Little Andaman, the South Seas

In the southern seas, floating somewhere in the Bay of Bengal, there is an island called Little Andaman. The atoll, located more than a thousand kilometers from the continental coast of India, belongs to one of the most remote archipelagos on earth. One of the neighboring islands is North Sentinel, whose inhabitants greeted the last visitor who approached its shores with the definitive "Tourist go home": with arrows. John Allen Chau ---that was the name of the American missionary who intended to evangelize the Sentinelese--- died instantly from a flurry of local arrows before reaching the shore, and what is worse, without even tasting the local gastronomy.

This chronicler has suffered less misfortune in the Little Andaman restaurant, a cozy, warm and comfortable place, at the antipodes of Sentinelese hostility. The interior design of the place ---work of the Genialidades studio and located at Muntaner street, 182--- transports us to the southern seas through good architecture and multiple aesthetic successes. The lighting, the distance between tables and the good taste in the integration of the whole predispose one to delve into a very unknown gastronomy, often mistreated in our country.

Why do we have such good sushi in Barcelona and it is so hard for us to know where to eat a good curry? In terms of street food, there is no shortage of quality hamburgers, pizzas or tacos, but our relationship with samosas is reduced to very specific coordinates in space and time. The exit from Apolo at 6 in the morning. No palate of those present was in a condition to properly assess that fried dough filled with potato, peas and cumin, so we will not go into whether they were bad or good. The only certainty is that, at that hour, our battered stomachs demanded something solid after having punished them all night with mixed drinks.

In short, it is very difficult to form an adequate idea of the gastronomy of the most populated country in the world ---apparently, India already surpasses China--- in a city that offers so few interesting demonstrations of its cuisine. But luckily there are always exceptions, and some families have been dignifying Indian recipes for years with proposals worth knowing. Surinder, Alam or Das Gupta are some of the proper names that strive to offer quality Indian cuisine in Barcelona.

Before opening Little Andaman in 2020, the Das Gupta family already had two restaurants in the city. The first was Bembi, opened in 2005 and focused on traditional Indian cuisine. Later came Rangoli, whose offering is more centered on the country's street food. Sanjay Das Gupta has been the driving force behind these projects and also Mumak, the family's fourth restaurant, located in Ibiza and fusing Southeast Asian specialties with Caribbean flavors.

But the visible face of Little Andaman is Anoushka, Sanjay's eldest daughter, who manages the restaurant's front of house. A polyglot, judoka, and dancer, the multifaceted Anoushka has also appeared in an episode of Joc de Cartes, specifically in the edition of the competition that sought the best Asian restaurant in Barcelona. In that program, the Anoushka-Little Andaman duo swept their rivals with professionalism, charisma, and stimulating dishes.

Little Andaman's gastronomic proposal, as we mentioned a few lines above, is inspired by the cuisine of the southern Indian coasts, which translates into light and not excessively spiced dishes, unlike the spicier cuisine of the north of the country. Most of the dishes on the menu are designed to be shared, and some of them incorporate local ingredients into typically Indian preparations or techniques. I'm thinking of the addictive blue cheese naans or the delicious octopus cooked in the tandoor.

Vegetables are very important in this restaurant, which offers multiple options for vegetarians, vegans, and other shades of the dietary color palette. For a snack, the Chowringhee croquettes ---filled with beetroot, mushrooms, and carrot, and breaded with panko--- or the Masala Uttapam, rice pancakes that resemble arepas in their bite, are recommended.

But one of Little Andaman's most remarkable dishes is perhaps the most classic in its structure: a fish curry accompanied by a little white rice. The Kerala Boatman's curry is something as simple as a hake supreme incorporated into a light and aromatic stew. Two, three bites, and an idea: If Kerala were a Mediterranean port, this dish would be called suquet or caldereta.

And, to drink? Anoushka tells us that her favorite cocktail is the Shirley Meister: acidic, spicy and with a touch of Jäger. Love at first sight.