Cafe Cilantro, the all day dining restaurant at Deccan Serai, is hosting its first food festival – ‘Bong Appetite’. The restaurant is helmed by Chef turned entrepreneur Mr. Chandra Shekhar Pandey. My Pandey has significant first-hand experience with Bengali cuisine. He grew up in a small town of Bihar with a sizeable Bengali community and later spent a year at Kolkata’s Oberoi. In fact, a few months ago, Mr. Pandey showcased his expertise in this cuisine as the executive chef of Radisson Blu Hyderabad. At Deccan Serai, the Bengali festival is being lead in the kitchen by Chef Ronojit who was previously stationed at Hotel Hindusthan International, Kolkata.
Earlier this week, I was invited to a blogger’s table at Cafe Cilantro. After a quick walk around the buffet spread and interaction with the Chefs, we began our meal. First up, were soups. Mrs Chang’s Prawn Dumpling Soup and Dak Bangla Tomato Soup. Soups aren’t a part of a traditional Bengali meal, so Chef was forced to be creative and take inspirations from different aspects of Bengali food culture. The Mr. Chang’s soup is a fabulous rendition of the Tangra Chinese soup with a generous helping of turmeric and chilli. The Dak Bangla soup is a tomato soup that took inspiration from the spices used in the popular Dak Bangla curry.
The live counter was dishing out quintessential Bengali snacks like Vegetable Chop, Beguni (Aubergine Fritters), Singhara (Bengali Samosa), Kathi Roll, Chicken Chop, Prawn Chop, and Moglai Paratha. Chops are crispy, deep-fried Vadas with a gram flour batter and a stuffing. The stuffing plays a key role in the taste of the Chops and all the three got this right. The proportion of boiled potato, spices, and minced chicken in the Chicken Chop was absolutely bang on, while the Vegetable Chop had the amazing beet root stuffing Bengalis adore. However, the Veg Chop didn’t have the usual crunchy coating of breadcrumbs that makes it stand apart from the likes of Aloor Chop. The other thing missing was Kasundi – the Bengali mustard sauce. We were told that the cafe had run out Kasundi, but it should be available on subsequent days. Moglai Parota is a sibling of the Muttabaq and Baida Roti – an all purpose flour flat bread stuffed with mined meat and egg. Normally a meal by itself, I was glad that they were sliced up and offered in small portions. The Parota was decent, but a little bit more stuffing would have helped.
Bengali cuisine is among the few Indian cuisines with distinctive courses with a set order. We began with Shukto, a Bengali vegetarian curry that’s loaded with vegetables including bitter gourd and aubergine. This curry is revered for its delicate balance of sweet and bitter flavours, and Cilantro was on the money, once again. Next up were, Vegetable Chorchori and Aloo Potoler Torkari. However, the highlight was the Masoor Dal paired with steamed rice and Beguni – a comfort meal that makes every Probashi Bangali (Bengalis living outside Bengal) misty eyed. We moved onto the non-vegetarian section with back to back fish dishes – Maachher Jhol (Rohu Curry) and Maachher Jhaal (Rohu Fish in a Mustard Gravy). The Maachher Jhaal was quite spectacular with the unbridled pungency and flavour of mustard coming through in every bite. The Murgir Jhol (Chicken Curry) was the kind of homely, mildly spiced, thin curry that I grew up eating. The chicken paired wonderfully with the Ghee Rice Pulao, but I was a tad disappointed that the curry didn’t have any potato in it. The final dish in the mains was Mirpur Mutton Biryani. The Biryani was inspired by the flavours of Bangladeshi Biryanis and was quite different from the usual Kolkata Biryani.
No Bengali feast is complete without desserts. The buffet featured Mishti Doi, Rice Kheer, and an assortment of sweets. While Gulab Jamun gets all the spotlight, I’ve always had a soft spot for its sibling – the Kala Jamun, a darker and slightly more fried variant. In fact, all of the sweets – Kala Jamun, Rasmalai, Sandesh, and Kalakand – were brilliant. The Mishti Doi, however, should have been a tad richer and thicker.
The Bengali Food Festival will be on at Cilantro Cafe till end of this month (Nov 30). The debut food festival ticks all the right boxes, and offers a fabulous, hearty, Bengali meal at an affordable price of Rs. 449 (plus taxes).
