My friend and I walked into Boju’s Kitchen on a lovely, sunny winter afternoon. A small, unpretentious Himalayan kitchen with limited seating, run by the charming mother daughter duo – Arati Thapa and Chitrangada Gupta who hail from Darjeeling. The size of the kitchen is in contrast with the large hearted, warm women. Boju means grandma and that is the source of all recipes that one can see on their menu and the secret behind the hearty, no-fuss and authentic Nepali food. Started as a home kitchen during the first lockdown, this restaurant now sits at a very pretty location at 32nd Avenue, Gurugram.
From cooking herself, Arati now has a chef from Nepal running the kitchen but the recipes are still hers.
We sat at a table outdoors and the first thing we had was the first flush Darjeeling tea. So mellow and yet so flavourful. This was followed by their chicken thukpa that we divided into two for ease of eating. The broth was light, fresh and delicious with a touch of chilli oil. The experience got elevated when we learnt that the noodles in it weren’t made of maida but healthier rice flour. I could imagine myself sitting with a large bowl, slurping the broth, on a cold winter evening. Like a hug that warms up the coldest cockles of your heart. That’s how good it was.
Then came the thing that made Boju’s Kitchen popular. Those not-so-little, beautiful nuggets of yumminess. Momos. We decided to have an assorted platter. We started with pork, followed by chicken and then mushroom and cheese. I would have loved the pork to be a touch juicier but they were yum. My favourite were the mushroom and cheese. A hardcore non-vegetarian fell in love with mushroom momos!
We followed this platter up with sadeko momos. These are pan fried momos with Nepalese spices. It is a best seller at the restaurant and after taking the first bite I understood why. The subtle spice with timur berry hits all the right spots. Even though momos are available at every other corner in the city, these sit differently.
Next up was their chilli pork. When it was brought to the table, my first reaction was – oh that looks gorgeous! And it tasted exactly the same. Gorgeous!
I was full by then but there still was the pork curry meal which we had already ordered. A bowl of steamed rice with pork curry and alu dum served with a side of aloo pickle and fermented leafy vegetables. We requested the kitchen to up the spice levels of the aloo pickle and they gladly obliged. The fermented vegetables were new for both of us and you can think of it as a Nepalese kimchi. Look at the dish this way – pork, potatoes and rice, together are a match made in heaven. We couldn’t have asked for more.
This meal was exactly what food dreams are made of. Laidback atmosphere, delicious food and recipes straight out of mumma’s cookbook. There is an indescribable sense of comfort when one eats at restaurants born out of love. And when you have a grandma, her daughter and granddaughter at the helm, you know that you are up for a happy and satisfying meal. One thing I can say for sure. I will definitely go back especially for sadeko momos.
Address
Boju’s Kitchen, The Highline, 32nd Avenue, Sector 15 Part 2, Gurugram
Phone number: 95820 81749
