Mumbai Food: Try out railway mutton curry at new delivery joint in Andheri

(Clockwise from top left) Crispy chicken honey chilli, rajma, steamed rice and railway mutton curry

There are things that we, Bengalis, love on our plate that go beyond the fish curry and roshogolla that - quite unfairly - often typify our cuisine. One of these is the quintessential Tangra type of Indo-Chinese food that we happened to write about in these pages last weekend. Another is kosha mangsher jhol, a mutton curry that makes the eyes of any self-respecting Kolkata native light up at the mere mention of it, and which also forms the basis for railway mutton curry, one of the items that we order from The Craft Kitchen, a new delivery joint in Andheri.

It's the British who transformed the Bengali staple to suit their palate, at a time when they were actively making inroads into rewriting the culinary history of the Indian subcontinent. There are a few theories on how this transformation happened. But each places the origins of the dish inside a first-class train pantry during the Raj. One version attributes railway mutton curry to the genius of a cook accosted by a drunk British officer craving for something to eat. The officer had walked into the pantry at a time when the staff members were preparing food for themselves, having ended their work for the day. Faced with his demand, this cook realised that the mangsher jhol he was simmering would be too spicy for the British officer. So, he balanced the heat with yoghurt and coconut cream before serving it to his colonial master. The latter found it to be so delectable that he ordered for it to be included in the menu henceforth, so that he could have it whenever it suited his fancy. Thus, the dish came to be served not just in first-class compartments - which back then were reserved only for non-natives - but also in the waiting rooms of stations, with vinegar and tamarind paste being later added to the recipe to preserve the food on long-distance journeys.

Which is just as well, because the version we order for ourselves also seems to have undergone a long-distance trip, considering that it takes the food over an hour to reach our address. We also ask for crispy chicken honey chilli, a dish that can be traced back to Tangra, Kolkata's new Chinatown and a hotspot for restaurants that serve Chindian cuisine. And just to vary things around, we add ghar ka rajma chawal (Rs 185), which you'd be as hard-pressed to find at Bengali homes as you would be to find a Chelsea poster hanging on the wall of an Arsenal supporter's room.

The railway curry (Rs 305), to be fair, has a rich gravy that doesn't burn the tongue, because you can indeed taste the yoghurt in it. It also helps that the soft pieces of mutton have been sourced from a goat that didn't suffer from a want of feed. But the inordinate delay in the order being delivered renders the "crispy" chicken (Rs 245) to be a misnomer since its batter has gone soggy in the interim. Which is a shame, really, because the spicy strips of chicken have a noticeable tinge of sweetness with chunks of garlic sprinkled on top, making it an otherwise authentic rendition of what you'd find at a Tangra eatery.

Now, being Bengali, we might be considered to be a lesser authority on rajma chawal. But the two years that we once spent in Delhi helped us appreciate the finer nuances of this North Indian favourite. So, we can report with some confidence that this new joint's take on it is clean, in the sense that the dish wasn't given an oil bath in the utensil it was cooked in. Its flavour is also such that the rajma blends perfectly with the rice without the aid of the accompanying pickles. So overall, our dining experience can safely be termed satisfactory.

It's just that we will think twice about ordering from here again if we are in a tearing hurry to silence the rumbling in our tummy.
Time 12 pm to 3.30 pm; 7 pm to
2 am AT Near Yash Raj Studios, off Veera Desai Road, Lokhandwala, Andheri West. CALL 7777033307

Other witching-hour grub stops in Andheri
Rolls Royale
Time 11 am to 1 am
AT Shop 7, Avani Villa, Off Yari Road, Panch Marg, Versova, Andheri West. call 8425990496
cost Rs 400 for two approximately

Qureshi's Indo Arabic Bistro
Time 12 pm to 12 am AT Link Plaza, Oshiwara, Andheri West.
CALL 33956154
Cost Rs 800 for two approximately

The Vintage Kitchen
Time 11.30 am to 4 am
AT Adarsh Nagar, Lokhandwala, Andheri West. CALL 30151657
cost Rs 600 for two approximately