Food Glorious Food

Since arriving in Orissa I have eaten almost exclusively in the canteen at the university. Like most cafeterias, it doesn't merely serve regional food. Instead the menu draws from a variety of Indian cuisines, with each dish prepared in such a way that everything tastes almost exactly the same. For this reason, I have very little idea of what Oriya food tastes like, or for that matter, what any Indian food tastes like other than the north Indian-inspired meals that I've found at restaurants in Jackson Heights, NY or Edison, NJ.

In Kolkata I had an Indian food experience that was radically different from the previous Indian food experiences I've had. My coworkers and I went to a small Bengali restaurant called Kewpie's. Even though it is located in a dimly lit alley far from the glitz and glamour of the restaurants on Park Street, everyone we asked seemed to know of and recommend it.

When we found the place we felt more like we were visiting a traditional Bengali home than a restaurant. The dining area was nearly empty with a few tables placed in what would otherwise have been a living room. We scanned the menu and after a few false starts in ordering, we managed to find a few dishes that we wanted to try that the restaurant actually had the ingredients for.

Bengalis are known for their seafood and I must say that the fish I ordered was the main event (it's the second one listed under fish on the menu if you ever go). It was served inside a banana leaf, lightly crusted in some undecipherable but purely delectable spices. We ate in the traditional Bengali fashion: drizzling the sauce over rice, breaking off a piece of our main course, rolling it all into a ball with one hand and then popping the whole mess into our mouths.