They say food tastes better with a secret ingredient: love. On Valentine’s Day, My Kolkata interviews chefs Sushanta Sengupta, Preetam Bhadra, Doma Wang, Madhumita Mohanta, Katherine Lim and Rinku Dutt to discover dishes that truly capture the feeling of love.
Chef Sushanta Sengupta, co-founder of 6 Ballygunge Place
Chef Sushanta Sengupta with his wife Sujata Sengupta
My love language through food involves preparing a stuffed crab called Kakrar Gal Pethechi, for my wife, who happens to be a crab lover. This dish is inspired by one of the recipes in Pragasundari Debi’s cookbook, although I have made some tweaks to the ingredients. My wife loves it and it has even earned a place on our 6 Ballygunge Place menu. It is an ideal option for anyone who doesn't like the hassle of cracking crab shells and eating the meat. It's an easy and no-mess dish.
Personally, my expression of love through food comes through what my wife makes. One such dish is a simple maachher jhol with panchphoran, some garlic, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. She makes this with Rohu but it works well with Bekti too! It is my comfort meal as almost every day I eat out and homemade patla maachher jhol feels heavenly.
Chef Preetam Bhadra, culinary head at Annaja (Amar Khamar)
When I think of the word ‘love’, the first thing that comes to mind is a dish from my childhood. Ma would make these egg sandwiches with day-old rotis. She would whisk some eggs with chillies and other ingredients, and keep it aside while heating some oil in the pan. Cooking it on low heat allowed the egg to cook slowly, resulting in crispy rutis with a creamy, smooth egg filling. Simple and ingenious, it uses up the leftovers and cooks in no time!
As for a dish that I cook and my loved ones adore, it has to be my khichuri. It kind of proselytised my girlfriend; she was never a big fan but she is a convert now!
Doma Wang, owner of The Blue Poppy Thakali
The one food that comes to mind when I hear the word ‘love’ is momo. The love involved in making and learning how to get the perfect momo, taught to me by my father, embodies love. Apa always said, ‘If you love to eat something, you have to learn to cook it.’ It took me a lot of time and patience but whenever I open the steamer and the delicious aroma wafts out... that, to me, is love. It brings back the wonderful memories of my apa and his affection for me.
Chef Madhumita Mohanta, former executive chef of The LaLit Great Eastern
Chef Madhumita Mohanta with her mother Roma
There are quite a few dishes my mother prepares that evoke the feeling of ‘love’ for me. When someone cooks with a lot of love, the food tastes better. But if I had to pick just one dish, it would be my mother’s Cabbage Kheer. She would make it for us during the winters. She is a great cook! I have never had a Valentine, so she would say, “Oh, you don’t have a Valentine? Come, I’ll be your Valentine and cook for you.” Her language of love, like mine, is cooking. So every Valentine’s Day, we become each other’s Valentine.
For her, I make many dishes that she loves. At 78, whatever I make, I have to keep in mind her health. She particularly enjoys my chicken stew, especially during the winters.
Chef Katherine Lim
Chef Katherine Lim with her sons
A dish that holds a special place in my heart when I think of the word ‘love’ is the pork curry that my father used to make during my childhood. It became a Sunday ritual, with him taking over the kitchen and creating chaos in the house! He liked to have everything handy so that he could simply add the ingredients and make the dish. The dish was nothing fancy; it used to be a new experiment each time with new ingredients and we were his willing guinea pigs (laughs). Despite the mess he made in the kitchen, we enjoyed the dish because it was prepared with a lot of love. He wasn't a professional chef, but he cooked it for us.
For my children, they love the noodles I make at home. They don't like to have noodles elsewhere because they’re used to the generous amount of vegetables I include.
Chef Rinku Dutt, co-founder of Raastawala
Chef Rinku Dutt with her husband and daughters
Our healthy oat and cinnamon pancakes, topped with summer berries, pecan nuts and drizzled with a fine Canadian maple syrup is the “love” dish that we make every Sunday morning. We make it a point to sit down as a family and eat together in this busy world we are in. It sounds like a dessert, but is a healthy way to start the morning. It consists of eggs, oats, bananas and cinnamon! Also cinnamon has lots of health benefits. We use these healthy ingredients to make a delicious dish. Eating together with our loved ones is so important, as it’s the time we sit, laugh and eat together. My daughters enjoy it the most with extra strawberries!
