A Panoramic View of Northeast Indian Cuisine: Gordon Ramsay's Calcutta Cafe Experience

As I stepped into my newly opened restaurant, Calcutta Cafe, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. My team and I had worked tirelessly to create an authentic North Eastern Indian culinary experience that would transport our customers to the vibrant streets of Northeast India. Our menu featured three delicious curries that showcased the unique flavors and ingredients of this region.

My first dish, chicken and green papaya curry, was inspired by the winning recipe at a recent cooking competition. I wanted to capture the classic asami sour tang that is characteristic of Northeast Indian cuisine. The addition of green papaya not only added a lovely tart flavor but also helped to soften the chicken and marinate it. This dish was a clear crowd-pleaser, with all 100 portions selling out in just under an hour.

My next creation was a fish curry using dried bamboo shoot from Nagaland, a region known for its unique ingredients. I was a bit apprehensive about introducing this ingredient to our customers, as it's not commonly used outside of the region. However, my team and I were confident that it would add a fascinating depth of flavor to the dish. The combination of bay leaf, lemongrass, and licorice created a complex and aromatic flavor profile that was both familiar and excitingly new.

Finally, I presented our North Eastern take on vegetable curry, which departed from traditional methods by using fresh spices instead of dried ones. This approach resulted in a more subtle flavor finish with a puree of sesame seed that added richness to the dish. The addition of fresh coriander paste provided a burst of freshness and vitality to each bite.

As I looked around the restaurant, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and satisfaction. My team had worked tirelessly to create an authentic and delicious culinary experience that would transport our customers on a journey through Northeast India. We had received glowing feedback from foodies and critics alike, with many praising the complexity and depth of flavor in each dish.

As I took a moment to collect myself before opening the restaurant, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervous excitement. Would our dishes be well-received? Would we be able to bring a taste of Northeast India to the streets of Calcutta? The anticipation was palpable as my team and I prepared for what promised to be a busy day.

The first customers began to trickle in, and I took a moment to gauge their reactions. "Is this really from the North East?" one customer asked, eyeing our menu with curiosity. "Yes, it is," I replied confidently. "This is an authentic take on Northeast Indian cuisine." To my delight, customers were impressed by the flavors and ingredients used in each dish.

As the day progressed, I watched as customers devoured our dishes with gusto. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the complexity and depth of flavor in each curry. One customer exclaimed, "I've never tasted anything like this before – it's truly unique and delicious!" Another praised the use of fresh spices, saying, "This is what Northeast Indian cuisine should be all about."

By midday, we had sold out of all three curries, with customers clamoring for seconds. I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment as I watched my team work tirelessly to keep up with demand. It was clear that our restaurant was onto something special – an authentic and delicious culinary experience that would transport customers on a journey through Northeast India.

As the day drew to a close, I took a moment to reflect on what had been an incredible experience. My team and I had worked hard to create an authentic North Eastern Indian culinary experience, and it had paid off in spades. We had received glowing feedback from foodies and critics alike, with many praising the complexity and depth of flavor in each dish. As I looked around the restaurant, I knew that we had created something truly special – a taste of Northeast India that would be remembered for years to come.

My son came up to me and said, "Dad, you're doing great! You must stress that it's from the North East, yeah?" I smiled, knowing that he was right. I did need to make sure that our customers understood the inspiration behind each dish. As a chef, I knew that authenticity was key to creating a truly exceptional culinary experience.

As I looked around the restaurant, I saw food writer Non Don arriving with a critical eye. "How are you doing, brother?" he asked, his tone friendly but also slightly intimidating. I smiled, knowing that I had something to prove. "I'm good," I replied. "My week has been amazing so far. Today we did a take on chicken and green papaya – it was a huge hit." Non Don's eyes lit up with interest as he took a bite of the curry.

"This is incredible," he said, his voice filled with surprise. "I thought for sure that it wouldn't work, but you've managed to capture the essence of Northeast Indian cuisine perfectly." I beamed with pride, knowing that my team and I had worked hard to create an authentic culinary experience.

As Non Don continued to sample our dishes, I couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards him. His critical eye was exactly what we needed to ensure that our restaurant was meeting the highest standards of authenticity and flavor. And as he departed with a glowing review, I knew that we had truly earned our place in the culinary world.

The day drew to a close, and I looked around the restaurant with a sense of pride and accomplishment. My team and I had worked tirelessly to create an authentic North Eastern Indian culinary experience that would transport customers on a journey through this vibrant region. We had received glowing feedback from foodies and critics alike, with many praising the complexity and depth of flavor in each dish.

