Bengali food @ Mustard

After reading about Mustard here, I couldn't stop thinking about the food. While we're familiar with Indian food, we had never tasted anything that's Bengali. So, we needed to make our way to Mustard, fast!

Last Friday, we gathered at Mustard at 32 Race Course Road for our first Bengali/Punjabi meal. I even brought a list of highly recommended dishes. While waiting for our friends to arrive, we snacked on pappadam served with a sweet/tangy dip.

The decision to eat there was a good one. All the dishes we tried exceeded our expectations. Even my friends thanked me for bringing them there.

The aloo jhuri bhaja ar cholar dal, or lentils was served with a plate of fried shoestring potatoes. The lentil is cooked to the right constituency. To our delight, we tasted bits of crunchy coconut in the creamy sauce. The dish is perfect on its own, without the need for fried potatoes.

The chicken rezalla is a mild curry cooked using yoghurt instead of coconut milk. The chicken pieces were tender and the gravy was rich and creamy.

The mutton dish was outstanding. The meat was cooked until tender and flavourful, without any hint of (gamey) mutton smell. This dish goes so well with rice.

This is the softest and fluffiest rice I had ever eaten. The grains are long and slender, they look like shredded coconut!

The chingri maacher malai curry, or prawns in a delicious coconut sauce was my favourite dish. The sauce is so addictive, I drank by the spoonful.

I forgot to take photos of the maacher paturi, or white fish fillets smothered in mustard and steamed in a banana leaf. The fish was very tender and had a distinct smokey taste.

We also ordered bread and garlic naan.


After a satisfying dinner, we walked to Kulfi Bar at Upper Dickson Road which serves kulfi - Indian ice cream made using milk, nuts and spices.

The ice cream is typically served in round slices and topped with crushed pistachios and other nuts.

The cafe is situated in a handicraft store. From the photo below, you can see Indian artifacts and knick-knacks for the home.

We received a gift of Korean tea leaves from our friends.