Tasting Table at Kana… the single most exciting new meal in Bangalore in 2023.

Last Sunday I had one of those revelatory experiences that I live for, that remind me why I spend so much time, energy and money in the pursuit of great food. Because in a dusty suburb in the northern outskirts of Bangalore, in a room above a tiny local cafe, I ate one of the best tasting menus in the country. 

Fish head chepala pulusu

Kana by Coffee Mechanics is a much loved coffee shop most days of the month. But starting last weekend, it turns every fortnight into a place of wonder and discovery, like a brilliant, vibrant flower blossoming in the culinary desert that is Hennur. Kana already has probably the best cafe food in the city which is no surprise when you realise that Varun Raj, the chef at Kana has worked at places like Gaggan at Bangkok and Quince in San Francisco. But now Kana is showcasing Varun’s skill, ability and knowledge through a fortnightly tasting table for ten people that is without a doubt one of the best meals you can eat in the city. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is the best tasting menu you can have in the city after Farm Lore. 

The menu will change with every meal but if the first ever tasting table at Kana was any indication, Bangalore will soon be treated to some of the most imaginative, subtle, considered and creative food in the country on a regular basis. 

There are very few chefs anywhere in the country that are able to thread the needle between creativity and flavour, between imagination and heart, to produce food that is high concept and technical but also soulful. 

Mutton khichuri

There was a mutton khichuri I ate, made with some rare Dadhkhani rice that will linger in the memory for a long long time. The rice was cooked in a Kombu - Mutton stock and Ghee from Medhnipur, along with Slow cooked Mutton with mint and Kombu, Double Beans, Pickled Fennel, Fried Onions and Mustard Greens. It tasted like a hug, but it also highlighted Varun’s time working with local and marginalised communities in the Sunderbans through a dish that paid tribute to them through its humility and brilliance. This is the kind of dish that is served only by chefs like Prateek Sadhu and Auroni Mukherjee and Vanika Choudhary and my mind was blown by the fact that I was eating this in a room above a coffee shop in Hennur. 

Variations of tomato

Varun’s confidence as a chef came across most strongly in his tomato dish where he used his imagination to showcase the tomato in four different ways and let this wonderfully versatile and flavourful fruit reveal its flavours without feeling the need to intervene and detract though addition. The dish had Tomatoes pickled in their own juice, Semi Dried Tomatoes, Tomato Tartare wrapped in  Pickled Cucumber slices, Palermo Peppers, Tomato Cumin Tea, Fennel fronds and Fennel flowers. And again I can’t think of more than a handful of chefs in the country who have the restraint and understanding to be able to present this dish without letting their egos or vanity come in the way.

I know Hennur seems far for most people. But it’s not. It’s 40 minutes from Brigade Road and half an hour from Indiranagar. It is a distance of the imagination rather than of geography. And it’s much much closer than Farm Lore or Geist for most Bangaloreans. 

Wherever you live in Bangalore, this meal is absolutely unmissable. I have no clue how long this tasting table will last. Whether it will be a short lived and much loved experiment or the first stirrings of a future masterpiece. But it is the single most exciting new meal to have emerged in Bangalore this year. Nothing comes close. And you need to go as soon as you can. 

I ate: 

Black rice cracker/ plantain aamsotto/ mulberry murabba

Black Rice Cracker - Dehydrated Karuppu Kavuni rice cracker served with fresh shuck peas, Peas and Creme Fraiche paste and Togarashi.

Plantain Aamsotto - Dried Amrapali Mango leather Aam Sotto sandwiched between Fried Dehydrated Plantain Chips.

Mulberry Murabba - Slow Cooked Mulberry Murabba on a Mizuna leaf brushed with Pickled Green Pepper oil with toasted poppy seeds. 

Variations of Tomato - Tomatoes pickled in their own juice, Semi Dried Tomatoes, Tomato Tartare wrapped in  Pickled Cucumber slices, Palermo Peppers, Tomato Cumin Tea, Fennel fronds and Fennel flowers. 

Prawns and Kalpasi - Prawns barely cooked dressed with a Prawnhead and Kalpasi Vinaigrette and tossed in Amaranth seeds, Pickled Chow Chow, Marinated Pears, Pumpkin Curry Puree, Gongura leaves.

Chepala Pulusu - Overnight fish head curry with Barley and Fish Head meat, Confit Potatoes, Fried Ladies Finger, Miso Tamarind roasted Sea Bass, Garlic Chive oil and Tarragon. 

Mutton Khichuri - Dadkhani Rice cooked in a Kombu - Mutton stock and Ghee from Medhnipur (WB), Slow cooked Mutton with mint and Kombu, Double Beans tossed in Jus, Pickled Fennel, Fried Onions and Mustard Greens.

Dehrori - Fermented Rice fritter from Chattisgarh dipped in a Nolen Gur Anise Syrup, Lavender infused Curd naturally sweetened with Fennel seed and dried Lavender flowers and roasted sunflower seeds.