As I reflected on what had been an incredible experience, I knew that we had truly created something special – a taste of Northeast India that would be remembered for years to come.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enmajuli is the largest river island in the world and for five months during the monsoon it's almost entirely underwater fresh water fish are plentiful and so there's no better place to find a delicious traditional fish curry i'm here to meet one of assam's most celebrated chefs ato laka he runs two restaurants and he's agreed to show me one of his classic fish curries how are you i'm fine good to see you good to see you we start for fishing pissing fishing oh fishing yes you like fishing i love fishing yeah because the people of us we like facing let's hope atol's cooking is better than his english are you ready yeah i already did it you move wait for me yes come come come come but yeah but the pranks don't work on mine this is my place that's why i was 150 000 islanders live here and they survive almost entirely on a diet of fish and all that comes from these fresh water ponds 99 the village live on fish yes yes wow jesus christ that boat's not going to put up with a fat bastard like me i'll tell you about it yeah i'm trying yeah i'm fine that's good well that was a start wasn't it see i knew wouldn't take 50s sorry guys we apologized for me you were so happy you're a lot lighter than i am look how skinny these guys are they're not even 60 kilos oh jeez they're so light these flimsy boats can't take a culinary heavyweight like me so onto plan b well we've got some more fish from the market we've bought some fish and now ato's going to cook denga a traditional assamese fish curry that has a truly unique flavor and what's that called is it you did an elephant apple uh-huh and what do they taste like apples it's like choba chowa yeah so they're acidic yeah it's this tropical fruit that gives dengue its signature sour flavour which will add bite to the earthy taste of our freshwater fish so where's the recipe from everywhere are some people use this type of fish here they're scary okay green chili very good but no spices no no no only chili leaves uh-huh yeah why is that our chili is so special yeah so i noticed it the varieties of chili right chili you know that it's a hottest silly wall yes so i ate a little child yeah garlic what have you got in there what have you put in here excellent good and is that you done then yeah but my goodness your curry is finished cherry in a hurry you like my traditional elisa miss food the cow is delicious and you've managed to make it with no spices yeah so i totally understand where you're coming from it's been really good thank you thank you thank you now just before i go i want you to say one thing for me fishing fishing snake snack no it's not good snake snake atoll suggested that i spend some time with these misses she's going to show me exactly how she cooks if there's one way of going back to calcutta with some really exciting stunning dishes it's going to be from this competition yes hello rashford how are you i'm fine i'm fine nice to see you good to see you finally okay this is a first for me entering a domestic competition actually today i'm going to show you how to cook chicken with sesame seed chicken with sesame seed yes and who taught you this dish yeah i i just learned it from my mother for my granny i always do my cooking at home because atul he doesn't like to cook at home he's better in his restaurant he's like me oh you know why why we haven't got the staff at home oh get that nice nice this is the mustard oil oh yeah that is we never use refine oil what we prefer is the mustard oil right and that's the flavor yeah we prefer less oil i feel like i'm back at school with my home economic teacher do i look like a teacher yeah yeah young and sexy oh cool cool wow so onions garlic chilies do you put them in hole yeah yeah oh the chicken in it's quite dry but we don't use too much of oil that's why very slim and beautiful he's a lucky man thank you i do lots of yoga you know yoga yoga oh too boring for me yoga rashmi's healthy family recipe then uses fresh turmeric and coriander the color has to remain green so it's a green curry jesus this is a housewife competition you're so serious and so strict it will remain green yes i promise yeah that smells delicious color looks amazing yes i don't recognize the final ingredient it's black sesame seed paste and it's only used in northeast indian curries okay good it's very tempting isn't it it is very tempting it is delicious it looks fantastic yeah are you hungry uh i am a little bit i don't like to eat before i go into competitions you are very nervous nervous energy yes yes yes the real point you know since you are nervous you don't want to eat well i have a little taste yeah it's very good everything is perfect yeah everything i'm not going to say down i'm going to say chef thank you thank you thank you you're most welcome that is delicious fingers crossed i think atoll's misses might actually be a better cook than he is so this is a token of love for me and just you're going to wheel it it's a good luck okay three tablespoons of garlic ginger trying to place sesame seed paste at the end at the end hello jesus the best dish in assam is a much sought after title yes i'm here to yeah i'm here to cook i'll love this thank you indeed amazing my 40 fellow competitors have been perfecting the recipes for months but i want to give them a run for their money ready steady we start like oh i'm feeling pretty confident i just need to remember what goes in first little smell darling little smell yeah not too much garlic no okay good right lid on keep an eye on that for me please yeah and just turn down the gas a little bit and have a little wander while that reduces i'm sneaking off to spy on the