To Market, To Market

With an exotic menu of black rice cooked with tamarind and a butterfly pea drink, an online store and a pop-up celebrate the produce of women-led cooperative groups of Bengal

In a quiet residential area of Kolkata’s Salt Lake township, a chef’s table was coming to life. In chic tumblers, a royal blue drink made with the Aparajita (butterfly pea) flower was slowly changing colour as diners squeezed lime juice into it. Ceramic plates were laid out on the table, heaped with crunchy fritters of red amaranthus and bok phool (flowers of the hummingbird tree), papad made of Tulaipanji rice from North Bengal, with a sprinkling of dried oyster mushrooms, kaun or foxtail millet croquettes and chutneys prepared with pineapples, roasted tomatoes and spices.

The mains arrived on burnished metalware. There were gopo rotis, a sweet and savoury mini bread, madua or finger millet roti, tea flower stir fry and a hearty chicken curry. The khichdi arrived in ramekins — kalo nunia or black rice cooked with tamarind and freshwater shrimps, served with crispy fried mustard greens. By the time dessert was served — a custard apple ice cream under a cloud of yogurt and coconut cream and a crumble of milk solids — it was worth recalling how far every element of the meal had travelled from its place of origin in North and South of Bengal to the chef’s table that day.

We were at the second edition of Chaal Chitro, a food pop-up that stars produce from Bengal’s self-help groups (SHG), which sell their non-perishable items online on a platform called Amar Khamar (My Farm).