Kakur Kitchen- a flavor of local heritage

A bright pink advertisement on a billboard at the capital's Farmgate area draws the eye. All it says is "Kakur Kitchen" with no address.

Once you are seated at the restaurant you will feel like you're sitting at someplace that is definitely not Farmgate. When you sit at the table, you are not only handed the menu, but books. After placing an order, you can engross yourself in poetry instead of whiling away time browsing through your phone. It seems as if the entire arrangement has been made to bring exposure to Bengali habits and to bring us back to our roots.

"The objective of Kakur Kitchen is not just to own and have a profitable business but rather, we started this business with an intention of providing a service," Jahidul Islam Jami, general manager of the restaurant informed. The way the restaurant functions, you can't help but believe that he has stayed true to his words. Every night at 10 o'clock, the restaurant provides food free of cost, calling this "bandhur khabar"

The arrangement has been made as a move to extend the hand of humanity and solidarity to the local community. Kakur kitchen can cater to a total of 80 people via four rooms called Padma, Surma, Jamuna and Karnafuli. Different varieties of food are available from 11am to 10pm. Moreover, they also have arrangements to host large parties and ceremonies; another important feature of Kakur Kitchen is that young, indigenous men and women from Chittagong Hill Tracts have been hired to serve as waiters and waitresses.

When asked about the name of the restaurant, Jami said there has been a lot of talk about word "mama" in our country. It's a word people easily associate with, especially since it's used so often. He said they wanted to make a break though by building another brand name. The image and idea of the word "kaku" represents someone experienced who cooks food using his long-earned excellence of proficiency. 

If we look into their menu, there are only three main food items: two types of kebabs and some drinks. The main dish includes Dom Biryani, Dom Tehari and Dom Murogh polao. However, the most interesting part about their food is the use of dum ovens where a live, sealed oven is used for slow cooking. Tasty pickles, kebabs and salads of choice are also provided. 

Special ghee is being produced from their own farm in Sathkhira. Basmati rice and high quality spices are used for cooking their biryani. These are but two quality factors of many that is present in the unassuming setting of Kakur Kitchen. These special biryanis have totally changed the taste of traditional biryani and tehari. The prices too are affordable. Dom Biryani and Dom Murogh Polao are sold at Tk. 190 and Dom Tehari at Tk. 170. Chicken Jaali Kebab and Beef Jaali Kebab are sold at Tk 65 and Tk 55 respectively.

"We prefer improving the quality of food rather than increasing the number of items," he said. He also added that they want to spread the Kakur Kitchen franchise across the country with three biryani items only. They have plans to spread this restaurant in eight divisions and 42 districts. 

Kakur Kitchen is worth the visit and not only for the food but also their emphasis on Bangladeshi culture and heritage.