Thanks to Covid-19, we have been denied the unalloyed joy of going to a puja pandal and digging the khichuri bhog, which is one of the best parts of the Durga Puja festivities. I wish puja committees had been allowed the right to deliver bhog to the homes of people who ordered online, but health concerns nixed the possibility. That left me with two options. I could go to The Leela Palace at Chanakyapuri and check out its a la carte Durga Puja menu, or have the Puja special thali at the India International Centre. To my pleasant surprise, both delivered what they promised, although the pandal experience is in a league of its own.
The Leela Palace roped in its halwai—a Bengali gent named Samar Ghosh—to prepare the spread, which had been very intelligently positioned as the ‘victory of food over evil’. I couldn’t expect all the menu items to measure up to traditional standards, but I loved the Beetroot Chops, Dimer Devil (crumb-fried, mutton mince-coasted eggs), Shukto (curry seasonal vegetables and bitter gourd), Chholar Dal made with split Bengal grams, Jhinge Bodi Posto (ridge gourd, lentil nuggets and poppyu seeds), Machher Jhol (the quintessentially Bengali fish preparation) and Chingri Malai Curry (made with prawns and coconut milk). The Bengali-style kachoris stuffed with peas and the dessert named langcha left me mighty impressed, but not the prices – how I wish they were more Puja friendly!
The IIC fare was cooked in what Bengalis describe as the gharoa (home) style and the prices too were gentle on the pocket. The aloo dum and loochi (the good old maida puris that Bengalis have grown up on) were perfect, and so were the fish cutlets that we called ‘fish fry’, but the state of the payesh (kheer cooked with the season’s new jaggery) left me wondering which part of India did that mush come from. Still, it was a commendable first move and if you’re an IIC member don’t miss the treat.