As I sit down to write the last post for the year , it cannot be anything but the ‘Feast from The East’ -Showcasing Odia cuisine at The Bombay Canteen. It’s almost a month now that I am back from the showcasing our Odia cuisine at The Bombay Canteen , Mumbai. I have been wanting to share my experience there for quite sometime but with various commitments, this had taken a back seat. However, it’s better late than never.
For the last few months , Odia food are being talked about every where, it has become a conversation starter . I feel so happy to see this pride in many of your voices when you share and praise the effort done to make odia food come to mainstream . Odia food is often confused with or overshadowed by the cuisine of it’s neighbouring state of West Bengal, when in fact, it boasts of distinct cooking styles, ingredients and an incredible variety of recipes cooked using unique cooking techniques. The traditional cuisine of the state is completely underrepresented in restaurants across India & abroad.
As part of #ChefOnTheRoad series, the storyteller of Indian foods- Chef Thomas Zacharias, Executive Chef and Partner of one of Mumbai’s most loved restaurant—TheBombayCanteen was in Odisha along with @chefshannonl and @g.sircar to unravel the culinary treasure trove of eastern state of Odisha, that is when I had the privilege of serving some of our home cooked odia food at my place along with @chef_rachit . I served this wholesome plate of Odia food which had Macha Haldi Pani, Janhi Pura Bhaja, Habisa Dalma, Bati Chadchadi, Ouu Khata, Chatu Patrapoda, Saga Bhaja, Pura dia Kakharu Phula Bhaja, Chuna macha khata palanga saga, Kaitha Chutney, Chingudi Checha, Pagaw, Ambula Rai,Badi Bhaja and Rasabali to give them a glimpses of odia cuisine.
Little did I know, after one month I would flew down to Mumbai and cook in the commercial kitchen of India’s 2nd best restaurant, The Bombay Canteen on a busy weekend service days. We cook around 60 recipes which gets tasted by the management and gets approval for 30 of them to be chosen for the Feast from the East – celebrating the underrated cuisine from the state of Odisha. We made a few changes here and there, keeping in mind the Mumbai clientele, the commercial aspect and shortlisted the final menu. Read what chef Thomas Zacharias has to say about his experience at Odisha and odia food in particular here.
But behind-the-scene reality of all this delicious-looking food that we put up at The Bombay Canteen is a whole lot of planning, endless trials and errors and, of course, an undying passion for experimentation with food and flavours. In this en devour, @chef_rachit played a major role in the background by arranging all the procurement himself , from the locally grown Oou, Sal leaves ,ambula and most importantly the Badis as well as all the decor for the feast.
As expected from a pioneer restaurant of Indian inspired food , the kitchen at The Bombay Canteen was extremely professional. The chefs, right from the executive to the Interns, were cooperative and most of all, eager to learn. I never felt for a moment I am away from home and at a professional kitchen. They were well trained and made me very very comfortable there. More than them ,it was an experience I will cherish all my life and my respect for their profession grew much higher.
After a month , The Bombay Canteen started it’s Two weeks of celebrating Odisha’s incredibly underrepresented cuisine starting Monday, 25th November through this latest collaboration, Odisha Unwrapped! For those with an appetite, an elaborate Odia feasts (only for dinner, pre-booking mandatory) of up to 23 dishes from the cuisine repertoire to give an in depth experience of what culinary gems Odisha has to offer. And for others who has small appetite, they had another bunch of dishes on their a la carte menu for you to come back a second time, a total of over 30 dishes to savor this entire two weeks.
Here are some of the glimpses from the preview dinner on 24th November,2019.
The Bhaja Chhena Tarkari is an Odia love letter—albeit a savory one—to one of their favorite ingredients. Balls of chhena which we’re stuffing with pistachio are fried till golden brown, and served with a yogurt based curry flavored with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
Machha Haldi Pani, a comforting fish curry from Odisha where the fish is cooked in a buttermilk based curry flavored with fresh winter turmeric root, green chilies, mustard oil and pancha phutana spices .
It’s no secret that the Odias love their badis, and we have a different one for every season or for simply any reason. Badis are essentially crunchy, spiced dumplings made by soaking, grinding and sun drying lentils into various shapes.When fried and made into a chura or playing accompaniment to a meal, they can add that wonderfully contrasting, quintessential crunch to any Odia dining experience. Pictured here is the Lia papad also known as khaee & made from paddy, Panikakharu Badi made with ash gourd and urad dal, and Phula Badi, phula meaning flower in Odiya made in Keohnjhar district with a base coating of sesame seeds.
The Odia Chicken Pakoda served at TheBombayCanteen is an inspiration from various elements, ingredients and flavors the chefs tasted during their #COTRodisha trip . Chicken wings are marinated, confited and then crusted with crushed badis before being fried till golden brown. Served with ambula rai, a cooling condiment made with mustard, dried raw mango, green chili and yogurt. Of course, it pairs perfectly with the Ambula Sour from @greatstate.aleworks !
The Mansa Kalija Pitha on the #OdishaUnwrapped menu at @thebombaycanteen is an inspired meaty delicacy, and combines an Odia style mutton liver stir fry with patra pitha, the traditional steamed rice preparation of the region, wrapped in turmeric leaves for added fragrancy and garnished with homemade liver paté for some contrasting creaminess!
Chhena Poda literally translates to burnt cheese. It’s made with only a few ingredients – milk (used to make chhena), sugar, rawa, and cardamom. But each step, ingredient and technique contributes to the final product. A special thanks to Chef Heena Punwani for making this signature dessert from Odisha. Here is what she quotes about the dish: “We source a special full-fat milk just to make our chhena in-house, and it has be made at exactly the right temperature to get the softest mouth-feel. Thick grain sugar is used to make the cake so that it doesn’t melt completely into the mixture while baking and makes its own syrup inside the cake! Baking in the oven doesn’t work, because you don’t get those charred, caramelised edges. We slow bake it painstakingly for an hour and a half over charcoal the old-fashioned way. Lining the tin with parchment doesn’t work, because the paper burns. It’s lined with sal leaves that are soaked overnight. (You can distinguish a true chhena poda from the wannabes by the indentation of the sal leaves on the sides.) It is a truly a labour of love and a testament to the amazing Indian cooking.”
All this would not have been possible for the love and belief by the Team @thebombaycanteen led by Chef Thomas Zacharias, Executive Chef and Partner of one of Mumbai’s most loved restaurant—TheBombayCanteen—who is known for his unflinching commitment to discovering unsung heroes of Indian cuisine and bringing them to the limelight through his #IndianFoodMovement. He finds his inspirations from home cooks and cuisine experts from different parts of the country. He meets them when he travels in search of recipes and traditions and believe home cooks are the real gatekeepers of Indian cuisines and there is a great deal to learn from them.”
Lastly, I would like to thank each and every person who supported us for this collaboration and friends and families who came over to try the food. There were many who couldn’t come and I know that their good wishes were there with us. I on behalf of people of #odisha will always cherish this moment and appreciate your effort in embracing our simple yet flavourful Odia cuisine and looking forward to see TheBombayCanteen reaching new heights in hospitality industry.❤️
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