Chennai does Bengali food at the Bayleaf

Written by Tim Blight

Writer, traveller, amateur photographer, teacher. Based in Melbourne and Lahore.

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December 14, 2013

The Bayleaf

The Bayleaf (Image: Facebook)

The Bayleaf at Gopalapuram, Chennai, offers its patrons in the southern capital a taste of eastern flavour in classy yet homely surroundings.

Situated just off Cathedral Road, in a building which looks like a residential block, The Bayleaf celebrates the largely under appreciated notes of Bengali cuisine.

While Punjab, Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh flaunt their flavours in most corners of the country, Bengali cuisine requires more determination to uncover.

Kebabs at The Bayleaf (Image: Times City)

For homesick Bengalis, The Bayleaf provides a mustard-filled taste of home in the vegetarian-and-pepper-dominated land of Tamil Nadu. For others, The Bayleaf represents a tasty experiment in regional cuisine, highlighting the diversity of our country.

When I visited with a friend we began with an old Kolkata street food classic; the kati roll. Stuffed with grilled kebab meat and rolled up in a paratha, The Bayleaf serves it wrapped in paper, the old-fashioned way.

Kati Rolls at The Bayleaf (Image: Four Square)

Next up were delicious prawns in the creamy chingri malai curry, and homely comfort food in the form of baigan bhurta – mashed eggplant and vegetables. We also ordered the bhendi anardana – pomegranate okra – a rather simple option, but authentically ‘bong’ and deserving of my Bengali friend’s tick of approval.

A couple of desserts are available, but it’s really worth calling ahead and seeing if mishti doi – caramelised yogurt – is available; it’s a real treat.