What happens when you move far away from home, and crave for what’s familiar? With a focus on Odisha, Sharmila Vaidyanathan examines the close ties between food and migration, and gathers stories of longing and belonging.
As published in The Locavore on May 24,2022.
When Sneha Senapati answers the phone, it is close to her dinner time. In the background, I hear the slow hum of her Mumbai kitchen in action—a vessel moved, a pot stirring, and the distant melody of ingredients getting chopped. In this perfect setting for a conversation on food, the curator of Odiya Bhoji—pop-ups that highlight the nuances of the food of Odisha—shares her culinary journey with me. But a significant part of our conversation revolves around recreating the flavours of her homeland in a kitchen that is far away from it.
The idea of doing a food pop-up first came to Senapati about five years ago. Frustrated by the lack of representation from her state, she decided that it was time to show the bustling city of Mumbai what Odiya food is all about. For the first edition, her carefully curated menu included a range of options like mutton curry, prawn fry, a traditional jackfruit-based curry, a paneer kofta-like dish that was made with chenna (cheese curds) instead, and the signature street food dahi bara, aloo dum.
Read the full story on The Locavore.