Cafe Cilantro, the all day dining restaurant at Deccan Serai, is hosting its first food festival – ‘Bong Appetite’. The restaurant is helmed by Chef turned entrepreneur Mr. Chandra Shekhar Pandey. My Pandey has significant first-hand experience with Bengali cuisine. He grew up in a small town of Bihar with a sizeable Bengali community and later spent a year at Kolkata’s Oberoi. In fact, a few months ago, Mr. Pandey showcased his expertise in this cuisine as the executive chef of Radisson Blu Hyderabad. At Deccan Serai, the Bengali festival is being lead in the kitchen by Chef Ronojit who was previously stationed at Hotel Hindusthan International, Kolkata.
Earlier this week, I was invited to a blogger’s table at Cafe Cilantro. After a quick walk around the buffet spread and interaction with the Chefs, we began our meal. First up, were soups. Mrs Chang’s Prawn Dumpling Soup and Dak Bangla Tomato Soup. Soups aren’t a part of a traditional Bengali meal, so Chef was forced to be creative and take inspirations from different aspects of Bengali food culture. The Mr. Chang’s soup is a fabulous rendition of the Tangra Chinese soup with a generous helping of turmeric and chilli. The Dak Bangla soup is a tomato soup that took inspiration from the spices used in the popular Dak Bangla curry.
The live counter was dishing out quintessential Bengali snacks like Vegetable Chop, Beguni (Aubergine Fritters), Singhara (Bengali Samosa), Kathi Roll, Chicken Chop, Prawn Chop, and Moglai Paratha. Chops are crispy, deep-fried Vadas with a gram flour batter and a stuffing. The stuffing plays a key role in the taste of the Chops and all the three got this right. The proportion of boiled potato, spices, and minced chicken in the Chicken Chop was absolutely bang on, while the Vegetable Chop had the amazing beet root stuffing Bengalis adore. However, the Veg Chop didn’t have the usual crunchy coating of breadcrumbs that makes it stand apart from the likes of Aloor Chop. The other thing missing was Kasundi – the Bengali mustard sauce. We were told that the cafe had run out Kasundi, but it should be available on subsequent days. Moglai Parota is a sibling of the Muttabaq and Baida Roti – an all purpose flour flat bread stuffed with mined meat and egg. Normally a meal by itself, I was glad that they were sliced up and offered in small portions. The Parota was decent, but a little bit more stuffing would have helped.
Bengali cuisine is among the few Indian cuisines with distinctive courses with a set order. We began with Shukto, a Bengali vegetarian curry that’s loaded with vegetables including bitter gourd and aubergine. This curry is revered for its delicate balance of sweet and bitter flavours, and Cilantro was on the money, once again. Next up were, Vegetable Chorchori and Aloo Potoler Torkari. However, the highlight was the Masoor Dal paired with steamed rice and Beguni – a comfort meal that makes every Probashi Bangali (Bengalis living outside Bengal) misty eyed. We moved onto the non-vegetarian section with back to back fish dishes – Maachher Jhol (Rohu Curry) and Maachher Jhaal (Rohu Fish in a Mustard Gravy). The Maachher Jhaal was quite spectacular with the unbridled pungency and flavour of mustard coming through in every bite. The Murgir Jhol (Chicken Curry) was the kind of homely, mildly spiced, thin curry that I grew up eating. The chicken paired wonderfully with the Ghee Rice Pulao, but I was a tad disappointed that the curry didn’t have any potato in it. The final dish in the mains was Mirpur Mutton Biryani. The Biryani was inspired by the flavours of Bangladeshi Biryanis and was quite different from the usual Kolkata Biryani.
No Bengali feast is complete without desserts. The buffet featured Mishti Doi, Rice Kheer, and an assortment of sweets. While Gulab Jamun gets all the spotlight, I’ve always had a soft spot for its sibling – the Kala Jamun, a darker and slightly more fried variant. In fact, all of the sweets – Kala Jamun, Rasmalai, Sandesh, and Kalakand – were brilliant. The Mishti Doi, however, should have been a tad richer and thicker.
The Bengali Food Festival will be on at Cilantro Cafe till end of this month (Nov 30). The debut food festival ticks all the right boxes, and offers a fabulous, hearty, Bengali meal at an affordable price of Rs. 449 (plus taxes).
Cafe Cilantro, the all day dining restaurant at Deccan Serai, is hosting its first food festival – ‘Bong Appetite’. The restaurant is helmed by Chef turned entrepreneur Mr. Chandra Shekhar Pandey. My Pandey has significant first-hand experience with Bengali cuisine. He grew up in a small town of Bihar with a sizeable Bengali community and later spent a year at Kolkata’s Oberoi. In fact, a few months ago, Mr. Pandey showcased his expertise in this cuisine as the executive chef of Radisson Blu Hyderabad. At Deccan Serai, the Bengali festival is being lead in the kitchen by Chef Ronojit who was previously stationed at Hotel Hindusthan International, Kolkata.
