Mumbai-based home chef, filmmaker & entrepreneur Madhumita Pyne and I share a common love for fresh ingredients and Kolkata markets. For Pyne, cooking is a combination of art and science. "I love experimenting with new ingredients and flavours. When I spot a new ingredient, I have to cook with it," said Pyne with child-like excitement in her voice.
From making bottled jams as a hobby and starting small in a home kitchen to running a cloud kitchen and catering venture, Pyne serves up authentic Bengali cuisine with seasonal produce. “I change my menu twice every month and I like to keep my menu unique and not just limit it to the likes of kosha mangsho and malai curry. 40 per cent of my clients are non-Bengalis and it is heartening to see their willingness to try and accept dishes and flavours from my home town. For Probashi Bengalis (Bengalis living in Mumbai) my menu invokes nostalgia – a part of home that they can come back to.”
With her menu, Pyne wants to celebrate the vastness of Bengali cuisine and help people recognise that it is much more than what your local Bengali restaurant offers. “Our dishes are made with very few ingredients and there's no masala, pastes and sauces to hide behind. There's a certain simplicity to Bengali cuisine – we believe in making the main produce the hero be it meat, fish or even vegetables. In fact, my menu has many vegetarian options that are prepared using only seasonal produce from Kolkata.”
While we couldn’t stop chatting about everything food, we did go back to the hero element of the day – cooking Chingri Baati Chochori, a simple prawn dish that can be served up in a matter of few minutes. Through her social media, Pyne markets her offerings and gives her clients a peek into West Bengal's food culture. Today she is a well-renowned home chef who runs a successful cloud kitchen and actively does pop-ups and collaborations with events and festivals.