Savour a unique Sufi-Bengali feast in Mumbai this weekend

On a balmy afternoon we are at chef Bilkis Khanrsquos home in one of Chemburrsquos leafy pockets This is where she usually hosts The Golpoh Table her intimate supper club centred on family recipes memories and the stories that travel with them That afternoon Khan had cooked a feast for one There was a deceptively simple soulful dal Chicken Korma traditional Macher Jhol pomfret in a light fragrant mustard gravy and a deeply flavoured Mutton CurryFirdausa is a sweet chef Bilkis Khanrsquos dadi would make when they visited her in the winters Pics CourtesySpecial ArrangementThe tangy Achari Mahi Kebab demands a second helping ldquoMy aunt would make this with a specially ground masalardquo she recalls As the afternoon unfolds we realise that at Khanrsquos table food almost always comes attached to a person and a memory lsquoGolpohrsquo means stories in Bengali a nod to the conversations memories and family histories that sit alongside the foodBeyond recipesThe journey began during the second lockdown when Khan was living in Malad and running a home kitchen Initially she was cooking for free for the needy ldquoIt was never a businessrdquo she says It found its audience Regular customers returned orders increased she eventually moved to ChemburMacher JholThe Golpoh Table guided her to a more personal idea The oldfashioned pleasure of people seated together for a meal while engaging with the rest occasionally arriving as strangers and leaving as friends ldquoIrsquom busy in the kitchen but I can hear the laughter and see the smilesrdquo she sharesMutton Aloo JholIn Khanrsquos family cooking has always been linked with the women and the food prepared at home She began writing down family recipe names for her daughter a foodie and soon realised she had stumbled upon an enormous culinary archive ldquoThere were over 1500 to 2000 recipes I wondered where these recipes originated fromrdquo she wonders Many were passed down through observation rather than measuring cups and recipe cardsLegacy and foodThere is another thread running through Khanrsquos food one she didnrsquot always discuss She hails from a Pir Bangsh a Sufi lineage For years she says she didnrsquot imagine the story would intrigue people until a friend encouraged her to speak about it after which she could gauge its place in her culinary journeyBilkis KhanBengaliMuslim fare Bilkis points out is often reduced to its meatheavy repertoire But her familyrsquos cooking has a much wider vocabulary particularly when it comes to vegetables fish rice and sweets She traces some of this diversity to her family history Her greatgreatgrandmother was a Brahmin woman who married into the family bringing another culinary tradition into the householdldquoBoth cuisines combined and a different cuisine evolvedrdquo she adds That evolution can be tasted in her cooking fish preparations mutton cooked on dum Dal Gosht Tehri Yakhni Pulao and a familystyle biryani all using spice blends rooted in her family kitchenThe next chapterKhan is planning a special Durga Puja supper that brings together the Bengali dishes she grew up with and the Sufi influences that run through her family Khichdi Labra Patha Jhol and Macher Kofta are among the dishes she will revisit alongside Mutton Rezala Doodh Lau and her own Sufistyle Gulab Rossogolla There is also a distinctly Rarh influence in her cooking Khan sees this regional culture as an important part of her culinary iwnheritanceON October 3 7 pm onwardsCALL 9983010860 to book a seat