Celebrate Burmese New Year in Kolkata with Burma Burma’s special menu

Every year, around mid April, Myanmar celebrates the Thingyan festival. Rootedin Buddhist traditions, it marks the start of a new year according to the Burmese calendar, and is also the time of a harvest festival. Celebrations are centred around food, and the highlight is traditional cooking. Recreating the festive feels in India, Burma Burma is hosting a Thingyan Festival with a special menu across all its outlets in seven cities April 11 to May 19.

My Kolkata dropped by their Kolkata branch nestled in Stephen Court, Park Street, to sample the festive menu.

Celebration in a platter 

The Thingyan Festival menu offers both a la carte options and a Village Set, which is a thali with about 10 items from starters to dessert. We indulged in the Village Set that came in a big flat cane basket laid with a banana leaf, with the dishes served in small clay pots — all packed with fresh flavours of home-style Burmese cooking.

According to Burma Burma co-founder Ankit Gupta, the menu was “curated drawing inspiration from the food that the local communities make during the Thingyan celebration in Yangon” — the city in Lower Burma, located at the convergence of the Yangon and Bago rivers, which is a melting pot of cultures. Yangon’s culinary landscape too is equally diverse with offerings from various regional and tribal communities, with deep influences from its colonial and migrant cuisine.

We started off the lunch with a refreshing and zesty sweet lime and shallot salad tossed in garlic oil with roasted gram flour, crushed green chillies, fresh coriander leaves and peanuts. Next, was a platter of assorted fries which included rice crackers, a sweet potato tempura that was soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, and delish mock meat samosas that had a meaty and spicy filling of onions and tofu recreating real meat-like textures. The Peppery Tofu and Onion Stir Fry, it had a strong flavour of the caramelised onion slow-cooked with lemon leaves, soy, and crushed pepper with seared tofu chunks. It reminds one of Indians cooking paneer where onion paste is used in a similar way to make kadai paneer.

Since Myanmar shares its borders with countries like Thailand, China, India and Bangladesh, the local cuisine shows influences of the cuisine of neighbouring countries. For example, the two breads, called palata, served in the platter are very similar to the Indian and Bangladeshi paratha. The Shahi Palata was just like the homemade parathas, while the Croissant Palata had flaky layers like one would see in lachcha paratha. However, it gets its name from its puffy shape and the sweet flavour and aroma of butter. Along with the breads, there is Coconut Rice — co-founder Ankit Gupta's favourite. Talking about the dish, Gupta, whose mother hails from Myanmar (then Burma) explained that “it is also known as Ohn Hatmin and usually made on special occasions at home. A fragrant short- rice variant is used, and cooked with raisins and onions and in fresh coconut milk. It pairs well with a Burmese-style Pumpkin and Broad Bean Curry.” The curry, also served in the platter, is a mildly sweet, creamy dish with chunks of yellow pumpkin and broad bean, flavoured with shallots, coconut, and chilli, celebrating the popular Burmese tradition of cooking vegetables and legumes together.

The Roselle and Mushroom Stir Fry, a dish from the Chin tribe, was next on the menu. The dish — mushrooms and roselle leaves stir-fried with garlic, bird's eye chilli, and turmeric — testifies the Burmese love for sour notes with the tartness of the roselle leaves shining through. On the side, was a hot and nutty Radish Slaw and a Chilli Tamarind Relish, a fiery combination of hot and sour.

The thali also includes a jiggly and soft Banana Sanwin Makin, which is a traditional Burmese cake served during special feasts. It is made with banana and strawberry, baked in coconut cream, and topped with poppy seeds.

Something sweet

If you are ordering a la carte, there are three dessert options. The first one, the Mont Lone Yay Paw, will remind you of a Bengali pithe, and is a complimentary treat for everyone ordering the Village Set. The traditional Thingyan rice flour dumplings are filled with palm jaggery and topped with shredded coconut. The second dessert option is a zesty Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream made with black poppy seeds and whipped cream, and flavoured with mint, which tasted like a cold and refreshing frozen lemon curd.

The last dessert option is a Street-style Burmese Falooda. The combination of chilled coconut milk, sweet bread, basil seeds, black grass jelly and sticky rice had a fine balance of sweetness. If you are a fan of falooda, the flavour profile and textures of this one are sure to appeal to you.

Tropical sips

To wash down all the flavours, Burma Burma has four coolers made with tropical fruits, perfect for the summer, and complementing the lavish meal. The first on the menu is Twilight — a blend of house-made mango puree, coconut, Yakult, and the shredded coconut, which is sure to remind you of a Mogu Mogu. The Plum Sour is a delightful tart and sweet concoction with tangy plum puree, lime, ginger ale, and black grass jelly.

Exotic dragon fruit features in the El Dragon, which also has coconut water, litchi water and some elderflower syrup. While the flavours are subtle, the cooler refreshes you immediately. If you want a punch of flavour, opt for the Musk — another summer-perfect sip with sweet musk melon, honey, and lavender white tea cold brew with poppy seeds.

A taste of Myanmar

The Burmese restaurant and tea room is all decked up for the Thingyan Festival. In between your meal, expect some of the Burma Burma staff to come to you with a large cane hawker's tray consisting of popular Burmese food items like fruit leather, nuts, starfruit, raw and seasoned mangoes, and more. You can pick anything for Rs 50 only.