1 day ago
Narkel Utsav Makes Coconut the Star of Bengali Cuisine
Narkel Utsav is a food festival where coconut is used in almost every dish.
Chef Nayana Afroz created the menu for 6 Ballygunge Place.
Coconut appears in different ways, such as grated, roasted, or mixed into creamy sauces.
The dishes include vegetables, fish, prawns, meat, and lentils.
One dish pairs prawns with urad dal, while another uses papaya in a coconut-based malaikari sauce.
There are also two desserts, including a tart served with tender coconut ice cream.
The festival is available for lunch and dinner until October 11.
It is offered at four 6 Ballygunge Place outlets.
Chef Nayana Afroz curated Narkel Utsav, a coconut-focused menu at 6 Ballygunge Place.
The dishes use coconut grated, roasted, ground into paste, and prepared as coconut milk or cream.
The menu includes stuffed teasel gourd, prawns with urad dal, papaya malaikari, prawn dumplings, and coconut mutton.
Desserts include a coconut and palmyra palm tart with tender coconut ice cream, and sesame-coconut payesh.
The festival runs through October 11 for lunch and dinner at four Kolkata-area outlets.
- Who
- Chef Nayana Afroz curated the festival menu at 6 Ballygunge Place.
- What
- Narkel Utsav is a festival menu featuring dishes made with coconut in varied forms.
- Where
- Four 6 Ballygunge Place outlets: Ballygunge, Salt Lake Sector 1, Chowringhee, and Ecosuites, New Town.
- When
- Through October 11; the article does not specify the year.
- Why
- The festival showcases coconut across Bengali-style dishes, including fish, prawns, meat, lentils, vegetables, and desserts.
Familiar Bengali coconut dishes
Coconut beyond familiar dishes
How coconut features in the menu
Familiar Bengali coconut dishes
The article notes familiar Bengali coconut dishes such as chingri malai curry, naru, and pithe.
Coconut beyond familiar dishes
The festival uses coconut in a broader range of fish, prawn, meat, lentil, vegetable, and dessert preparations.
Key facts
- Festival
- Narkel Utsav
- Curator
- Chef Nayana Afroz, described as a Bangladeshi cuisine specialist
- Venue
- 6 Ballygunge Place
- Service
- Lunch and dinner
- Runs until
- October 11
- Locations
- Ballygunge; Salt Lake Sector 1; Chowringhee; Ecosuites, New Town
- Desserts featured
- Coconut and Palmyra Palm Tart with Tender Coconut Ice Cream; Til Narkeler Payesh
Quotes
Nayana Afroz
Bangladeshi cuisine specialist chef who curated Narkel Utsav
“It’s basically a coconut festival. Different dishes like fish, prawns, meat, dal, even vegetables like papaya have been cooked with coconut in different forms, as in a paste, grated, or as coconut milk. So, all the dishes are very new to Kolkata.”
telegraphindia.com






