When chef travelled through India with her family as a kid, she says visiting new regions almost felt like visiting different countries because the regional cuisines of India are so diverse.
She’d love eating in restaurants and from street vendors, but would usually have her best meals in people’s homes. It was also like this in her hometown, in India’s west. “My grandma's rooftop would be full of pickles fermenting, vegetables drying or grounded spices. Everything was made from scratch. There was a lot of attention to details and there was a lot of thought put into where our food was coming from,” she recalls.
Despite being involved in the kitchen from a young age, it was not until she moved to Melbourne to study that she really started experimenting further with her cooking. In 2018, this led to the creation of , her in-home dining experience exploring Indian regional cuisines (where the entry was literally through her own home laundry).
“I wanted to change the narrative of how Indian food was seen, as very modest or just takeaway. There's so much technique to it. There's so much amazing produce and it has such a huge history, but it's often dumbed down for some reason and that really did not sit well with me,” she explains.
Enter Via Laundry eventually became too popular to be hosted in Raichura’s home, so she did a series of pop-ups in different locations. In March this year, the project turned into a permanent restaurant, in Carlton North.
I wanted to change the narrative of how Indian food was seen, as very modest or just takeaway. There's so much technique to it. There's so much amazing produce and it has such a huge history.
If you were already a fan of Enter Via Laundry, don’t fret – its homey feel remains, with the address only revealed upon booking and there's a large communal table that seats 12 (there are four smaller tables as well). “I come from the belief that Indian food culture revolves around home cooking. We put out our best dishes, ceramics and cutlery when we have friends over, during the festive season or when celebrating a wedding. We wanted to stay true to that,” says Raichura.
One thing that is different is that she is presenting dishes in a more traditional way. She gives the example of her kingfish , which she hated serving without rice. “I think it's just now that I feel brave enough that if I did things differently, it would be accepted. But even now I think some people might still not get it. They might ask: ‘if it’s fine dining or a special meal, why it is served around rice?’" she says. "But that is how we eat it at home and that's our tradition. For us, it's an exceptional luxury."
“If we keep trying to change our own cuisine so it gets accepted or it suits other people's palates, eventually we are losing the craft and art and the essence of it. And we’re obviously not going to pass it down.”
Among the 20 dishes currently on the set menu, she especially loves the marron cooked in a rich coconut-based . “At the end of every shift, we're always fighting for who's going to eat the leftovers,” she says, laughing.
Another favourite of hers is , a deep-fried bread, served with (potatoes in a yoghurt gravy). As the weather gets colder, you might see truffles added to the dish.
The main part of the meal is a Bengali bhog, which is a series of dishes with a progression of flavours and textures, eaten on a kansa plate. It starts with vegetables, moving on to dhal and seafood, alongside rice and condiments.
“We encourage everyone to eat with their hands, but we don't force them – there's a spoon on the side,” says Raichura with a smile.
The chef is thinking about keeping with the Bengali menu until August, before exploring a different regional cuisine as 2022 tails off – maybe Kashmiri is next.
Nicholson Street, Carlton North
Thu – Sat 7pm – 10:30pm
Sun 12pm – 4pm
