Growing up in a typical Goan family in Mumbai, Michelle Fernandes’ mother ensured her children stayed connected to their roots, especially through food. This instilled in Fernandes a love for cooking, where she made some of the best fish curries and tea cakes that everyone raved about.  Little did she know that her marriage to a Dhanbad-based entrepreneur would have her move to the coal capital of India and set her on a roller coaster of changes—in culture, food, place, and language. Going from xith kodi (fish curry) to dal, bhat, bhujia (vegetable sautéed in mustard oil) took some getting used to, but her love for cooking kept her curious enough to explore a cuisine that has a strong influence from the bordering states of Bihar, UP, Chattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal. Think posto (poppy seeds), mangrela (onion seeds) and leela sarson (mustard flavour, not for the faint-hearted).

This thali includes desi chicken curry, demta pickle (Pickled red ant chutney), kinda (sweet potato mash), phutkal (new leaves of ficus tree) and goda chawal (local brown rice).