Kolkata also referred as City as joy sees some of the amazing eateries that have shaped the countries culinary graph. One such place is the iconic Floatel, which now sees a new look and feel. Located atop a boat in the heart of the City of Joy, flanked by Howrah Bridge and the beautiful Vidyasagar Setu, the hotel is designed to provide a tranquil experience of sojourning on the banks of the holy Hooghly River. This riverfront property adds its own history to the cultural capital and brings the destination's magic into the hotel experience. The varied culinary and leisure experiences the hotel has on offer is an embodiment of the spirit of quintessential Bengal and is the ideal destination for travelers on a quest for peace and rejuvenation.
The eco-friendly hotel showcases re-imagined design elements to provide meaningful connection to local culture while enhancing the facilities for an elevated guest experience. It’s multi-cuisine restaurant, The Bridge - Bistro Bar, offers a vast selection of modern and regionally inspired delicacies along with innovative cocktails and spectacular city views. The thoughtfully curated menu is based on three pillars – the Hotel Polo Towers Group`s rich North East heritage, old Calcutta favorites and the chef’s modern take on comfort food.
The Bistro, complete with extraordinary views of the serene river, nestled between the iconic Howrah Bridge and Vidyasagar Setu offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options along with dishes inspired by our North-Eastern heritage
Chef Suoumendra Nath Mondal, Executive Chef, Polo Floatel, shares few recipes with his take on the dishes with Slurrp
Chingri Malai Curry:
An all-time favourite especially amongst the Bengali’s, this dish made with tiger prawns is a perfect conglomerate of mild spices and its creamy texture makes Chingri Malai Curry a dish to go for.
Ingredients
• 500 gm jumbo prawns
• 1 onion (medium), chopped
• 5 gms ginger
• 5-6 cloves and garlic
• 1 cup scraped coconut
• 2-3 green chilies
• 1 table spoon black peppercorns
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 black cardamom
• 4-5 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 table spoon cumin powder
• 1 table spoon red chili powder
• 1 table spoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp Bengali garam masala
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsp mustard oil
• Salt and sugar to taste
• 1 tbsp butter (optional) melted
Method
1 . Wash the prawns, de-vein it, de shell it. If you want to keep head and tail, shell accordingly. Wash the head under running water to get rid of the dirt.
2. In the meantime, dry roast the black peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and garlic on a pan or griddle, till they leaves an aroma. Crush them finely in a mortar and pestle.
3. To the scraped coconut add the green chilies, chopped onions, ginger and the freshly ground spice mix and blend them together in mixer to smooth paste. If requires add very little water during blending.
4. Heat the mustard oil in a pan to its smoking point and sauté the each side for a minute.
Put the prawns or scampi, sauté them for 20 sec on each side.
5. Remove the prawns from the pan and to the same oil add the bay leaves, cinnamon and the prepared masala paste.
6. Add the turmeric powder, cumin powder and red chilli powder, salt and sugar around 1 tsp.
Calcutta Boathouse Fish fry
This beautiful crumb fried bekti fillet has been a part of Bengali cuisine for ages. Here at Bridge Bistro Bar, this particular dish is made with a slight twist and our guests love it.
Ingredients
1. 180gm Bekti fillet
2. 20gm flour
3. 25gm salt
4. White pepper powder
5. 1nos lemon
6. 05gm Coriander chopped
7. 10gm kasundi
8 . 10gm ginger /garlic pest
9. 100gm bread crumb
10. 200gm refined oil
Method
1. Wash the Bekti and marinade with lemon juice salt white pepper powder ginger garlic paste kasundi and flour
2. Coat the bekti with bread crumb
3. Heat the oil in a pan then put coated fish and deep fry
4. Let the bekti cook for 2 to 3 minutes and serve hot.
