A Visit to Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China – From the Sublime to the Sublime

The people of Kolkata are used to fine dining with many world-class restaurants to choose from. Until recently however, the traditional Bengali food in restaurants was rare, mainly because most Bengalis didn’t believe that the homemade flavour of traditional dishes could be reproduced outside the home.

Then, along came Oh! Calcutta and changed this perception once and for all. Its founder, Anjan Chatterjee, went on to revolutionise the face of dining, not only for a city, but for the whole Indian nation. Having turned Bengali food into five-star cuisine he created Mainland China; the largest chain of fine dining eateries in the country and added a clutch of themed restaurants and franchises into the mix including Hakas, Flame and Grill, Sigri, Machaan and Sweet Bengal.

With this history in mind the Curry Life team was only too delighted to go on a mission to three of Mr Chatterjee’s iconic restaurants in Kolkata to sample some of the finest cuisine in the city.

 

Oh! Calcutta

There are two branches of Oh! Calcutta in Kolkata; one is in the premises of Anjan Chatterjee’s first restaurant, Only Fish, at Lala Lajpat Rai Sarani and the other is at the top of the Forum Shopping Mall, on Elgin Road.  At first, the contemporary blandness of the mall on doesn’t seem a likely backdrop for a speciality restaurant but once through the doors of Oh! Calcutta, the visitor enters a far different world of mellow wood and polished surfaces that conjure up the atmosphere of the club culture of the British Raj with a hint of Mughal mystery. A line drawing of the Victoria Monument informs the theme and is echoed, along with other Kolkatan monuments, on individually painted plates and coasters.

The interior is splendidly post-colonial and posh. Greeted by friendly staff and the head chef, we spent a heavenly hour being served with a connoisseur’s selection of mouth-wateringly delicious starters, main courses, puddings and traditional Bengali drinks.

Starters of soft and tender portions of fish including steamed Hilsa in mustard flavour sauce known as the Bhapa Illish and a tasty local fish, Smoked Bekti, were accompanied by Daab Chingri - prawns cooked in tender coconut morsels, meltingly tender Pabda sourced in Kolkata and fish and lentil dumplings in a thin broth. Main courses were preceded by a sorbet flavoured with Gondhorai, a type of strongly flavoured lemon. (At this point in the proceedings some of the group thought we had reached the pudding stage but, unbelievably, the delights had just started).

As we loosened our belts, a sample of main courses followed in quick succession with robust and homemade tastes tempered by milder nuances from the West. Innovative flavours included Alu Posto – a vegetarian delicacy made with poppy seeds, Mutton Rezalla, Mochar Chop served with a delicate banana flower cutlet, Kosha Mangsho – lamb in a thick, spicy sauce, Lucknowi Biryani and Prawn Malai curry. Digestion was aided by an authentic Bengali drink – Aam Porar Shorbet – tangy and sweetly flavoured, made from young mango fruit. Desserts included baked Sandesh and Mishti Doi (sweetened yoghurt with Batasha), plus in-house specials like Rossogolla and Bhapa Sondesh (steamed sweet derived from hung milk), Daber Payesh (Kheer with tender coconut), with a surprise treat in store at the culmination of the gourmet extravaganza – Mishti Paan (Betel Leaf with sweet stuffing), presumably served to sweeten the receipt.

Mainland China

 

 

 

It was a slightly heavier (yet undaunted), group that set out the following day on our second gastronomic journey to Mainland China at Gurusaday in Dutta Road, Calcutta near the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum.

A suave building of glass, black bricks and gold door furniture, the venue exudes exclusivity. Inside, the atmosphere is that of a busy diner with hints of China apparent in the wooden screens and trellises, vases and paintings. A buffet lines one wall from which you can choose any food you like from the major provinces of China from the light Hunan dishes to the more spicy Szechwan offerings. Especially renowned for its sublime Chinese Dim Sum, there is a tempting selection of steamed and fried dumplings with crisp fried dishes and wonderful seafood as well as meals cooked in a heavier sauces with specialities including Shanghai Roast Leg of Lamb with pancakes, roasted, stuffed Chinese cabbage, slices of fish with aniseed and mountain chilli, Roast Duck with Packchoy, Peking Duck and Chicken in Shaoxiang Wine and a wide range of rice and noodle dishes.

 

Flame and Grill

 

Forever forwards and onwards (or outwards!) - our next stop was the Flame and Grill at South City Mall where the intoxicating aroma of grilled kebabs of prawns, vegetables, mutton and chicken or Gosht Seekh Kebabs rises to meet the salivating diner. Seating 96 diners, the 3,000 feet square restaurant has a cheerful, homely atmosphere created by an orange glow from flame red walls and offers a unique dining experience that ensures you never have to rush your meal because the food is always hot.

Each table of six is set around an inset open grill or sigree in which thick aluminium beakers are inserted containing burning charcoal. Sizzling skewers of meat; chicken or mutton or Gosht Seekh Kebabs, jumbo prawns and vegetarian kebabs are laid on top. These are supplemented by an unlimited buffet with Biryanis, Dal Makhani, chicken or mutton and Paneers offered alongside salads and vegetarian options, plus a range of desserts and drinks.

Having dined so sumptuously in three of his world class restaurants, it’s apparent that the essence of Anjan’s success is in the creation of cuisines that take inspiration from traditional cooking and are then brought it bang up to date in exciting and innovative restaurants. Above all, Anjan is an entrepreneur with an ability to tap into the markets that serve the growing Indian middle class. With his latest ventures creating excitement across India - Mr Anjan Chatterjee’s dining revolution continues. Viva la revolution!

