Westerners have typecast Indian food to curries for a long amount of time. But with Indian chefs like Gaggan Anand and Manish Mehrotra taking Indian food into the West, the contemporary twist to classic Indian dishes is what is catching the eye of the world today. But although many of the famous cuisines of India have undergone these twists to suit the western palate, the robust flavours of Bengal still remain far away from the western palate. This is where Executive Chef Vijay Malhotra at ITC Sonar steps in and creates a menu for me that impresses me beyond bounds.
The basic flavours remain the same as Bengal, albeit the more subtle ones. But it’s the cooking techniques and presentation which have been modified drastically. We start off with our Amouse Bouche. It is an everyday Nimki which is combined with a sweet Bel Murabba. A mouthful combination of sweet and salty beautifully complemented by the smell of a Shiuli flower.
The soup is a Bouillon which brings the Ghoti flavours of Doi Chingri to the fore. The aromatic Gondhoraj Lebu gives an explosive flavour to the delicate soup. The next dish is what blew my mind away. The major difference between an Eastern and Western main courses is the distribution of protein and carbohydrate. A Bengali will typically eat his fish with a big serving of rice but Chef Malhotra presents me a Hickory smoked boneless Hilsa. He combines it with a serving of freshly ground mustard and some puffed rice. The typical sharp flavour of the mustard is akin to that of wasabi. It combines with the smokiness of the king of fishes to create a mouthful of flavours.
Check out this review of an Authentic Bengali meal at Eden Pavilion, ITC Sonar
Chef Malhotra transforms a South African specialty Bobotie to a Bengal delicacy. The dish basically packs an egg custard with meat below it. But what we have here is the quintessential Bengali Kosha Mangsho packed beneath the custard. It is layered on top with done crunchy fried potato (Aloo Bhaja) along with some fluffy golden Luchchis to accompany it.
We end our meal with a bit of Bengali decadence. An Eastern European pancake wrapped around a Shorer Mishti. It is topped off with palm jaggery sauce. The palm jaggery or Nolen Gur is a Bengali speciality that reaches its nadir during the winter months. Chef Malhotra’s contemporary renditions of Bengali food means it has now become presentable to the world over.
Prices: Lunch Buffet INR 1600++, Dinner Buffet INR 1850++, Sunday Brunch starts at INR 2250++
Where: ITC Sonar, Science City Area, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
