Enjoy wholesome meals at the new outlet of Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor

Remember how Goopy Gyne from Satyajit Ray’s film, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, aspired to become a singer, but was actually quite out of tune? And how the village elders, in order to have some innocent fun at his expense, convinced Goopy to awaken king Amloki from his slumber by singing at the break of the dawn near his bedroom window? Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor brings to life those glimpses from King Amloki’s kingdom at its new outlet in Newtown.

A place boasting of elements from Ray’s iconic film is always a reason enough for any quintessential Bengali to pay a visit and we are no exception. Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor made us nostalgic by successfully recreating an ambience showcasing Amloki Raja’s darbar, paintings of Goopy and Bagha, and an almost life-sized Bhooter Raja at the entrance — all elevated to another level by the fantabulous background music.

“At this outlet, we have envisioned and created King Amloki’s court our way, but the king is absent since he is angry as he woke up from his sleep before time, thanks to Goopy’s song, and the latter is somewhere out there atop a donkey, on his way to exile,” says Rajeev Paul, owner of the 18-year-old brand. “Our signature is incorporating lost Bengali recipes that people do not usually cook nowadays. This is also a way to introduce Ray’s creations to the newer generations,” adds Paul.

The menu remains the same as their other outlets, which not only includes quintessential Bengali delicacies, and lost recipes, but also a host of shareable and unshareable thalis. We decided to go for the shareable Hirak rajar thali. We liked their concept of shareable thalis, which minimises wastage and also over-eating. While our thali was getting ready, we sipped into Gondhoraj doi er ghol and Aampana.

The thali matched Hirak Raja — who symbolises all things opulent — to the tee. It had two pieces of crumb-coated Kolkata fish fry, decadent as usual; two pieces of white fluffy luchis paired with Bhaja masalar aludum with a punch of Bengali roast spice mix, ghee, Basmati rice, Basanti polau, Panch rokomer bhaja (five types of fried veggies), a flavourful Macher matha diye sona moong dal (moong dal cooked with fish head and peas), and a bowl of sabzi (we got to taste a mildly spicy potato and pointed gourd curry). The non-veg items of the thali, comprised a pungent and spicy Beckti paturi wrapped in banana leaf, Chingri malai curry (Prawn in a coconut gravy), Padma parer ilish bhapa (hilsa steamed in a mustard paste), and Rajbarir kasha mangsho, which had two chunks of succulent mutton in a spicy and mildly sweet brown gravy.

No Bengali meal is complete without chutney, papad, rosogollah and mishti doi, and this was no different. The thali can be happily shared between two people and one can also order from the a la carte menu, in case you feel a bit greedy for more. We added a portion of the Pur pora potoler dolma with a stuffing of spicy cottage cheese to go with our basmati rice, and Bhetki jhal that had a whole baby beckti dunked in a spicy, tomato and mustard gravy. This definitely summed our meal up.

Meal for two: Rs 699+

Pictures by Anindya Saha