came back from there humming Shonar Bangla to myself.
