I find it difficult to believe that there was a time when Bengali food left me cold. Of course, that was because I hadn’t encountered too many dishes from the East, for I had spent my childhood in western Uttar Pradesh, eating – and enjoying – urad ki dal topped with ghee. And some years later, when I lived in Delhi, despite the fact that my mother was a Bengali the food at home was mostly north Indian, for our wonderful cook Anguri was from Bulandshahr.
I think I developed an interest in Bengali food some 15 years ago, triggered by some delicious dish like shorshe bhapa chingri (steamed prawns in mustard) or potoler dolma (parwal stuffed with fish or keema). That was when I realised that the cuisine was something to write home about.
I have been a votary of Calcutta biryani for quite a while, and this did not disappoint me. The biryani came with healthy pieces of mutton and one fried boiled egg and a fried potato.
There is no dearth of Bengali food now, for there are quite a few Bengali restaurants in Delhi where I can get some of the region’s trademark dishes – such as daab chingri (shrimps cooked with and in a green coconut) and bhapa ilish (steamed hilsa). Some of the eateries are well known, and some are still finding their feet.
I had been getting calls from one Bengali restaurant called Probashi for some months. I did want to go there, but I hesitated because it was located in Dwarka, and that’s quite a distance from where I am. But I kept telling the caller that I would go there one day – actually meaning to do so – but kept putting it off.
Then, last week, the same gentleman called me up and said that they had opened a branch of Probashi in Chittaranjan Park (105 and 110, First Floor, Market 2, CR Park. Phone numbers: 9278813170 and 011-65096059). So I landed up one after afternoon, and found that the eatery-cum- take-away was a nice, air-conditioned place, with seating arrangements for 12 people or so. I couldn’t sit down for lunch, because I had to be somewhere else, so I packed some food for dinner for the Bengali food lovers at home.
I asked for a plate of bhaja munger dal (roasted moong dal – Rs.65), rui maccher kalia (rahu in tomato gravy – Rs.185), lau chingri (bottle gourd and shrimps — Rs.115) and Probashi special mutton biryani (Rs.275).
The food, in one word, was excellent. The dal was different from the kind we have at home – thicker and richer. It went very well with steamed rice, as did the lau chingri which was simply superb. The small pieces of bottle gourd had been cooked with potato cubes and plump shrimps, with just the right spices. The fish was good, too — large pieces of rohu immersed in a thick and tasty gravy of onions and tomatoes.
The biryani, of course, was vastly different from the Delhi biryani. I have been a votary of Calcutta biryani for quite a while, and this did not disappoint me. The biryani came with healthy pieces of mutton and one fried boiled egg and a fried potato. The rice was not long, but the small, aromatic kind (possibly gobindobhog), and had been infused with the flavours of whole spices. Also, it wasn’t the least bit oily.
They have some other Bengali delicacies on the menu such as steamed hilsa (bhapa ilish — Rs.455), bhetki steamed in banana leaf (bhetki paturi – Rs.105), shukto (a light mixed vegetable dish — Rs.105), mochar ghonto (banana flower dish — Rs.105), kosha mangsho (mutton masala — Rs.195) and kosha chicken (Rs.155).
I still love my urad dal – but Bengali food rocks! And let’s hope Probashi will continue to provide us with good food.
Rahul Verma is a seasoned street food connoisseur.
