SEATTLE — An Indian restaurant in Seattle’s Pioneer Square just made history.
Literally.
On March 18, Nirmal's hosted a "historic dinner" using recipes from 1,000 years ago.
Owner Oliver Bangera is a self-described history buff, and his interest in centuries-old recipes was piqued after he asked his mother why his grandmother’s recipes never included tomatoes.
"My mom explained that tomatoes were only rich people's vegetables, and had just been introduced to India,” he said. "I was curious, and then you start digging deeper."
He partnered with culinary historians and researched old texts - some written in Sanskrit - to figure out what Indian families ate a millennia ago.
He was surprised by what he learned.
"Everybody thinks of samosas as a vegetarian recipe. The first 22 recipes of samosas have no vegetables,” Bangera said.
Ingredients that are staples of modern Indian food - tomatoes, chilis, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, beans and peas - weren't available. They hadn’t been introduced to the country yet.
"These things have become so synonymous with Indian food that (it’s hard) for us to imagine these things were never there,” said Executive Chef Mayur Thapa. "They are really hard to cook without."
The dishes described in historic books don’t include actual recipes, so Thapa spent more than two months figuring out measurements and developing flavor using only one or two spices – as was the custom in 1000 AD.
"There's a long black pepper that we use that has a floral taste,” Bangera said.
The final menu featured 16 dishes from the 11th century, along with sea salt and pickled lemons for additional seasoning.
The private event sold out and every seat inside Nirmal’s was filled with curious diners, eager to taste the past.
"I love food with a story and this one's got a really good one,” said Dave Storm, host of The Seattle Restaurant Podcast.
Over the course of two hours, diners tasted items like keerai raita, Tamarind fish, pumpkin bhaji, brinjal and green mango curry, jackfruit thoran and betel leaf rice.
"I'm Indian and my mom and grandma are incredible cooks. This is pretty damn great,” laughed diner Shraddha.
For Bangera and his wife Gita, the historic dinner was also a love letter to their layered heritage.
"All the influences that have come into India, from the Persians, the Arabs, the Turks. We had Portugal, Spain, France, the British. Each one left their influences,” Bangera said. "I think that complexity is sort of missed sometimes, and I think this is a good way to kind of have that conversation, to have people understand, what is India?"
Nirmal’s plans on hosting another historic dinner centered around a Palace Banquet. Follow the restaurant’s Instagram account for updates.
Regular food service is available seven days a week. Nirmal’s is located at 106 Occidental Avenue South.
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Email.