Breaking Basmati

11/09/2026

This weekend's menu is a little different.

We were in a bit of decision paralysis about this weekend. With Ganpati falling on Monday, it felt strange to let the weekend go entirely, but after six years of living in Pune, it also felt a little strange to do nothing for Ganpati. So we're doing both. The creative weekend menu as usual, followed by a one-day Ganpati Khichuri Platter on Monday.

The idea for this weekend came from Ma.

2026 marks Uttam Kumar's birth centenary, and Ma has been an Uttam Kumar enthusiast for almost all her life. Because of her, my brothers and I grew up watching his films, repeatedly, across a rather ridiculous age gap between the three of us. His films became part of our shared family vocabulary. We still quote the dialogues, still rewatch the films, and still find ourselves arguing about which ones we like best.

There is something rather extraordinary about the place Uttam Kumar continues to occupy in Bengali culture. The Mahanayak isn't simply a figure of nostalgia; his films, characters and dialogues have remained part of our cultural vocabulary across generations. The fascination with him has never really diminished, and perhaps that is why his centenary felt like a rather obvious excuse to revisit him.

So we chose a few of the dishes Uttam Kumar was known to love, based on recollections, interviews and accounts from people around him. And then, naturally, we decided to name the dishes after some of the films he was part of.

UTTAM AHAAR
Saturday & Sunday, 12th & 13th September
Pre-orders required.
For orders & enquiries: 99209 70508

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04/09/2026

Compared to most of the menus we put out, this one is considerably less ornate, less elaborate and, frankly, a little incomplete maybe? If it looks like it was put together in a hurry, you're absolutely right. It was.

There was a very specific story I wanted to tell you around Janmashtami this year, and I didn't manage to get to it in time. Maybe that story will find its audience another day. For now, I decided to keep the name as self-explanatory as the menu itself.

The real reason this menu exists, though, is Taal'er Bora and Taal Kheer. Those are two things we personally look forward to every year, and the brief appearance of ripe taal is reason enough for us to put a menu together.

And if Janmashtami is something you observe with devotion, then we take that part seriously too. The entire vegetarian special meal box is prepared without onion or garlic, using completely separate utensils and cooking equipment. No shortcuts there.

Taal'er Bora is limited, and a good portion is already pre-booked. I'm not trying to manufacture urgency where there isn't any, but if it's something you look forward to every year like we do, I'd recommend booking yours.

Janmashtami Special | This Weekend

For orders & enquiries: 9920970508

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28/08/2026

We've done quite a few Rakhi menus over the years. We've explored the history of Rakhi and its use as a symbol of Hindu-Muslim solidarity during the 1905 Partition of Bengal, played around with unconventional food pairings, and even looked at siblings through the lens of cinema.

This year, the call came from inside the house.

Chinese has always been one of our favourite foods as siblings, and a big part of our childhood and celebrations. One of my favourite meals to this day is a Chinese spread that Abhimanyu and our father once cooked for my birthday. It remains, in my very biased opinion, some of the best Kolkata Chinese I've ever eaten.

So this Rakhi, we're cooking something we genuinely love to eat together.

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23/08/2026

6 years ago we started a Bengali cloud kitchen. Despite wanting to give up most days, it's also the only good decision we've made since.

Six years, one (1) family that has somehow not murdered each other over a fish curry recipe, an unhinged number of menus nobody asked us to write, and a profit margin so thin you could floss with it.

We're still here though. Unclear why. Whether you asked for the business lessons I have learnt along the way or not, here they are anyway.

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22/08/2026

Six years.

Six years of cooking food with stories, history, memory and the occasional strange idea we couldn't leave alone.

And somehow, you're still here. Ordering, indulging us, asking us to bring back things we've cooked once, and occasionally letting us convince you that something you've never heard of is worth trying.

So for our sixth birthday, we're going back to a very particular kind of Bengali celebration table: the grand birthday feast. The kind where fish, mutton, pulao, chicken and payesh all had their place, and a birthday was a perfectly good excuse to cook something unnecessarily elaborate.

Introducing:
SIX FEET OVER
22nd & 23rd August

Six years of running a small food business will teach you that staying alive is its own kind of achievement. So this year, we're celebrating being six feet over, rather than six feet under.

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14/08/2026

BREAKING BIRYANI.

Sometimes, you give people what they want.

For Independence Day, we're doing Kolkata-style biryani. Because apparently, no matter how many times we try to distract you with our meat pulao, the heart wants what it wants.

Available this weekend for lunch and dinner, including Independence Day.

Pre-orders are open. Stock is limited, so we'd recommend booking ahead.

Delivery via Porter at actuals, payable directly to the delivery partner and not included in the bill. You're also welcome to arrange your own pickup.

To order: WhatsApp or call +91 99209 70508.

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07/08/2026

Apparently one weekend wasn't enough.

So Ilish Unleashed is back.

Our annual Boneless Ilish Pulao returns alongside a fresh weekend menu built around one fish we never seem to tire of cooking.

Available Friday dinner through Sunday night.

Pre-orders are strongly recommended. Hilsa has never been known for sticking around.

Delivery via Porter at actuals (payable directly to the delivery partner and not included in your bill). You're also welcome to arrange your own pickup or delivery.

To order:
📞 +91 9920970508

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31/07/2026

25/07/2026

This weekend, we're cooking Assam, At Home — a small exploration of the quieter, lesser-seen food of Assamese home kitchens.

Khar, khorisa, shutki, black sesame, red rice and pitha — ingredients and techniques that tell stories of a cuisine far beyond the handful of Assamese dishes that usually travel outside the state.

We had researched, tested and provisioned this menu before we fully understood the scale of the floods unfolding in Assam. Going ahead and selling it as though nothing had changed didn't sit right with us.

So we're cooking what we had planned, but a little differently.

50% of our profits from every dish ordered from this weekend's menu will go towards flood-relief efforts in Assam.

Available Saturday & Sunday for lunch and dinner.
Pre-orders are now open.

Delivery via Porter at actuals, charged separately.

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17/07/2026

This weekend, we're setting The Shared Table.

A Rath Yatra menu inspired by the shared culinary traditions of Odisha and Bengal.

The more we researched, the more we found cuisines that spoke the same language—mustard, coconut, seasonal produce, fish, gentle spices, and familiar techniques—yet arrived at dishes that were unmistakably and proudly their own.

That felt worth celebrating.

This menu is our small exploration of where Odia and Bengali food feel familiar, yet remain beautifully their own.

Available for lunch & dinner this Saturday and Sunday.

Pre-orders are now open.
Delivery via Porter at actuals.

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