It’s just like Mom used to make.
Vegetables seasoned with a simple, subtle blend of cumin and curry leaf; potatoes studded with mustard and chillies; leg of lamb sauced with ginger, cardamom and coriander; shrimp simmered in coconut milk – all served with smooth-spicy chutneys, and warm naan to soak up any juices that might escape the fragrant bed of basmati rice.
For Indian-born Ranjit Mulgaonkar, that’s what was for dinner – the same homestyle south Indian cooking that he and his wife Dana are now dishing up at Winslow Way’s newest culinary cubby hole, Island Chat House.
That’s “chat” as in “chaat,” a genre of savory snacks sold streetside in every Indian city, but with the English meaning as much in mind, explains Ranjit; for the Mulgaonkars, cooking is a form of entertaining, and the table the place for friends and conversation.
“For us, it’s about…the joy of cooking, food and community,” said Dana, who adopted Goan cuisine into her own diverse culinary heritage 16 years ago, when the couple met in the high-tech world of San Jose, Calif.
The pair first moved to Bainbridge in 1989 as employees of Aldus. After a stint on the East Coast, they returned to the island – drawn back, they say, by the people they’d met here.
Ranjit didn’t take to the kitchen until 1979, cooking several times a week for fellow Indian grad students at Virginia Tech starved for the flavors of home.
But his wife’s life was full of early food influences – from the formal dining of her Pennsylvania Dutch mother, whose two brothers are chefs, to her father and step-mother’s Mexican restaurant in Reno, where Dana helped out as a child.
That immersion made south Indian cuisine natural to pick up, Dana says.
“It’s a little bit similar to Spanish cooking,” she said. “The spices are similar, they are just arranged differently.”
That common interest became a boon for friends, who received classes in Indian cookery from the couple, and Christmas gifts of Indian spices and recipes.
‘Mom’
Guiding their culinary endeavors, the Mulgaonkars say, has been the influence of “Mom” – Ranjit’s mother, Kamal.
“She’s a phenomenal cook,” Dana said. “Indian cooking is really truly about experimenting, and she’s mastered that. It’s the subtle changes that are unique about the style.”
“My mom has never measured anything,” said Ranjit. “We didn’t have measuring cups in the house” – an instinctive approach to cooking that, after the Cordon Bleu precision learned from her mother and uncles, took some getting used to, Dana says.
Over the years, Kamal – to whose name, “lotus flower,” the Chat House logo pays tribute – has shared with son and daughter-in-law a host of authentic south Indian recipes.
She’s also shared her stories, says Dana – one of which inspired the couple’s first food venture, a line of Indian spices now stocked by Town and Country.
Remembers Dana: “I kept having friends ask me, ‘How can I make a chicken curry an easier way?’”
What came to mind was her mother-in-law’s tales of feeding her family during cross-country travel in India.
“She’d mix up her own masala mixture of 21 spices and take that with her,” Dana said. “Then she could add fresh vegetables from the local markets. She’d have a complete curry.
“If you have the spice mixture done, it takes 20-30 minutes.”
The Mulgaonkars adapted Kamal’s recipe, recruiting friends to try each blend and offer feedback. “It was just like a (software) beta test,” Ranjit said.
The line of hand-blended spices that resulted includes curry combinations for meat and vegetable dishes, rice pilaf mixes and several “dry chutneys” – powdery predecessors to the wet and often fruity chutneys concocted under British influence, says Dana.
From VP to cook
The spice business led to cooking classes for T&C and a food stall at last year’s Harvest Fair. Both met with lip-smacking enthusiasm, and a frequent question: Where’s the restaurant?
This time, Dana was the voice of caution. “I’ve always known how much work a restaurant is,” she said. “I told him, ‘we don’t want to do that; let’s stick to spices.’”
At the same time, a new job offer for a Japanese firm promised to continue Ranjit’s advance in the tech sector.
But faced with a the prospect of a deflated economy, long hours and regular overseas travel, Ranjit – who found himself cooking almost daily as a stress release – decided it was time to switch careers.
“It’s the same time commitment,” he said. “I might as well be here for 15 hours (a day) and do what I like.”
Bolstered by encouragement from friends and financial support from family, the couple decided to go ahead with a restaurant. “We’re here because of Ranjit’s passion,” Dana said.
Two months and lots of help from friends transformed the space on Winslow Way – most recently a specialty toy store – into a cozy kitchen.
Seating is limited, but the Mulgaonkars’ “hole in the wall,” as Ranjit calls it, has rapidly developed a following, with dozens of repeat customers in the first two weeks.
Several made the attempt during lunchtime Monday – disappointed to discover that’s the Mulgaonkars’ day off, but still compelled to offer their reviews:
“The corn dish really rocks.”
“We just loved the food.”
Praise like that, says Ranjit, make the lifestyle changes that come with running a restaurant – “instead of saying Dad’s a vice president, (the kids) have to say he’s a cook,” he joked – worth the effort.
But the warmest words yet, say Dana and Ranjit, came from an older Indian couple who discovered the restaurant.
“I asked them what they thought of the food,” said Ranjit. “They said, ‘It tastes like home.’”
* * * * *
Island Chat House, 450 Winslow Way East, is open 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Tues. through Sat.; closed Sun. and Mon. Menu changes daily. Information: 842-8515.
