Food joint: Khichdi Khichri focuses on flavours of comfort dish

The assortment of khichdis come in quaint clay pots with pickle on the side thereby adding to the nostalgiaIt takes a lot of pluck and a fair bit of ingenuity to launch a food business that serves only home grown comfort food Particularly the kind you would crave after a hard dayrsquos work away from your mum But a fledgeling food delivery service in Kolkata is doing just that mdash packaging food that is all nostalgia all soul and very very familiar Which is perhaps why a local boy and now one of the worldrsquos finest chefs Gaggan Anand has been throwing in his weight behind the ventureGaggan AnandKhichdi Khichri a takeawaydelivery service operating from a residential area off the EM Bypass that runs along the periphery of the city has a menu inspired by home kitchens across the countryAs the name suggests it only serves khichdi 13 varieties of them with some accompaniments and upma poha and other inspired sides So Bisi Bele Bhaat rubs shoulders with Himachali Khichri while Bhoger Khichuri a popular Bengali dish served during festivals and Palak Khichdi make for perfect comrades The most popular is Maarsquos Khichdi a wholesome moong dal dish any Indian would be familiar with Also the most economical at 60 per serving What has got many Kolkatans to sit up and take note is that they also serve Sheddo Bhaat mdash a bland prep where the rice is cooked together with vegetables eggs and lentils No one will ever dream of serving or ordering it at a restaurant But the gamble seems to have paid off and there are plenty of takers for this comfort dish we are toldDolly Punjabi cofounder says the idea was to cater to the students and office community After toying with a few options they decided to focus on khichdis since no one was doing it There was no market survey or data that went into the making of Khichdi Khichri Just a lot of googling of regional favourites and generous amounts of organic and flavourful ingredients So only unpolished rice red rice organically grown vegetables and spices are usedSampling the delightsHeres what we ordered Bisi Bele Bhaat Rs 150 Curd Rice Rs 150 Palak Khichri Rs 150 Niramish Khichuri Rs 100 and Lemon Rice Rs 150 On the side we ordered Baingan Raita Rs 60 Aloo Tuk Rs 50 and Onion Pacchadi Rs 30 Our orders arrived in pretty clay pots tied up with jute strings and packed in cloth bags Even the chutneys and pickles were packed neatly in mini clay saucers Nice touchEach dish was flavourful and clean The Niramish Khichuri Bengali style Moong Dal khichri with green peas and a touch of sweetness was spot on as was the curd rice The latter especially was beautifully fragrant and neither too sweet not sour We were told it was Anand who suggested they add an extra dash of spice to mak it stand out Masterstroke Palak Khichri was a creamy rich green preparation with plenty of seasonal veggies while Bisi Bele was a spicier version of the classic one The Lemon Rice was interesting And we figured the use of gondhoraj lebu a regional variant of the Kaafir Lime in Curd Rice is a brilliant touch thanks once again to AnandThe gondhoraj lebu is a fragrant lime with roots in Bangladesh a cross between mandarin and lime The regal nomenclature the king of aroma says a lot about the mystique and romance Bengalis attach to this regional specialty Chefs across the city have been using it in grilled fish souffles and salads to name a few No wonder then Anand wanted the Khichdi people to use the star of the regionrsquos cuisine in a classic from down South and give it a unique spinThe other star of the spread was the Baingan Raita Inspired by Bengal this cold dish uses mustard paste and slivers of brinjal in a tangy pungent sweet and spicy raita It got our vote for its innovativeness What we loved about all the dishes was that the portions were perfect for a sound meal and yet extremely light We did not feel heavy despite feasting on the copious amounts of rice And that says something about the way they cookKhichdi Khichri is on Swiggy that services a radius of 4 km radius But through their website they have catered to customers across the city So next time you are in Kolkata and have crammed yourself with mishti doi and maach it may be a good idea to turn to some comfort food Maarsquos style