PASSAGE TO INDIA

For someone who champions tradition in Indian cooking, Helly Raichura takes an approach that’s far from traditional. A self- and family-trained cook who was born and raised in Ahmedabad in India’s west, Raichura came to Melbourne in 2007 to study human resources but, via an ongoing and ever-increasing love for cooking, ended up hosting one of the hottest food tickets in town in her own home. Enter Via Laundry, so-named because guests (10 per night) literally entered her home through the laundry, served multiple, intricately plated versions of the Indian food Raichura loved but couldn’t find in Melbourne.

Fast-forward a couple of years, past the waiting list that grew to the thousands and a series of pop-ups after using her home as a restaurant lost its charm, and Enter Via Laundry now has a permanent home in North Carlton. It’s retained the name despite the lack of laundry and the approach has changed a little too. Instead of plating and serving multiple dishes fine-dining style, Raichura is more closely emulating the way the food would be served “back home”.

Raichura also has a mission to emphasise how different Indian cuisine can be from region to region. This winter in her restaurant, she’s focusing on Bengali food and the recipes she has created for this issue are all from that region and that menu. Some of them have been simplified slightly “to make them achievable” but others are exactly as you would eat them in the restaurant or Bengal.