Around Town: Kala Ghoda’s regional cuisine restaurant Folk is offering nostalgia on a platter

We visited the restaurant spread across 1,200 sq ft on a weekday evening, and found the interiors featuring yellow light, hanging cane lamps and wooden arm chairs with cane work inviting. “The idea was to create a place that is a reminder of a home, a living room, a place where you needn’t have to dress up and go,” said 44-year-old Marwah. We began with sampling a series of drinks from their menu — pineapple jaljeera offered the right tanginess with a subtle punch of black pepper and the fiery Pallipalayam raw rasam reminded us of spicy gol gappe pani we had plenty during our growing up years in Delhi.

Soon a plate of Awadhi kathal ki shammi and Amritsari Chole Kulche served in copper utensils arrived on our table. The perfectly cooked mildly-spiced kebabs were plated on naan and were accompanied by a kathal curry, alongside small bowls of green chutney, pickled onion and salad. The idea, we were told, is to offer a pre-plated meal for one, even if it is a starter, in their bid to cater to the working class population around them. The same was the case with soft potato-stuffed kulcha with a generous sprinkling of split coriander seeds on top, which was served with a bowl of chole and accompanied with curd, chutney, pickle and salad. “These accompaniments matter, something they are the one that stay on our mind far longer than the main dish,” chimes Marwah, who has partnered with industry veteran Prashant Pallath, the man behind Bombay Taco Company, The Tanjore Tiffin Room among others, for this venture.

Jasleen Marwah

Over conversations, Marwah, a Sikh who originally hails from Kashmir, shares that her family decided to leave the Valley when it was wrecked by insurgency in the late 80s and early 90s. While they were relatively protected, as opposed to Hindus, the events were interrupting their family’s daily life, particularly her and her siblings’ studies. With her family, Marwah moved to many cities, including Delhi and Lucknow, before she decided to make Mumbai home sometime around the year 2006. “Now I needed to feed myself and so I started cooking. I would only make dishes that I was craving for, which was mostly Kashmiri food. Over the years, friends, family and acquaintances were also fed the same and it was very widely appreciated and even demanded,” shares the former media professional who spent a major part of her two-decade-long career as an executive producer and also piloted Sudhanshu Saria’s Loev, a romantic drama revolving around two men, as a producer. In 2015, when a series of platforms were connecting home chefs with people who wanted to experience different cuisines, Marwah opened her home for guests looking to indulge in Kashmiri food. Years later, when Covid-19 hit the world and everything came to a halt, Marwah decided to start delivering her offerings and there has been no going back since – her brand Namak operates from two cloud kitchens, one in Mumbai and another in Pune, and now she has commenced a new innings with Folk.

Awadhi kathal ki shammi

Over a course of Jammu-wale rajma chawal, made using Bhaderwah rajma and prepared in curd gravy instead of the tomato-onion gravy, which she said is the norm in Jammu and Kashmir where one can’t always rely on fresh produces owing to the weather, remote locations and distance, we couldn’t help but ask how does she ensure the authenticity of other dishes? “Our third partner, also a home chef, Zareena Dadan has curated the Konkani dishes on the menu. For others, we had Prashant’s expertise,” she adds. This writer took along a Gujarati friend and she had no complaints about sev tameta nu shaak. It wasn’t as sweet as we anticipated and we were told that’s because it is made in Kathiawadi style and we choose to believe the chef. Interestingly, what stood out for us on this plate was a small bowl of bhindi fry, which came as an accompaniment. Loaded with spices, it was something we couldn’t help bingeing on, proving Marwah right about the importance of accompaniments.

Mawa cake in masala milk

We rounded off the meal on coconut neer dosa and mawa cake soaked in masala milk – the former was a treat for us and reminded us of desiccated coconut barfi and the latter would work well for someone whose palette prefers mildly sweet desserts. But before we could leave, we placed an order for bhindi fry. After all, is it even a good dish if you didn’t feel compelled to take some of it back home?

Where: Maharashtra Chambers, 14, New Bakehouse, Kala Ghoda, Fort
When: All days, 12 – 11 pm
Price for two: Rs 500 – 700