#blahvsfood: I was right last year….Amar Khamar in Kolkata is probably the most important restaurant in India today.

 

I had said last year that Amar Khamar is one of the most important restaurants in India today. With the passage of time, I was wondering if that was the hyperbole of first impressions or an opinion I held on to. After visiting them again last month, that feeling is only reinforced.

Bhaja with kashundi

In some ways it does to Bengali cuisine what Divya Prabhakar and Bengalooru Oota Company did for Karnataka (and specifically Gowda) food, taking it from people’s homes and bringing it to the world and expanding our understanding of a cuisine. But in other ways, it actually represents a leap forward because it goes beyond cuisine and sheds light on an entire food ecosystem, and that journey it aims to preserve, revive or sustain an entire way of life. 

The extraordinary khichudi experience 

Whether it’s reviving ancient rice varietals that were going extinct or supporting small farmers and producers that are the (often exploited) bedrock of the food economy, I don’t know any other restaurant whose work is so important in terms of pointing the way towards a better and more sustainable way forward for F and B. 

The bhaat menu 

Of course the fear is always whether it leads to food that’s all about intellectual gyan with no taste… if the philosophy falls flat in the absence of flavour. But the food at Amar Khamar is superb, to my mind the best Bengali restaurant I’ve ever been to. 

Carp innards with pumpkin

I don’t think it makes sense for me to try and describe the meal itself because I will lose context and nuance. So for the first time, I am replicating what the restaurant sent me. I requested Raina from the team to write out exactly what I ate along with my friends Rukhsana and Suneha. I didn’t feel any discomfort doing so because this wasn’t a meal to review. It was a meal to enjoy and experience and learn from and give thanks for.

So thank you Sujoy, Chef Juhi, Raina snd everyone at Amar Khamr. I was right. This is one of the most important restaurants in all of India. 

Black rice Phirni, Kanachur Khoi and sugarcane jaggery Moa

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The meal started with the first three courses of our Chhuti-r Bhat Menu. 

Three courses paired with our 1st heirloom rice 
Aromatic Narasimha Jata Aatap 
Shukto with Drumsticks & Bitter Gourd  |  Teto(bitter)
Sautéed Seasonal Greens, with a side of homemade Kasundi  |  Shak (greens)

Ground & Spiced Ridge Gourd Peels  |  Bata(ground)
- paired with ghee from Kalimpong, light version.
- and Amar Khamar Green Chilli Aachar

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Next we served another heirloom rice 
Aromatic Harinakhuri Aatap 

This traditional paddy cultivar was a type of ‘Haimantí’ or aman crops cultivated in the Midnapur district of colonial Bengal during the 1870s. It was grown by the transplantation method in the winter season. However, the crop became extinct, after the Green Revolution induced the cultivation of high-yielding paddy varieties.

After years of work, we have finally been able to bring back this little known rice of Bengal. Harinakhuri otherwise would have been lost like the thousands of indigenous varieties of rice we have lost over the decades. One of the forgotten grains of Bengal, Harinakhuri has been revived with a lot of love through our work with the farmers.

served with 
Fried Potato & Poppy Seeds
Indian Carp Innards with Pumpkin
 Crispy, Fried Gurjali (Indian Salmon)

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The complete khichuri experience, served with three types of Khichuri 

Foxtail Millet Khichuri 
- served with Mochmoche Begun Bhaja (Crispy Eggplant), Jhurjhure Aalu Bhaja (Crunchy Potato Sticks), Chichinga Bhaja (Crispy Snake Gourd), Chal-er Papad (Rice Papad) 

Slow-Cooked Gobindobhog Bhuna Khichuri 
- served with Bnota Saho Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant with stalks), Jhurjhure Aalu Bhaja (Crunchy Potato Sticks), Chichinga Bhaja (Crispy Snake Gourd), Jhal-Mishti Aalu-r Dom ( Sweet & Spicy Potatoes), & Goyna Bori (Ornamental Dried Dal Dumplings)

Slow-Cooked Gobindobhog & Mutton Bhuna Khichuri 
- served with Morich-er Raita (Chilli Raita)

Chutney 
Raw Mango Murabba & Rice Papad

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Jackfruit biryani (from our Eid Special menu) 

Mutton tikia with teen kona porota

Dessert 
Kanakchur Khoi & Sugarcane Jaggery Moa - - with this season’s gur from Jhargram
Black Rice Phirni