competition and this one is pigeon that smells nice though what's this one here opium opium poppy seeds poppy seeds and this is chicken chicken oh i'm doing chicken as well what else have you got in there onions garlic onions and ginger so everyone's doing a little bit of decoration aren't they is that for your decoration wow okay right i'll go get my ass in together and do some decorations this lot might look like india's answer to the wi but they're actually pretty good cooks they're now garnishing their dishes it's gone up a notch bloody how they started out as a sort of domestic sort of you know local competition they know what they're doing crafty buggers well two can play that game have done one of these things as a college a little van dyke of tomato 15 minutes left yes thank you thank you ainsley coyander in please come out the same killer's rushing i've got to stay green okay sesame seed paste in four minutes you have to come to the presentation table the countdown begins yep i've never been so much in this in all my life you know stop please all the participants please go and take your seats the judges will taste your food and give their marks first runners up first of all what's up mr gordon runner up or did i wait can you give him another play oh he's only number two he's not one okay well got to be grateful excellent thank you thank you thank you thank you very much thank you thank you very much says sees none other than tech number 14 congratulations what was the dish chicken again what did she do to the chicken that i didn't do papaya papaya with chicken yeah okay excellent a panasonic pressure cooker yes i love you all thank you i don't like coming second best okay next year i'm coming back oh yes number one thank you papaya and chicken that sounds interesting now doesn't it yeah and i mean okay i didn't win fine but what i did come here for was to pick up some knowledge to see how i can put that in to the streets of calcutta thank you ladies thank you russian dean good bye how are you good to see you excellent and this is annie's sagu zagat are you sure they're not bonking off school no no no definitely he's not i didn't adopt him okay right first thing i need um the fire lighting i'm going to draw on the unique flavors of the northeast to create three delicious curries my first is chicken and green papaya inspired by the winning recipe at the cooking competition it will have that classic asami sour tang that the locals won't be used to green papaya helps it not just soften the chicken but marinate it also gives that really nice tart flavor i'm going to make a fish curry using the dried bamboo shoot from nagaland it's something of an acquired taste and i don't know how it'll go down here it's a combination of a sort of bay leaf stroke lemongrass with a little hint of licorice first time for you i'm so pleased my final dish is a north eastern take on vegetable curry instead of using dried spices i'm using fresh ones making a more subtle flavor finish with a puree of sesame seed almost thickened vegetable curry with a sesame seed paste and then after that the fresh coriander paste just one last thing to do before i open my stall i am sweating like a pig i look like a pig i stink like a pig right i'm gonna get changed right cooler much better so it's not exactly chef whites is it but i suppose it's uh it's equivalent my local chef wise to tell you why it's a lot cooler huh nothing wrong with going commander in the midday sun time to see if my take on the northeast curries can win over calcutta's foodies you must stress that it's from the north east yeah you must tell them that that's nice tell me how i say okay let's go fish curry certainly sir actually this is a new thing to us in calcutta i don't know other people will like it or not but in my opinion it's really a super bonus let's go let's go let's go the food is very good and uh i have the face with bamboo shoots it's very tasty bamboo with green papaya thank you let's go chicken papaya has gone down a storm extraordinary it was really good i've never tasted a bamboo and the vegetables and these are really good last chicken lovely that is unbelievable that's barely 50 minutes over 100 portions of chicken's gone which is fantastic news with the last of the chicken papaya gone my fish and vegetable curries quickly sell out too so thank you that is now officially gordon ramsay's calcutta cafe closed finished it's been a great day i've enjoyed myself and judging by the reaction my career has been a success 500 600 700 800 900 1000 2000. that my son is a good morning's work okay yes thanks every people say the food is excellent today definitely everybody said that but there's one person's opinion that really matters food writer non don's arrived to give me his verdict hi gordon how are you doing brother how are you i'm good how was your week uh my week has been amazing so what did you cook up today so today we did a um a take on a chicken with green papaya we did an amazing fish carry i saved you a little portion because i was getting slightly worried no wonder you sold out thank you believe me you happy with that not only that you have actually succeeded in doing something many people would have said is impossible well done that's very kind of very well done very well done i look ridiculous i must have lost half my body weight in sweat but i've proved that curries of the northeast of india are worth shouting about i thought my first week in india was a eye-opener this one was a shock i think because it's hard to believe that exists it's almost like you weren't in india the culture is equally as exciting as the food just an amazing eye opener the simplicity the concentration of great ingredients and not pissing around with it india's helped me to become you know not just you know a proper chef i've never i was never out that bracket but it