*This has shut down* but am retaining the post for history 🙂
Mar 20th,2015
So what does one say when the cuisine of the exotic North East decides to set up home a few feet away from you ??? One looks up at the Universe and declares – ‘Can life get NE better’ ???!!!
When I got a call from a friend asking me if I could attend a specially curated meal serving food from the NE and when I got to know that I had to just walk across the road to get to it, I would have been insane to refuse. Of course not having tasted authentic NE cuisine before, I really did not know what to expect. My knowledge was limited to momos which I later discovered were not even a part of their mainstream meals … but as any good foodie would, I bravely took my chances and embarked on an education of the mind and tummy … a tummy that made me proud with its hitherto unknown ability to handle spice without any resultant laceration 🙂
So I found myself at the doorstep of Curry & things which is a venture by two foodie friends Elika & Mohsina who are as delightful and interesting as the food they serve and who luckily for all of Bengalooru, decided to begin their venture of supplying weekend takeaway home cooked NE fare (Assamese, Naga & Manipuri), food that is very hard to find in any restaurant in the city and authentic to the point of sourcing their core ingredients from the NE itself !!! Not to mention being cooked by authentic NE people themselves 🙂
Warm and friendly, they immediately made us feel welcome with a chilled glass of Lime Sherbet which they refer to as Nemu Sherbet and as we sipped on its cool contents, we had no idea of the culinary explosion that was going to be unleashed on us 🙂 The food is spicy since they make use of the world famous Naga chilli also called the bhut jolokia or Ghost chilli … so called I am sure because it needs a Spirit’ed person to take it on despite the fear that it would leave you deathly pale and ‘Wraith’ing in pleasurable agony !!! Note the use of the word ‘pleasurable’ and note the fact that we lived to tell the tale and are now hankering for more … and hence fear not 🙂
Coming to the purpose of our visit … the spread they had laid out consisted of Chilly and tomato chutney which was made of fresh chillies and tomatoes charred and mixed with dry fish and the Oriental chives chutney which had fresh oriental chives with cherry tomatoes and dried king chillies. Both were mindblowingly delicious and though we were advised to have microscopic helpings of these, we actually dared go back for more 🙂
Pork is a favorite meat with them and we had the Pork with bamboo shoot – Fresh pork cooked with fermented bamboo shoot. Being a lover of bamboo shoot, this dish definitely appealed to me … especially since I could quietly pick out the shoots to soothe my tongue from time to time 🙂
Then there was the Smoked pork with bird’s eye chillies – Smoked pork cooked with lots of fresh bird’s eye chillies and cherry tomatoes … spicy and delicious and appropriately named because the pork was not the only one Smokin !!! But burning tongues and ears cannot deter a true foodie so I went on to try the Smoked pork with akhuni – Smoked pork with fermented soya bean paste. By now I was beyond worrying about spice levels and mentally humming ‘akhuni Matata , I went ahead and indulged in this too, with No worries 🙂
And in case the reader is wondering at what could be called my AssaM’asochistic tendencies, let me say that I have frequently mentioned the spice, not to deter anyone but to indicate the uniqueness of this food and the delightful taste and flavor that it added.
The next lot of dishes were kinder though and after tasting the Chicken innards, I thought that they had Innard’vertently forgotten to add spice. But I just probably had got used to it by now 🙂 The boiled chicken with fresh herbs was soupy and mild and was a favorite among many of us. The Naga dal with potatoes and dry fish and dried ferns that had come all the way from Nagaland was … yes you guessed right … just Fern’tastic.
Boiled bitter gourd with potato chutney with fresh onions and mustard oil was again a hit with a Karela lover like me … its not for nothing that my name sounds like Carela !!!
Rohu in a mustard gravy Bengali style, was the fish on the table. A delight for all those Bengal’oorians that reside in this city 🙂
Dessert was the exotic sounding Black Sticky rice pudding – Black sticky rice served with mixed nuts and fresh cream and the low sugar levels and creamy soothing texture greatly appealed to me and I went Black … er back for more !!!
Curry and Things are going Live this weekend and people can either pick up their take-away order or have it delivered at a cost. Their meals would be in the price range of Rs 700-1000 and upwards. Orders will be taken through the weekdays and deliveries will happen on the weekends. They will also shortly start selling traditional pickles, all or mostly ‘mom-made’ (beef, pork, fish and chilli), and preserves & Assamese snacks (like pithas, laroos, til laroo, muri laroo).
They also plan to host foodie meets on a monthly basis … see the excitement never stops !!!
So don’t miss out on the fun. Discard any Naga’ing doubts from your mind and contact them right away on https://www.facebook.com/curryandthings and indulge in their fare.
They promise you Than aur Man(k)i’puri thripthi … total satisfaction of the body and mind 🙂
Mar 20th,2015
For more pictures see My Facebook – Curry and things
