Bengal on a tasting menu

Sienna Calcutta's chef's table experience offers fresh perspective and flavours of the region

- Rituparna Roy

On a research trip to Bolpur in West Bengal earlier in May, the Sienna Calcutta restaurant team stumbled upon kulthi/kulith (Macrotyloma uniflorum) or horsegram at the weekly market. The pulse may be commonly eaten in other parts of the country, but is practically unheard of in the Bengali kitchen, albeit a staple food among the indigenous Santhal communities of Birbhum district. While in Namkhana, a fishing harbour in South 24 Parganas, the chefs came across bok maach, a species of gar fish widely considered as by-catch, that rarely makes it to Kolkata's top markets. Both kulthi and bok maach have now found their place at an eight-seater intimate chef's table experience titled Rannaghor (Bengali for kitchen) at the restaurant.

Sienna, located in a century-old home in Hindustan Park, opened in 2015 as an arts and textiles store cum cafe. Over the years, it has come to be known for its bold riffs on Bengali food. While the menus reflect a culinary culture deeply influenced by seasons, terroir and the partition of Bengal, the neighbourhood