it's helped me to confirm what i love doing more than anything can we top that i doubt it but i can't wait to try youmajuli is the largest river island in the world and for five months during the monsoon it's almost entirely underwater fresh water fish are plentiful and so there's no better place to find a delicious traditional fish curry i'm here to meet one of assam's most celebrated chefs ato laka he runs two restaurants and he's agreed to show me one of his classic fish curries how are you i'm fine good to see you good to see you we start for fishing pissing fishing oh fishing yes you like fishing i love fishing yeah because the people of us we like facing let's hope atol's cooking is better than his english are you ready yeah i already did it you move wait for me yes come come come come but yeah but the pranks don't work on mine this is my place that's why i was 150 000 islanders live here and they survive almost entirely on a diet of fish and all that comes from these fresh water ponds 99 the village live on fish yes yes wow jesus christ that boat's not going to put up with a fat bastard like me i'll tell you about it yeah i'm trying yeah i'm fine that's good well that was a start wasn't it see i knew wouldn't take 50s sorry guys we apologized for me you were so happy you're a lot lighter than i am look how skinny these guys are they're not even 60 kilos oh jeez they're so light these flimsy boats can't take a culinary heavyweight like me so onto plan b well we've got some more fish from the market we've bought some fish and now ato's going to cook denga a traditional assamese fish curry that has a truly unique flavor and what's that called is it you did an elephant apple uh-huh and what do they taste like apples it's like choba chowa yeah so they're acidic yeah it's this tropical fruit that gives dengue its signature sour flavour which will add bite to the earthy taste of our freshwater fish so where's the recipe from everywhere are some people use this type of fish here they're scary okay green chili very good but no spices no no no only chili leaves uh-huh yeah why is that our chili is so special yeah so i noticed it the varieties of chili right chili you know that it's a hottest silly wall yes so i ate a little child yeah garlic what have you got in there what have you put in here excellent good and is that you done then yeah but my goodness your curry is finished cherry in a hurry you like my traditional elisa miss food the cow is delicious and you've managed to make it with no spices yeah so i totally understand where you're coming from it's been really good thank you thank you thank you now just before i go i want you to say one thing for me fishing fishing snake snack no it's not good snake snake atoll suggested that i spend some time with these misses she's going to show me exactly how she cooks if there's one way of going back to calcutta with some really exciting stunning dishes it's going to be from this competition yes hello rashford how are you i'm fine i'm fine nice to see you good to see you finally okay this is a first for me entering a domestic competition actually today i'm going to show you how to cook chicken with sesame seed chicken with sesame seed yes and who taught you this dish yeah i i just learned it from my mother for my granny i always do my cooking at home because atul he doesn't like to cook at home he's better in his restaurant he's like me oh you know why why we haven't got the staff at home oh get that nice nice this is the mustard oil oh yeah that is we never use refine oil what we prefer is the mustard oil right and that's the flavor yeah we prefer less oil i feel like i'm back at school with my home economic teacher do i look like a teacher yeah yeah young and sexy oh cool cool wow so onions garlic chilies do you put them in hole yeah yeah oh the chicken in it's quite dry but we don't use too much of oil that's why very slim and beautiful he's a lucky man thank you i do lots of yoga you know yoga yoga oh too boring for me yoga rashmi's healthy family recipe then uses fresh turmeric and coriander the color has to remain green so it's a green curry jesus this is a housewife competition you're so serious and so strict it will remain green yes i promise yeah that smells delicious color looks amazing yes i don't recognize the final ingredient it's black sesame seed paste and it's only used in northeast indian curries okay good it's very tempting isn't it it is very tempting it is delicious it looks fantastic yeah are you hungry uh i am a little bit i don't like to eat before i go into competitions you are very nervous nervous energy yes yes yes the real point you know since you are nervous you don't want to eat well i have a little taste yeah it's very good everything is perfect yeah everything i'm not going to say down i'm going to say chef thank you thank you thank you you're most welcome that is delicious fingers crossed i think atoll's misses might actually be a better cook than he is so this is a token of love for me and just you're going to wheel it it's a good luck okay three tablespoons of garlic ginger trying to place sesame seed paste at the end at the end hello jesus the best dish in assam is a much sought after title yes i'm here to yeah i'm here to cook i'll love this thank you indeed amazing my 40 fellow competitors have been perfecting the recipes for months but i want to give them a run for their money ready steady we start like oh i'm feeling pretty confident i just need to remember what goes in first little smell darling little smell yeah not too much garlic no okay good right lid on keep an eye on that for me please yeah and just turn down the gas a little bit and have a little wander while that reduces i'm sneaking off to spy on the competition and this one is pigeon that smells nice though what's this one here opium opium poppy seeds poppy seeds