Saucy in the kitchen: Check out 'Boombay' to add a local flavour to your food

Brownies with black sesame and Timur chilli, truffle balls with smoked chilli jaggery; (right) stir fried in teriyaki sauce

Home-cooking has been a heady, fun affair these past two weeks - from tossing up a warm salad with a peanut and lime dip to whipping up stir-fried rice with teriyaki sauce and a hot soup with a punch of miso ginger.

Cue, the new entrant on the block, Boombay - a line of dips, sauces and spreads that jazzed up our food cravings without having to order in. Launched by Niharika Goenka and chef Aditi Keni last week, the platform was in the making for two years, during which they toured the country to source ingredients from farms and collectives, test flavour combinations, and run 20 to 50 trials. The two met in 2019, a year after Goenka reached out to Keni. "I was at a bar and happened to tell the bartender that I was looking for a chef. The bartender introduced me to a guest who was from hospitality and asked him to help me find a chef. The guest told me Aditi Keni was the chef I needed to revive my project," recalls Goenka, who has a background in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Columbia University. She had launched Arugula & Co, a health food start-up in 2018. At the time, Keni was working on another project in Bengaluru.

Timur chilli oil used to make Indian red gravy for paneer makhani

A meeting with Goenka in Mumbai convinced her to return to the city.

Source the best

The Boombay philosophy involves sustainable sourcing and mindful crafting of products. "We paid attention to creating a health-focused line," shares Goenka. The duo uses jaggery and coconut sugar, and cold-pressed oils from seeds such as sesame oil and extra-virgin olive oil.

Niharika Goenka and Aditi Keni

For the soy sauce and miso ginger, they have sourced two types of miso from Allahabad. "A Japanese professor came to Allahabad Agriculture University in the 1960s, and started the Makino School of Continuing Education to cross-promote and trade with Japanese ingredients in India. They make soy sauce and miso using native chana; their soy sauce is salted using Himalayan rock salt," reveals Goenka.

Sourcing everyday household ingredients was the most difficult part, admits Keni. "We are sourcing our Kashmiri mirchi from Kashmir. Bright in colour, they are fruitier and pack in a stronger flavour. The Timur chilli, known as the Indian schezwan peppercorn or mountain pepper comes from the Northeast. Found across regions and altitudes, it adds a unique version of spice," the chef shares.

The jarcuterie tasting

Taste test

The Timur chilli crisp (Rs 395 for 190gm), which has been the most-used jar in our kitchen, includes five chillies, onion, garlic, sesame oil, and pissi loon pahadi hara namak from Uttarakhand. We love how the products have interchangeable uses; a dip can be used to thicken a gravy or to season a salad. Drizzle sauces double up as cooking sauces, and it has been a riot in the kitchen since.

The first sauce we use is teriyaki (Rs 310 for 250 gm). We prepare it for an Asian-style veggie and rice stir-fry. The bottles have their own oil content and do not need any addition, except salt for taste. A tad too sweet for our palate, we prefer the smoked chilli jaggery (Rs 370 for 220 gm), which Keni said was the most difficult product to create. It features the Sirarakhong chilli that is grown in a village in Manipur. Earthy and slow, yet steady in its spice punch, the jaggery balances the spice, along with the smokiness that gives it a sweet lift.

Peanut and lime dip

We love the miso ginger (Rs 380 for 250 gm) with a tart and umami lift; a spoonful transforms our pumpkin soup. The big favourite is the peanut and lime dip (R295 for 190 gm) that doubles up as almost everything - a dip, a spread and also as an addition to a curry to add tartness.

If you crave for a sweet ending, use the chilli caramel (Rs 255 for 190 gm) to whip up a caramel chilli chocolate tart, while the Timur chilli crisp can be used for brownies and truffle balls too. We intend to drizzle it on our ice cream for the next soirée.

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