Nestled in a busy locality in Koramangala is this little restaurant that can easily be missed. But once you step inside the restaurant, the traditionally done interiors will make you sit up and notice. Churning out traditional Oriya and Bengali cuisine is East Indies for those who yearn for the taste of home, especially those from Orissa and West Bengal.
The bottle and wall paintings have intrinsic Oriya art work. There are small hanging clay ‘matkas’ and lampshades which definitely add to the creative decor of the restaurant. One can see a personal touch to everything around in the restaurant. Jatiya Das, one of the owners of the restaurant says, “Our motive is to popularise the Oriya cuisine among Bengalureans. We have taken this step to make everything in this restaurant look authentic — not just the food but also the interiors. Most of the things we have used are either homemade or brought from Orissa.”
“We see many youngsters coming and trying out our food especially those who stay away from home. However, during the weekends it’s more of the family crowd coming in,” adds Jatiya.
Every dish on the menu is explained in detail to give the customers a better insight into what they are ordering. The spices that are used for cooking are homemade. Some of the popular items in the non-vegetarian section are mutton ‘kassa’, ‘mati handi mansa’— which is cooked in a clay pot and simmered for sometime to get the strong aroma of the spices used in the curry, hilsa fish curry, crab curry and egg ‘tadka’.
As for the vegetarians, they can enjoy the ‘Chandanpur dalma’— which got it’s name from the place called ‘Chandanpur’ in Orissa, mushroom ‘masala’, ‘chenna’ curry and ‘paneer lababdar’. To add to the taste one can also try out their ‘chakuli’ or ‘kanika’. For those with a sweet tooth— the ‘rasgollas’ and ‘lassis’ are a must-try.
“We wanted to open the restaurant in a place where people explore different kinds of cuisine, and what better than Koramangala,” says Satyajit, the other owner. East Indies is located at No 475, 1st Cross, 5th Block, KHB Colony, Koramangala, For details, call 7406046444.
Courtesy: Deccan Herald