Pop ups and supper clubs / Indian
‘I’m proud to share this food with people’
Monica Patel has had an interest in food for as long as she can remember, with some of her earliest memories going to her grandparents’ house in Coventry where her grandmother Sumitra cooked her food from her native Gujarat in western India.
Hosting dinner parties for friends led to a pop-up event at Bristol Spirit in Redfield, and that in turn has seen her now behind the stoves for a residency at the Volunteer Tavern in St Jude’s.
Her fledgling business is called Naasto Baasto. ‘Naasto’ is the Gujarati word for snack, while ‘baasto’ is a nonsense word invented by Monica’s grandfather, Dhansukh.
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“My grandma was always the cook,” 28-year-old Monica remembers. “My grandad would bring people round. They just fed everyone. It’s part of their culture.
“If anyone comes to the door, you offer them something to eat and drink. You couldn’t say no! Before you realise, you would be sat at the dinner table!”
Monica Patel cooks traditional Gujarati recipes passed down through her family
Monica’s food at the Volunteer is the same food she learned to cook at a really young age at home, with as much seasonal produce as possible.
Menu items include bateta vada – spiced mashed potato and coconut balls jewelled with golden sultanas, dipped in a gram flour batter and deep fried; pani puri – a round, hollow, crispy puri filled with potato and chickpeas, coriander and tamarind chutneys, sev and puffed rice, to be dipped in tamarind water and eaten in one go; and a vegan-friendly dessert of warm chai-spiced roast apple with chai caramel, ground hazelnuts, pistachios and rose petals.
Naasto Baasto’s chai-roasted apple dessert
Monica’s grandmother Sumitra died in 2016 and Monica said that this was one of the catalysts to pursue her business idea of the Naasto Baasto pop-up as well as offering private catering.
“Everyone has been so supportive so far. I feel very lucky,” says Monica, who lives in Redfield and was previously the manager at Bakesmiths on Whiteladies Road.
“I want the food to be comforting and warming. The curries have already been flying out the door.
“It’s my favourite food to eat. There’s not much of this food on the market, and I’m proud to share it with people.”
Naasto Baasto is at the Volunteer Tavern on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 5pm-9.30pm; Thursdays and Fridays, midday-3pm and 5pm-9.30pm; and Saturdays midday-9.30pm.
Monica prepping in the kitchen of the Volunteer Tavern
Read more: Your Bristol Favourites: Indian restaurants
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