Earlier this week, I was invited to a blogger’s table at Cafe Cilantro. After a quick walk around the buffet spread and interaction with the Chefs, we began our meal. First up, were soups. Mrs Chang’s Prawn Dumpling Soup and Dak Bangla Tomato Soup. Soups aren’t a part of a traditional Bengali meal, so Chef was forced to be creative and take inspirations from different aspects of Bengali food culture. The Mr. Chang’s soup is a fabulous rendition of the Tangra Chinese soup with a generous helping of turmeric and chilli. The Dak Bangla soup is a tomato soup that took inspiration from the spices used in the popular Dak Bangla curry.
Mrs Chang’s Prawn Dumpling Soup – Bengali Food Festival
Beguni in the Frying Pan – Bengali Food Festival
Beguni – Bengali Food Festival
Singhara – Bengali Food Festival
Vegetable Chop – Bengali Food Festival
Prawn Chop and Chicken Chop – Bengali Food Festival
Moglai Parota – Bengali Food Festival
The live counter was dishing out quintessential Bengali snacks like Vegetable Chop, Beguni (Aubergine Fritters), Singhara (Bengali Samosa), Kathi Roll, Chicken Chop, Prawn Chop, and Moglai Paratha. Chops are crispy, deep-fried Vadas with a gram flour batter and a stuffing. The stuffing plays a key role in the taste of the Chops and all the three got this right. The proportion of boiled potato, spices, and minced chicken in the Chicken Chop was absolutely bang on, while the Vegetable Chop had the amazing beet root stuffing Bengalis adore. However, the Veg Chop didn’t have the usual crunchy coating of breadcrumbs that makes it stand apart from the likes of Aloor Chop. The other thing missing was Kasundi – the Bengali mustard sauce. We were told that the cafe had run out Kasundi, but it should be available on subsequent days. Moglai Parota is a sibling of the Muttabaq and Baida Roti – an all purpose flour flat bread stuffed with mined meat and egg. Normally a meal by itself, I was glad that they were sliced up and offered in small portions. The Parota was decent, but a little bit more stuffing would have helped.
Main Course – Curries and Biryani – Bengali Food Festival
Accompaniments – Bengali Food Festival
Bengali cuisine is among the few Indian cuisines with distinctive courses with a set order. We began with Shukto, a Bengali vegetarian curry that’s loaded with vegetables including bitter gourd and aubergine. This curry is revered for its delicate balance of sweet and bitter flavours, and Cilantro was on the money, once again. Next up were, Vegetable Chorchori and Aloo Potoler Torkari. However, the highlight was the Masoor Dal paired with steamed rice and Beguni – a comfort meal that makes every Probashi Bangali (Bengalis living outside Bengal) misty eyed. We moved onto the non-vegetarian section with back to back fish dishes – Maachher Jhol (Rohu Curry) and Maachher Jhaal (Rohu Fish in a Mustard Gravy). The Maachher Jhaal was quite spectacular with the unbridled pungency and flavour of mustard coming through in every bite. The Murgir Jhol (Chicken Curry) was the kind of homely, mildly spiced, thin curry that I grew up eating. The chicken paired wonderfully with the Ghee Rice Pulao, but I was a tad disappointed that the curry didn’t have any potato in it. The final dish in the mains was Mirpur Mutton Biryani. The Biryani was inspired by the flavours of Bangladeshi Biryanis and was quite different from the usual Kolkata Biryani.
Sweets – Sondesh, Kalo Jam, Kalakand- Bengali Food Festival
Mishti Doi – Bengali Food Festival
No Bengali feast is complete without desserts. The buffet featured Mishti Doi, Rice Kheer, and an assortment of sweets. While Gulab Jamun gets all the spotlight, I’ve always had a soft spot for its sibling – the Kala Jamun, a darker and slightly more fried variant. In fact, all of the sweets – Kala Jamun, Rasmalai, Sandesh, and Kalakand – were brilliant. The Mishti Doi, however, should have been a tad richer and thicker.
The Bengali Food Festival will be on at Cilantro Cafe till end of this month (Nov 30). The debut food festival ticks all the right boxes, and offers a fabulous, hearty, Bengali meal at an affordable price of Rs. 449 (plus taxes).