and this is chicken chicken oh i'm doing chicken as well what else have you got in there onions garlic onions and ginger so everyone's doing a little bit of decoration aren't they is that for your decoration wow okay right i'll go get my ass in together and do some decorations this lot might look like india's answer to the wi but they're actually pretty good cooks they're now garnishing their dishes it's gone up a notch bloody how they started out as a sort of domestic sort of you know local competition they know what they're doing crafty buggers well two can play that game have done one of these things as a college a little van dyke of tomato 15 minutes left yes thank you thank you ainsley coyander in please come out the same killer's rushing i've got to stay green okay sesame seed paste in four minutes you have to come to the presentation table the countdown begins yep i've never been so much in this in all my life you know stop please all the participants please go and take your seats the judges will taste your food and give their marks first runners up first of all what's up mr gordon runner up or did i wait can you give him another play oh he's only number two he's not one okay well got to be grateful excellent thank you thank you thank you thank you very much thank you thank you very much says sees none other than tech number 14 congratulations what was the dish chicken again what did she do to the chicken that i didn't do papaya papaya with chicken yeah okay excellent a panasonic pressure cooker yes i love you all thank you i don't like coming second best okay next year i'm coming back oh yes number one thank you papaya and chicken that sounds interesting now doesn't it yeah and i mean okay i didn't win fine but what i did come here for was to pick up some knowledge to see how i can put that in to the streets of calcutta thank you ladies thank you russian dean good bye how are you good to see you excellent and this is annie's sagu zagat are you sure they're not bonking off school no no no definitely he's not i didn't adopt him okay right first thing i need um the fire lighting i'm going to draw on the unique flavors of the northeast to create three delicious curries my first is chicken and green papaya inspired by the winning recipe at the cooking competition it will have that classic asami sour tang that the locals won't be used to green papaya helps it not just soften the chicken but marinate it also gives that really nice tart flavor i'm going to make a fish curry using the dried bamboo shoot from nagaland it's something of an acquired taste and i don't know how it'll go down here it's a combination of a sort of bay leaf stroke lemongrass with a little hint of licorice first time for you i'm so pleased my final dish is a north eastern take on vegetable curry instead of using dried spices i'm using fresh ones making a more subtle flavor finish with a puree of sesame seed almost thickened vegetable curry with a sesame seed paste and then after that the fresh coriander paste just one last thing to do before i open my stall i am sweating like a pig i look like a pig i stink like a pig right i'm gonna get changed right cooler much better so it's not exactly chef whites is it but i suppose it's uh it's equivalent my local chef wise to tell you why it's a lot cooler huh nothing wrong with going commander in the midday sun time to see if my take on the northeast curries can win over calcutta's foodies you must stress that it's from the north east yeah you must tell them that that's nice tell me how i say okay let's go fish curry certainly sir actually this is a new thing to us in calcutta i don't know other people will like it or not but in my opinion it's really a super bonus let's go let's go let's go the food is very good and uh i have the face with bamboo shoots it's very tasty bamboo with green papaya thank you let's go chicken papaya has gone down a storm extraordinary it was really good i've never tasted a bamboo and the vegetables and these are really good last chicken lovely that is unbelievable that's barely 50 minutes over 100 portions of chicken's gone which is fantastic news with the last of the chicken papaya gone my fish and vegetable curries quickly sell out too so thank you that is now officially gordon ramsay's calcutta cafe closed finished it's been a great day i've enjoyed myself and judging by the reaction my career has been a success 500 600 700 800 900 1000 2000. that my son is a good morning's work okay yes thanks every people say the food is excellent today definitely everybody said that but there's one person's opinion that really matters food writer non don's arrived to give me his verdict hi gordon how are you doing brother how are you i'm good how was your week uh my week has been amazing so what did you cook up today so today we did a um a take on a chicken with green papaya we did an amazing fish carry i saved you a little portion because i was getting slightly worried no wonder you sold out thank you believe me you happy with that not only that you have actually succeeded in doing something many people would have said is impossible well done that's very kind of very well done very well done i look ridiculous i must have lost half my body weight in sweat but i've proved that curries of the northeast of india are worth shouting about i thought my first week in india was a eye-opener this one was a shock i think because it's hard to believe that exists it's almost like you weren't in india the culture is equally as exciting as the food just an amazing eye opener the simplicity the concentration of great ingredients and not pissing around with it india's helped me to become you know not just you know a proper chef i've never i was never out that bracket but it it's helped me to confirm what i love doing more than anything can we top that i doubt it but i can't wait to try you\n"