Nosedive into Bangladeshi cuisine or sip on chocolate-infused beer at two interesting pop-ups this weekend
Cross border flavours
The partition of Bengal, much like any instance of forced rehabilitation, be it Germany or erstwhile Soviet Union, is one that is replete with anecdotes. And among the many stories that both East Bengal (now, Bangladesh) and West Bengal natives have to tell, some are woven with food.
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Mumbai-based home chef Anjana Basu remembers her mother's tales of East Bengalis beginning life across the border without basic amenities such as utensils. "They were forced to make food with bare minimum ingredients. So, they learnt to make use of otherwise neglected plant parts like corms. That's where we get kochu shak [taro] from," she shares.
Anjana Basu
Basu, in association with Authenticook, an online portal that curates home-dining experiences, will be serving up such stories on a platter along with authentic Bangladeshi food this Saturday. On the menu are quintessential Bangali relics such as macher dimer diye (fish eggs fried in gram flour), chingri enchor dalna (prawns and jackfruit curry), doi mach (fish cooked in curd and spices) and more.
"People tend to confuse Bengali and Bangladeshi cuisine, but while the influences are very similar, the dishes are distinctly different in taste and technique," Basu clarifies.
ON: June 30, 7.30 pm
REGISTER: authenticook.com
COST: Rs 1,200
Choco brewings
Mint and chocolate is no longer a quirky combination. Now, there's something called chocolate-infused beer. A popular Colaba brewery has tied up with a gourmet chocolatier and is using an organoleptic hop transducer to craft two kooky beer flavours. One is a lemon chilli lager that makes use of lemon chilli bonbons and has a zingy flavour, while the other is a smoked tea hefeweizen, which has semi-sweet dark chocolate made with pine-soaked black tea.
"Beer and chocolate are versatile foods. Each on its own can complement a wide range of flavours yielding endless opportunities for interesting matches," says bar concept manager, Sean Pereira.
ON: June 29 to July 1, 12 pm to 1 am
AT: Woodside Inn, Colaba.
CALL: 22025525
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