The iconic Dum Pukht at ITC Sonar is a favourite with connoisseurs of Awadhi food. On a rainy day recently, we had a grand nawabi daawat awaiting us at Dum Pukht with filmmaker and foodie Arindam Sil and Shukla, regulars at the restaurant. The two hours we spent there were all about satiating our palate and being blown away by recipes sourced from royal kitchens of Awadh. And, a fun food chat with the Mitin Mashi director. Excerpts...
How much of a foodie are you?
We have a huge group of about 20-22 people who are foodies and we keep exploring different places when we meet. Shukla too has a wives’ group where she, Nilanjana (Sengupta), Esha Dutta, Mohua (Chatterjee) are very close and they keep catching up.
Please share some of your early food memories...
Back in the days we would go to Tarakeshwar every year. Amader barite shob dol bendhe hoto, say we would be around 50 people going together. During the mango season it used to be that we would harvest so much mangoes and distribute basketful of mangoes... it had to be 100 and above.
Then I have grown up in a traditional joint family where I have eaten traditional food cooked by my thakurda, thamma, sometimes ma, sometimes baba. So say chhana tasted different, while my father’s Paneer Butter Masala tasted different. I come from a family jekhane phoolko luchi na holey patey porto na.
What is your favourite dish cooked by Shukla?
She cooks fantastic Rajma Chawal. There was a time when Jimmy Shergill would come to Calcutta he would call and tell me to tell her to cook rajma, irrespective of which hotel he was staying in. And he would come home to eat. Even during Subhasree’s (Ganguly) pregnancy, which was during lockdown, she would have Shukla’s cooked rajma and crave it.
Can you recall a memorable meal you have eaten at someone’s house?
It has to be at Nitin and Kitty Kothari’s house, where we had absolutely original Japanese Shabu-shabu with sake. The entire meal one has to sit on the floor and have... the traditional Japanese way.
Any memorable food memories during shooting?
During the shoot of Bong Connection in Houston, we tried Corona beer with oyster and it blew my mind... the combination. So in Houston we went to a restaurant... Parambrata (Chattopadhyay), Victor da (Banerjee), another person, myself and Shauvik Kundagrami... and the bill was Rs 50,000!
Do you love eating at ITC Sonar?
I have been a regular at ITC Sonar and the best part is they serve a kind of food which no other five-star serves. They have championed slow-cooking and that makes all the difference. Also, for me personalisation matters a lot and all restaurants at ITC Sonar score big on that. I travel extensively for work and personal holidays and I eat different kinds of things, so the exposure is a lot. Now, if I say this is the best Kakori Kebab I have eaten, it means it really is. Even the Plastic Chutney I love at ITC Sonar. I can finish all of it! ITC Sonar, and Dum Pukht specially, offers an unforgettable experience.
Arindam Sil gives his seal of approval to Dum ka Um-Rubyan. "This was excellent and off beat. i have had by many years ago and that still continues to be the best for me but this item today took me by surprise. Loved it," he said.