I missed out on her message the first time because it went to the Facebook Others folder. The second time around, thankfully, Fb sent me a notification and I opened it to read this – “This is probably the worst time to be doing a Pop-up. But the timing has its advantages: one, the soaring mercury will make sure your calendar is less blocked and two, which means you will make time to come for dinner on 30th April, Saturday. And, who knows, it may rain!……….it will be soul food cooked with a lot of love. By me for you“. I had already heard from my friend Poorna about Ipshita’s brilliant culinary skills and I was intrigued to know more about her pop-up. A few days later, she shared the invite with the menu and I was hooked. This event I would not miss despite the soaring mercury!
On 30th evening, me and my mom stepped inside the venue, a vintage bungalow tucked in a quiet Ballygunge Circular Road lane. We were welcomed by the gracious hostess Ipshita who took us around the house. The setup was beautiful. There were rajnigandha flowers, soft lights highlighting interesting sculptures and artwork and there were stalls selling handmade jewellery, stoles and knick-knacks. I immediately felt at home and within a few minutes managed to fill my bag with a silk stole and some jewelry. Dinner by that time was ready and we proceeded to the dining space.
The food was quintessentially Bengali but with a modern twist so there was something as traditional as ‘begun pora’ served with the staple Meditteranean condiment Tahini and our very own Bandel cheese. I started off the meal with the refreshers – ‘tentuler shorbot’ and roasted pineapple and watermelon drink, the perfect antidote to the stifling Kolkata heat and humidity. I finished off around 5 glasses throughout the course of the meal!
From the drinks, I moved on to the Mango Salsa with Poached Shrimp. Being a prawn lover, I was really looking forward to this dish and Ipshita did not disappoint. Poached shrimp on a base of onions, chillies, cilantro, tomato and raw mango. Tangy, crunchy and so perfect for summer!
The humble pumpkin was next but in a very different avatar. The pumpkin cubes were lightly sauteed and a salad made with the addition of chilli yoghurt and cottage cheese. Begun pora served with tahini and bandel cheese on ‘goyna bori’ was next. ‘Bori’ is made from a paste of dal which is sun-dried, then fried and served as an accompaniment to rice. Goyna Bori is the same thing but it is so named because the shape is much more intricate, much like jewelry or goyna. In the earlier days, every Bengali household would make boris regularly but now, we mostly buy them off the shelves. I loved how Ipshita gave her own twist to this age old recipe. Here, the boris served as the base and the begun pora, burnt tomato reduction, tahini and cheese were the topping. The fusion yielded amazing results!
For the main course, there was the smoked bhetki with butter garlic sauce, herbed jeera butter rice, kaanthal (jackfruit) dopyaaza and mutton wrapped in banana leaf. I skipped the carb and attacked the protein. Never thought I’d say this but I loved the jackfruit dopyaaza. Yes, people who know me will probably faint after reading this sentence but that ‘kosha echor’ was too good. The mutton was brilliant too. Wrapped in banana leaf and grilled to perfection, the soft cubes melted in the mouth and the smokiness enhanced the flavor.
Dessert was mango kulfi topped with watermelon puree. A perfect end to a delightful meal!
Thank you Ipshita for inviting me to your Pop-up. Me and my mom had a lovely time and I sincerely hope you come up with more such initiatives in future. We need to taste your food a lot more 🙂
Some of the pictures have been clicked by Suvomoy Mitra