Curry Comes Home at Taste of Britain Curry Festival in Pune

Curry Life took a team of top chefs over to Pune in India to take part in The British Curry Festival. We take a look at how the great British curry went down back on the Indian subcontinent.

For ten years now, Curry Life magazine has been showcasing the talents of British based Bangladeshi and Indian chefs in many different countries including the Indian subcontinent where curry had its birth.

Visitors to Curry Life festivals in India and Bangladesh are always curious about the British curry industry and how Chicken Tikka Masala has won over the hearts and taste buds of diners in a country renowned for the blandness of its cuisine. But curry and Indian food in the UK is literally a world away from how it is back on the subcontinent. Adapted to suit the timorous British palate and fresh, locally sourced ingredients, British curry has gained an identity of its own. The question is – how does the Anglicised version compare with its Indian counterpart? Has it become (dare we say) even better? And can our chefs now teach the Indian people a thing or two about making curry?

The answer, it would seem is that they can - the latest conquest of the great British curry took place in November 2012 when Curry Life Magazine jetted a team of selected chefs over to the Hotel Hindustan International in the Maharashtrian city of Pune near Mumbai.

The culinary masters hailed from some of the finest Indian restaurants in the UK: Chef Abul Monsur of Taj Cuisine in Chatham; Chef Allam Shah Ullah of Cutler’s Spice in Sheffield, and Kaysar Ahmed of Zeera in Potters Bar, led by master chef and festival veteran Partha Mittra of The Snooty Mehmaan in Oxfordshire. The four pooled their talents to create a buffet of fifty quintessentially British curry dishes for the local diners. In addition to the tried and trusty fare so loved by the UK public (including the ubiquitous Chicken Tikka Masala), citizens of Pune could indulge in more exotic recipes like Fish Balti Exotica, Nimbu Chicken with honey glazed carrots, Shatkora Chicken and Chana Aloo Gratin.

 

Not only did the festival curry favour for the chefs in their home towns, but, coinciding, as it did, with a new explosion of interest in international food on the subcontinent, members of the Indian press flocked to the launch event. It would seem that westernised tastes are becoming more popular in India. The cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore are seeing new restaurants opening up every month, many started by foreign entrepreneurs who tempt Indian diners with foods they have never tasted before. In this climate, the concept of bringing British curry dishes back to India could be seen as a potential crowd puller.

Festival organiser Syed Belal Ahmed explained: “There is an appetite for British curry despite the vast range of indigenous cuisine on offer in the subcontinent. British curries are unique – they are much milder and healthier. When we take our Balti dishes from the UK to India there is always a buzz in the media– everyone wants to try these.”

 

 

“People in India and Bangladesh are always surprised by the fact that Indian restaurants are now found in abundance in every British city and town,” said chef Abul Monsur. “They are curious about why curry has become so popular and tasting British-Indian fusion dishes prepared by chefs who have actually come over from the UK gives them a chance to find out why.”

 

Diners, initially sceptical as to whether the Anglicized version of curry could be as tasty as Indian specialties were for the most part, won over by the new flavours and healthy cuisine. Allam Shah Ullah who owns the Gleadless Town End restaurant Cutler’s Spice was surprised at how well his dishes went down with the locals: “They seemed to love the fact that we keep our vegetables crunchier and our meat off the bone,” he said, “Many commented on how tasty and fresh the food, although some said they were not as hot as the Indian versions.”

“The way curry is made is different over here,” explained Partha Mittra, one time chef to a former Indian Prime Minister. “We use fewer spices and many of them are European herbs. The sauces and gravies are creamier and sweeter and a lot less oil and butter is used so the British version is often healthier.”

 Kaysar Ahmed, whose dishes included prawns cooked in wine with broccoli and cheese agreed: “Our British curries are made with fresh English herbs like mint, tarragon and basil and rosemary. They give a recognisable Western taste that suits the British palate. We also use olive oil instead of fully-saturated vegetable oil because it contains less fat and we cut down on salt and sugar in our preparations for the curries to be healthier. We also often serve salads as a side dish.”

And in a country where diabetes has the highest prevalence in the world and cardiac disease is on the up, healthy eating is becoming more and more of a priority for upwardly mobile Indian people. The festival might even have set a precedent for bold entrepreneurs to start up a restaurant on South Asian soil specialising in curry with a British twist.

Throughout the festival, diners and were guided by the chefs who were only too happy to explain the subtle differences in flavour in the fusion dishes. But it was not only an opportunity to show off British/Indian cuisine. When it was time to go home, all four chefs said the experience had taught them a lot about cooking methods and ingredients used in dishes in India and agreed they would use their new knowledge to create exciting dishes for customers in their own restaurants. 

“The main aim of the British Curry Festival is to foster the British chefs’ leadership role in the evolution of curry to meet the demands of the increasingly discerning taste of British food enthusiasts,” said the co-organiser of the festival, Syed Nahas Pasha. “But we have found that an increasingly important side product is of promoting British Bangladeshi/Indian chefs and cuisine all over the world. That is especially rewarding when it happens in the place where curry was born.”

 

 

Participating chefs: Abul Monsur, Taj Cuisine, 1 Sherwood House, Walderslade Centre, Chatham, Kent  ME5 9UD Tel: 01634 68668; Allam Shah Ullah, Cutler’s Spice, 1 Leighton Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Tel: 0114 241 6868; Kaysar Ahmed,Zeera, 5 Southgate Road, Potters Bar EN6 4DR Tel: 0170 643778; Organising Chef: Partha Mittra, The Snooty Mehmaan, Littleworth, Farringdon, Oxfordshire SN7 8PW Tel: 01367 242260