Society

Ranna, Reinvented

“If you think Bengali cuisine is only about bony fish and mustard, think again”

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Ranna, Reinvented
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Bohemian
Old Ballygunge 1st Lane, Ballygunge, Calcutta
Tel: 66064206
Meal for two: Rs 1,400

London- based Vinit Bhatia is the only Indian chef to have earned two Michelin stars. And if you’ve watched his TV programme, Twist of Taste, you’ll know that his philosophy is to take quintessentially Indian ingredients and flavours, and whip them up into totally unexpected, globally recognised forms. That’s what we were reminded of when we came to chef Joy Bannerjee’s wonderful restaurant.

Bannerjee was largely responsible for creating Oh Calcutta’s menu, and when he started his own restaurant, he wanted to do something completely different. In his words, “If you think Bengali cuisine is only about bony fish and mustard, think again”. The result is a menu that presents traditional Bengali flavours in ways that will surprise and delight you. Think panchphoron chicken escalopes. Or gandhoraj sorbet. Or malpua-and-­chhaana cheesecake. We were invited here by the noted foodie, Ram Ray, and he and Bannerjee began with an intense discussion on what to order. I know we started with a lettuce ’n cheese salad with a fragrant gandhoraj dressing, but then I lost track of all the dishes that followed; I remember only the procession of wonderful flavours exploding inside my mouth: panchphoron (five spices), gandhoraj (Bengal lime), kalojeera (black cumin), kashundi (mustard sauce) and topakul (jujube berries) among them. Bannerjee is currently reworking his menu, and we can’t wait to try the creative new dishes he told us about, like...oops, sorry, we’re not allowed to talk about them, or else he’ll administer Death By Malpua.

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