Thanks to Samba and our appetite for unusual foods, my wife and I discovered an interesting resort tucked away at the edge of the Joypur Forest in Bankura District, West Bengal. The place is called
Banalata Resort - or more accurately,
Resort Banalata - and their uniqueness lies in the fact that their restaurant has an alluring menu. But first, a quick look around...
Samba and his ride took us there
Parking along the highway
A general look around the frontage of the property
There's even a stall selling fresh vegetables...
...and
eggs from a variety of birds - shouldn't be too difficult to guess which is which!
It was a while past regular lunchtime, and the restaurant wasn't too crowded - which we are told it usually is, and one has to wait to be seated. Our focus of interest was, of course, the
menu card...
...and a particularly special section in it!
It took me a while to digest the spelling, and figure out that the
Koyal is actually "Quail" and not the Koel (I didn't think that bird was really edible!). The only downside of the menu was that there was only one type of preparation, i.e.
"kosha", a typical Bengali curry of meat and potatoes cooked in an onion-ginger-garlic gravy with tomatoes,
dahi and mustard oil, with a fiery and spicy flavour.
Since it is the same preparation, the dishes also look exactly the same - the only differentiator being the texture of the meat.
Some of you might know that we often refer to a Cordon Bleu chef in matters of gastronomy, and we are told that the emu and turkey being game birds, should ideally be cooked rare to preserve the flavour and texture. The quail also should not be overcooked, else it ends up with the meat separating from the bone and blending into the gravy - which is pretty much what happened. The emu was tough and very chewy, and the quail had disappeared into the gravy, leaving the little bones separated out.
Yet, it was an enjoyable meal, especially because we were ravenously hungry, and it gave us
the opportunity to boast of having eaten 4 types of bird meat at one meal!
After the lunch, we took a walk around the premises, especially looking at
the birds that contributed to our meal
The resort is beautiful inside, with
flowers and vegetables as well as interesting works of art (apart from the birdcages!)
This bored little fellow stared right back at us, and dozed off in the sun after a while!
As a novelty, it was a great day-trip for all of us. The next time we travel that side, my wife is more interested to
visit Bishnupur to buy some more sarees for herself!