Shukto Mousse & Mutton Kosha Dip: This New Restaurant Is Bending Every Bong Food Rule

They say you should never mess with what Ma cooks. And when you are Bengali, you know that Mum’s the word when it comes to cooking awesome Bong food. At Eat Water {we are coming to the name in a bit}, Mom might be a bit scandalised with the kind of twists and tweaks the menu offers to traditional and signature Bengali dishes. But we are here to tell you that even Mum will approve of these creations and so will you. The name Eat Water takes from the Bengali way of basically eating anything and everything. There is no Bengali word for drinking, it’s all khabo aka eat. We eat food, we eat water. Hence the name Eat Water. It’s a bit complicated we know, but people of “Bonglandia”, you will get the drift.

The restaurant is located on the first floor of a building on the busy Lavelle Road but they have valet parking, thankfully. The interiors do not have the trappings of a cliched Bengali restaurant with portraits of Tagore and Satyajit Ray, but the giant rickshaw at the entrance is a bit of a buzzkill. The restaurant, which started in November began with a tasting menu, but now they offer a full-fledged menu with course by course offerings.

We first started with a bunch of dips. Now, these dips are no ordinary ones, each of them are based on a signature Bengali dish. So there was The Kosha dip {thickened sauce of a mutton kosha}, Creamy & Coconutty Shrimp Dip {a sublime reminder of the chingri malai curry}, a Bengali Banana Leaf Wrap Sauce {the mustard sauce used for fish paturi} along with one that was tribute to our Bengali begun pora {smoked aubergine dip} and a cream based one flavoured with gondhoraj lime. We mopped these up with nimkis {bengali style fritters made with flour}, fried bodi {sun dried dal dumplings}, and baked banana chips. Each of the dips reminded us of what the original dish was and it was brilliant.

Next up were soups, which you have to try. The Shukto Mousse was just like my mother’s version of the vegetable dish except it was in mousse form, laced with ghee and crumbled bodis. The mutton mince and dal soup was like eating a mutton cutlet but in a soup form, in a good way.

From the starters section, do try the vegetarian plater full of bodas or fritters made out of green banana, dal, jackfruit and poshto or poppy seed. The Steamed Fish Kebab, a combination of bhetki fish and prawn mince steamed in a banana leaf was healthy and delicious, to be mopped up with a pungent mustard sauce. We weren’t too hot on the Baked Malai Kebabs {mutton mince with malai cooked in a clay oven}.

Don’t fill up too much on dips, soups and starters {we made that mistake} because you won’t be available to do justice to the mains. The main course is sprinkled with some dishes from Orissa {Kukuda Sorisa or mustard chicken} and the North East, like the Dohneiiong {a Meghalaya-style pork dish with black sesame}, but for now, Bengali cuisine rules the menu. This will change soon, apparently, because the menu here is all about Eastern Indian represent and will include more of Assamese and Oriya cuisine too.

We stuck to Bengali staples for mains and tried the steamed hilsa in a mustard sauce served with an interesting rice tossed with mustard paste, and The Kosha {mutton cooked with loads of caramelised onions and spices till it is almost charred} along with a saffron pulao. There was also the salty, savoury and cooked to a melt blackened pork Dohneiiong. As far as authenticity is concerned, all the mains ticked that box. Though it is not hilsa season right now, the fish was surprisingly good.

If you can stomach anything more after such a heavy meal, then try the baked rosogolla and the date palm {nolen gur} flavoured ice cream. So good and can be shared by two.

You should definitely visit EatWater for the novelty it offers, whether you are Bengali or not. We would suggest going in a group so that you can try many more things because the menu is vast. The prices are reasonable and all mains come as meals with rice {steamed, pulao} or roti {paratha, puri, etc}, a dal and a vegetable side.