A slice of Hawaii

For Puducherry restaurateur Anima Biswas, the kitchen is second home.

At her balmy diner La Terrasse in Puducherry, Anima Biswas is sweating it out in front of the open oven, balancing two large Hawaiian pizzas, while chatting merrily. “I often make the pizzas at the restaurant,” she says, confessing that she can be a control freak. In a small town like Puducherry, it’s all the more challenging to find supporting staff who can handle the show in her absence, and so La Terrasse is much like home, where she spends long hours, with her dog Chai to keep her company in between meals.

It’s funny how she started out, Biswas admits. “I worked as a chef in Paris for many years, but it was maddening. The work there drove me away. I came back to India with a book of Continental recipes in hand. I wanted to open something of my own. I had a boutique in mind but, on second thought, I felt more of a foodie, so an eating joint made more sense.”

That was 15 years ago, when she opened the gates to La Terrasse. It started out as a small cafe, but the menu gradually settled into a well-rounded cuisine, highlighted by a variety of crepes and fresh salads that tourists seemed to prefer. It grew to be a popular eating joint in town, known for Biswas’s special open-oven wheat pizzas sans the oregano-and-cheese overdose. Many years on, the pizzas are fresh and warm — with a thin, crispy crust and the distinct, natural flavour lent to them by the firewood. It’s perhaps just what the doctor ordered on one of those typical sultry Pondy evenings.

Though Biswas’s restaurant attracts a number of diners, the upside is that, with her daughter away in the United States, she can actually afford to spend long hours here. She only takes time off to feed dogs in the neighbourhood.

But she longs to take a break. “It’s been years since I took time off. I hate leaving this place to anybody. But I would like to visit my daughter more often,” she says. “There hasn’t been a day when I don’t think I should quit! Yet I absolutely love my work,” Biswas says.

Surprisingly, there are no future plans for the restaurant’s expansion. Biswas is candid about the fact that she looks forward to discontinuing her business after five years, and moving on to something new. But she’ll enjoy it while it lasts. Strolling from table to table, making sure her guests are comfortable, she whips up lunch for herself — a salad, on most occasions.

The Bengali in her obviously isn’t at peace with that. “I miss making food at home, especially rice payesh.” So why is that not on the menu at La Terrasse? “That’s reserved for family,” Biswas smiles.

FAVOURITE RECIPE

HAWAIIAN PIZZA
1½ cup wheat flour
½ cup regular flour
1 cup warm water
2 tsp milk
1 tsp oil
A pinch each of salt, sugar and yeast
4 tbsp fresh tomato sauce
1 tomato
1 onion
2 slices of pineapple
10-12 pieces tandoori chicken, cut into cubes
50 gm Cheddar cheese