Summer Treats of Bengal

Experience the flavors of Bengali cuisine at Banga Bhawan with dishes like shukto, luchi, and kosha mangsho, perfect for summer.

Some dishes are just right for the weather now. Think of shukto, and you will find yourself enveloped in the flavours of a lightly spiced Bengali dish of mixed vegetables, a summer special. So, when the sun rose menacingly last week, I thought we should try and beat the heat with some cooling shukto. And what could be better than the shukto at Banga Bhawan?

The canteen or restaurant at the West Bengal State House is run by Bijoli Grill, a popular eatery that started in eastern India and then spread to other parts of the country. I have always enjoyed their luchi and kosha mangsho — soft maida puris and mutton in a thick gravy. But this time, the weather dictated that I go in for something lighter, to be eaten at leisure at home. So, I ordered a helping of shukto — and a few other dishes — to enliven our Sunday lunch.

Bijoli Grill is certainly one of the go-to places for Bengali food in Delhi, though not all dishes are uniformly good. With Bengali restaurants doing brisk business across the city, it’s hard to believe that there was a time when you couldn’t get the region’s food outside Bengali homes for love or money.

One of the earliest eateries in Delhi was Basu Lodge in Gole Market, which served the lightest of Bengali dishes such as runny masoor dal and fish curry. In 2006, Oh! Calcutta opened its first branch in Delhi. Other restaurants — big and small — opened and shut with time. East Delhi and Noida now have a plethora of eateries and delivery outlets serving Bengali food. Among them are Khabar Dabar and My Rannaghhar (both in Vaishali) and Bhojon Roshika (Dilshad Colony). A restaurant called Ma Tara in CR Park, which started as a small teashop, has not just survived but thrived over the years.

But Bijoli Grill has its loyal clientele. I, for one, still remember their prawn malai curry, which I first had some 20 years ago. This time, we stayed off fish and prawns. Instead, we asked for shukto — which was a deliciously light, bitter-and-sweet dish of vegetables such as drumsticks, bitter gourds, green bananas and so on — and aloo phulkopir dalna  — cauliflower florets and potatoes in a tomato-based sauce. Both the dishes are priced at ₹245.

We had the home-cooked-style chicken curry (₹355 for four plump pieces) with what the eatery calls Bangla pulao (at ₹275) — a sweetish, saffron-coloured rice flavoured with raisins and cashew nuts. What I enjoyed the most was the hing kachori, which came with channey ki dal  (₹295 for four). The dal had a sweet touch, and the kachoris were soft and aromatic. We had also ordered moong dal with fish head (₹225), but that was a bit too fishy for me.

However, if you like fish, this is the place for you. On the menu are various kinds of pabda (butterfish) preparations (₹375), pomfret masala (₹555), prawn malai curry and prawn served in a green coconut (₹625), among other dishes.