Reach the extremely chaotic, crowded and noisy Ballygunge Phari and then walk into the calm and peaceful Cafe Pranah, one of the few health cafes in Kolkata that serve fresh, healthy and delicious food. The man behind Cafe Pranah, Chef Rahul Arora wanted to bring a feel of the cafes at Mcleodganj to Kolkata and also remove the stigma that health food is bland, tasteless, expensive and complicated to make.

I’ve been a Cafe Pranah regular since it opened nearly a year back and I absolutely love their herbal teas, salads, burgers, baked chaats and the chocolate muesli rocks. After tasting pretty much everything on the menu, I was looking forward to something new and that is what Rahul presented to me and some fellow bloggers on a Sunday morning couple of weeks back. We were not only invited to taste the new dishes but also learnt how to make them thanks to Rahul’s live cooking demo. He is planning to make these tasting and cooking sessions a regular feature at Cafe Pranah. These sessions will be held on the first Sunday of every month and will be priced around Rs 450-500. For details, call +91 8697096909

Cafe Pranah’s menu now has eight additional items that includes a range of beverages like Mandarin Magic Mojito and Pomegranate Ginger Iced Tea. Other items are Guilt-free Baked Chicken Nachos that has hung curd and homemade salsa, Moroccan Tuna Crostini where the tuna is tossed with pomegranate, olives, capsicum, onion and lettuce in yoghurt, Mexican Rice Bowl with either chicken, paneer, eggs or tuna, Oriental Ribbon Salad made with chickpea/egg ribbons and a lovely Fig and Date Kulfi made with double-toned milk and a sprinking of chia seeds.

Hard to pick a favorite from the new items because all of them are delicious but if I really had to, I’ll pick the Oriental Ribbon Salad. I loved the sweet and tangy taste of the dressing with the crunchiness of the fresh greens. If you want to make it at home, here’s the recipe courtesy Chef Rahul.

Oriental Ribbon Salad

Oriental Ribbon Salad Recipe

For ribbons:

1 egg

2 tbsp water

Salt

Pepper

Or

2 tsp Chick pea flour

Salt

Pepper

Water ( enough to give it a coating consistency )

Mix well and spread a thin layer on a greased non stick pan

Cool and cut into strips