Naik Kitchen in Khotachiwadi serves the original menu of shuttered iconic seafood eatery Anantashram

From 1955 to 2007 Anantashram fed the residents of Khotachiwadi and nearby areas its fishforward Gomantak cuisine cooked on charcoal Regulars dubbed the shuttering of the homestyle eatery an end of a delicious era when secondgeneration owners Neelkanth and Baba Khadpe packed up for Goa where their nephew ran its namesake for a few yearsFounder Balakrishna Khadpe had first opened Anantashram on Lamington Road in 1932 as a bhojanalay and moved to Khotachiwadi in 1955 Regulars flocked to it every day for their daily wholesome nonvegetarian thali meal and bills were settled on a monthly basisA typical Gomantak thali with fish curry surmai kadi chicken rasa bombil fry and sol kadi and kismurIn February 2020 58yearold Rajesh Naik a friend of Khadpe brothers mdash Baba and Neelkanth mdash brought back the Anantashram menu with their consent at his restaurant Om Shanti Bhuvan in Thakurdwar He had to close it within a month during the pandemic Despite the setback Naik reopened the eatery as Naik Kitchen at its present location in February 2023 Fittingly next month will see its firstyear anniversary of serving Ghar Guti Paddatiche Gomantak Jevan homestyle Gomantak meal Naik who earlier ran the canteen at Hinduja College for 10 years has employed three acharis chefs who had worked in the OG kitchen since the 1980sVijay Narayan Mogarkar is the achari who is singlehandedly manning the kitchen on the day we dropped by ldquoI joined Anantashram in 1980 I didnrsquot know how to cook and learnt the ropes from a senior chef Since then I have been preparing all the dishes on the menurdquo the 75yearold Konkani of Rajapur Ratnagiri smiles with pride Typically GomantakThe menu at Naik Kitchen offers homestyle Gomantak cuisine of Goa mdash fish kadi rice comprises bangda mackerel paplet pomfret surmai king mackerel javla small prawns tisrya clams and sukke and kurlio crab depending on catch of the day Gauthi chicken and mutton curry also trace back to homestyle coastal delicacies A fishmeat thali costs between Rs 175 to Rs 200 All food is freshly made in a tiny kitchenThe space beside can accommodate four to five chairs for patrons who prefer a quick bite on the go Through a window partition the Naiks entertain takeaway orders The masala is what makes the food unique ldquoWe source 20 spices and grind it in our kitchen chakki to maintain consistency The masala gets a blackishbrown tinge from roastingrdquo says Naik rattling off the inclusions like khus khus jaiphal nutmeg dal chini cinnamon javitri mace lavang cloves kali miri black pepper and saunf fenugreekThe food is cooked in coconut oil even the coconut milk is freshly pressed in the kitchen every day ldquoThis ensures our kadhis and curries are denserdquo informs Naik The dishes get their zing from two chilli varieties mdash Sankeshwari and a Goasourced chota gauthi mirchiEvery second day Naik visits Sassoon Dock at 5 am for fresh catch Bhamini a Koli fishmonger has been cleaning and slicing his fish for years ldquoThis process takes an hour The surmai has to be cut longitudinally while paplet bombil the bangda have to be cleaned of its gut mandeli has to be cleaned on both ends After I bring it to the kitchen we wash it and store it in saltrdquo he reveals A sharp whiff of seasourced fish wafts across the seating area ldquoThatrsquos the tempering of sukha javla that we serve in the thalirdquo Naik explains noticing our curiosityJames Ferreira at his residence in KhotachiwadiTuesdays Thursdays and Saturdays offer an allveg menu it is also available through the week that leans towards Maharashtrian and Konkani palates Popular picks are zunka bhakri dalimbi usal tomato batata rassa vaal baingan bharta bharli vangan sukka aloo bhaji usal chawli masoor kala vatrana moong math and a vegetable every day When there is demand Naik sources kharvas made from jaggery ldquoThe only difference is we donrsquot cook on coal as it is not feasible in our small kitchenrdquo Naik confessesJourney manNaikrsquos father fled from Goa to Bombay now Mumbai as a 12yearold and became an accordion player and a movie poster artist He inherited his culinary prowess from his mother who roped in him and his younger sister to help sell batata vada puran poli sabudana vada ladoo karanji chakli and shakarpara around Colaba Cuffe Parade and Sassoon DockVijay Mogarkar has been a cook with Anantashram since the 1980sldquoI would be at our makeshift stall by 5 am and return at 10 am to attend school at noon In the evenings if we had any food left Irsquod set out to sell it We also made fried fish that was chakna for Koli fishermen nearbyrdquo recalls Naik whose son is an engineer in London while his daughter is pursuing data engineering in Mumbai Today his cheery wife Darshana helps out in the kitchen where they receive between 100 to 150 orders per day The building that houses the eatery is slated to go under redevelopment this year ldquoUntil then we will focus on running it at our best capabilityrdquo Naik signs offNaik Kitchen AnantashramAt Damodar Building 15 Nikadwari Lane Kandawadi GirgaonTime 11 am to 3 pm 7 pm to 10 pmCall 92211799991932When Balakrishna Khadpe first opened Anantashram on Lamington Road as a bhojanalayGirgaon rsquos taste iconLongtime resident of Khotachiwadi designer James Ferreira has fond memories of devouring the fish thali from Anantashram ldquoI had stopped making nonvegetarian fare at home Anantashram became an institution closing it was the beginning of an end of an era It had started as a place for people from a community to go to for their daily meals Staff would shun the oneoff visitors as they preferred their regulars to get a seat Itrsquos great that there is a version of the original but the quality has dipped I had expressed my intentions to take over after it shuttered Till date you canrsquot imagine the number of people who come by for the foodrdquo