Sea-ward Bound

Kebabs,for an average urban inhabitant,brings to mind halls lit up with chandeliers,tapestry in colours of royalty- purple,blue,maroon,and richly upholstered chairs with gold detailings. Their plates,usually heaped with succulent pieces of meat,are surrounded by an assortment of chutneys in warm colours. It’s difficult to utter squid and kebab in the same breath. More so for the Bengali foodie,who seems to associate culinary goodness with a set of stereotypes. But Charcoal Grill,a city restaurant located at Park Circus is all set to break them,with what they claim is the city’s first ‘seafood kebab festival’. Apart from the usual suspects,prawns and fish,they have decided to blend Indian flavours with Western staples like squids and crabs.

“Squids lend themselves well to Indian spices,” says chef Subhendu Maiti. So the menu boasts of a Stuffed Squid Banjara Kebab and a Shah Jahani Seafood Shammi Kebab prepared with squids. “I used crab meat and minced squids to prepare a mixture with Indian spices like garam masala. Then I made them into small balls which were fried and then cooked in a rich gravy,” says Maiti about the Shah Jahani kebab.

The stuffing for the Banjara Kebab is made with a mixture of coconut and kokom (a Keralite tamarind). “It’s sweet and sour in taste,” says Maiti.

Our favourite would be the Beckti Kesari Kebab – the fished grilled to a silken texture,the fragrance of saffron just enough to titillate your taste-buds. The Prawn Malai Kebab has jumbo prawns grilled to the same softness as the beckti,the Pomfret confronts your palate with a stronger,zest-ful flavour of green chillies and coriander. “We have tried to bring in flavours from entire coastline of the country,” says a representative of the restaurant.