So my bellydriven journey started with a bellyfull note in Pune. A newbie in pune, completely oblivious to the Pune food scene, I stumbled upon an event hosted by the PEO– Pal@table at a Bengali and Assamese food restaurant – Khorisa (meaning bamboo shoot in Assamese). And true to its name the décor of this place celebrates bamboo handicrafts that Assam is known for. Red hues and minimalistic décor make you instantly fall in love with this place. Meals served in Kansa thalis took me back home to Orissa and miss mommy…
The menu had a fair options for both vegetarian and non-vegetarians…So it all started with the bhetki fry, fish procured straight from Kolkatta and delightfully fried and crisp with a uniform coat of batter served with their in house mustard paste and mint chutney..it made me drool… Then came the Mochar Chop, banana flower cutlets which gave out the subtle combination of sweet and salty along with the right kind of crunch…The elephant foot yam chips nice and crispy but the khorisa diya kukura mangxo stole the show in the starters served..succulent chicken cooked with bamboo shoots with a hint of mustard oil..pure nostalgia.
The veg main course consisted of Alu Pitika (mashed potatoes with assamese spices, raw onions, green chillies and mustard oil), Aubergine fry, Alu Posto, Alu Dom and a black lentil dal and I got to polish all this off with koraishutir kachuri (puffed bread filled with mashed green peas) and sticky rice…
A hard core non vegetarian that I am, I relished with utmost gusto the famous Masor Tenga, the spicy egg omelet curry, chicken curry, the duck meat with ash gourd gravy and trust me by now I was bursting at my seams. A special mention of the pork prepartions at Khorisa, the Naga style smoked pork took my heart away…
We were also served the special sampling menu and mind you it is a great one to look forward to especially the Garo style Phura- chicken cooked in rice flour and green vegetables.
And who can forget the mishti moist nolen gurer roshogolla and mihidana aru cream (boondi granules with cream) were a more than apt end to this fantastic evening…
The service was prompt and quick and both Sanjay and Nilakshi, the owners were there describing each dish that we were served with utmost passion.
So met quite a number of new PEOple and people, devoured great food, sampled a new menu, all in all a great evening of fun and feast…and a lot of conversations…
What more does one need?…pune food scene…here I come…
