Mustard Musings

I wander about a lot and am fascinated by new experiences, particularly in the culinary world. When I stumbled upon Mustard, my first thought was an ‘either love it or hate it’ sentiment towards this sharp condiment.

But one step indoors and this venture by Shilpa Sharma and Poonam Singh blew me away. It’s an old Goa house in Sangolda that could be mistaken as a blown up version of a doll’s house. Varying shades of blue – navy, cornflower, powder – deftly interact with each other creating a broad colour scheme that immediately relaxes the mind.

I was taken back to the charming cottages of the English countryside with the quaint antique-style cupboards, tea pots and summery patio seating outdoors. Although I had company, I would imagine that even solo travellers or visitors will find it absorbing to sit here over a languid dinner, taking in the décor details.

The name made immediate sense when I looked at the menu – both Bengali and French cuisines celebrate mustard. French fields are filled with its shocking hue during spring and every Bengali I know shivers in excitement just anticipating that well-loved taste.

It is quite apt then that Mustard made its home in Goa, India’s perfect mélange of East and West in both culture and food. It’s one of the few restaurants in Goa serving authentic Bengali delicacies. The menu was curated by Pritha Sen, a renowned chef and food historian, to help visitors uncover the nuances and secrets of the cuisine, while Frenchman Gregory Bazire gave expert thought to the European section of the menu for those who love mustard and also for those who don’t.

Mustard has two separate kitchens with chefs specialised in their respective cuisine styles. This ensures absolutely authentic tastes. Chef Abhimanyu Sen was on site when we sauntered in, taking a seat under the outdoor bar area topped with traditional Goan coconut leaf mats.

It was still a little warm but the winds of seasonal change were blowing and it was the perfect spot to savour the last of the fresh seafood before the onset of the monsoons and the fishing ban in Goa that comes with it.

We had a delightful little tasting menu to sample the cuisine, as I’ve not been exposed to Bengali food too often. It turned out to be a beautiful gastronomical revelation. First out of the kitchen was the kaach kola shammi kebab made of raw green bananas, apparently a favourite in the eastern state. A chicken starter followed with the meat marinated in kashundi, a tangy mustard sauce that is as signature to Bengal as recheado masala is to Goa.

The smoked fish at Mustard is not your typical dish. Flavours of history abound here, known as it is for delicate flavours with hints of mustard powder and oil, smoked in the traditional manner with puffed rice, jaggery and husk. All of this lends a distinct taste to the dish.

I was also impressed by the house-style tabouleh that incorporates many Goan elements including kokum, dry coconut, grilled cashews and Goan sausage bread crumb. We returned to the kashundi with stir-fried calamari that also featured a lovely blend of zingy ginger and sweet pumpkin. Very interesting indeed. The final starter was jholsamo mangsho – tender mutton ribs marinated with nigella seeds and charcoal-grilled to perfection.

Our mains featured two dishes from France, and two from Bengal. Chef Bazire reinvented the classic French dessert, the mille feuille. Instead of the usual light custard piled between razor-thin crunchy filo pastry sheets, Mustard serves a savoury version with a hearty vegetable fricassee tumbled with parsley and cheesy béchamel. Across the table was a juicy chicken breast stuffed with Dijon mustard and liver, and glazed with rosemary butter. It was served with étuvée vegetables, cooked in the typical French fashion of cooking them in their own, and garlic jus.

A fresh barramundi was taken to another level in the maachcher paturi, or fish cooked in banana leaves, a very traditional Bengali style. At Mustard, the delicate flavours of the banana leaf and mustard marinade permeate the fish through slow-roasting rather than steaming.

Kosha mangsho is Bengal’s star mutton curry, with fat chunks of meat soaking in a heavy gravy of mustard oil, onions, cardamom, clove and cinnamon.

We ended the meal with a celebration of the seasonal fruit. There was a delectable mango cheesecake and mango kheer. The menu also features a refreshing muskmelon and feni dessert soup with freshly cut fruit, grilled almonds and hints of coco and feni. I will certainly return to try it!