Bhortas full of love

The place can accommodate around 65 people -- a tin-roofed one storey building surrounded by trees.

Its ambience is vibrant and interior is decorated with plants and flowers. It is also impressively clean for a country-side eatery.

There are no tourist spots nearby to attract visitors and the eatery is situated at a remote village in Kapasia upazila of Gazipur, but it always stays abuzz with people.

“Niribili” has become sort of a tourist attraction at Tok Noyon Bazar, popularly known as Tok Bazar, in the area.

Jars of pickles inside the eatery.

And it is not the ambience or decoration that makes the place such a popular destination.

It is the wide variety of Bengali cuisine, especially the traditional and mouth watering bhortas (a mash of cooked foodstuff, mixed with raw onions and spices), which keeps on attracting people, and can spice up any food lovers' palate.

Customers enjoying their meal.

A visit to Gazipur is never completed without a stopover there.

The restaurant boasts of around 100 traditional food items including 60 varieties of bhortas, 20 items of curries, eight types of pickles and other delicacies.

And the person behind this culinary extravaganza is Tota Miah.

“I left home when I was 19 to avoid studying,” smiled the 50-year-old owner. “I took a job as a waiter at a hotel in Cox's Bazar. As I kept on working at different hotels, I learnt to make bhortas from the chefs.”

“There's something magical about seeing people's faces enjoying meals with simple yet highly satisfactory items like bhortas. These bhortas make them feel as if they are home away from home,” he said.

Though he was talking to this correspondent, he kept on greeting each customer and made sure they were being taken care of and served accordingly.

The restaurant owner Tota Miah with different varieties of bhortas.

Many of the customers said they were from the capital and other places. They heard about the restaurant from friends and social media and had to drop by.

“I always had a passion for cooking and dreamt of opening up a restaurant far from the chaos of city life. Hence the name Niribili. In 2004, along with my family members, I opened up the restaurant,” said Tota Miah.

Besides the bhortas, other items ranging from dried fish, pigeon's meat, and various types of pulses are also available at the hotel to satisfy the customers' cravings.

Around 15 employees assist Tota Miah at the restaurant. All of them are his neighbours or relatives.

“We learned to cook form Tota Bhai (brother). He always emphasised cleanliness and proper mixture of ingredients to make the food tasty,” said Nuruzzaman, an employee.

The spices are made with garlic, ginger, and onion by Minara Khatun accompanied by Hasina Aktar and Joshna Begum.

Minara was busy grinding spices. “We try to maintain the same quality in all our food items,” she said. “Pickles are made from olive, mango and hog plum, among others.”

Tota Miah said everyday they serve around 300 people. “We also take orders for various programmes,” he said. “We only serve freshly cooked food here. The leftovers are distributed among the employees and destitute.”

People from all strata of life ranging from the government officials to students visit the restaurant to enjoy the smashed delicacies.

President Abdul Hamid visited the place while he was the Speaker, prided Tota Miah.

“Everyone who works here is a family. It's the love we have for each other that eventually is reflected on the food we serve,” he said smilingly as if sharing secrets of his special dishes.

“Once you eat here, you become a part of our family too,” he told this correspondent.