Some of the world's most compelling food traditions exist beyond the spotlight. They travel quietly, carried across continents by families and communities. Preserved through memory, hospitality and repetition, they gather meaning with every shared meal and every recipe passed from one generation to the next. Their stories are written not in headlines, but around dining tables. Laalima, Rashmi Singh's dinner series, exists to explore these stories, and a unique opportunity to try dishes rarely found in Toronto.
This December, Laalima invites guests to explore the food traditions of Bihar through a Sheet Ritu Bhoj, a winter feast rooted in seasonality, community and abundance. Located in eastern India, Bihar is home to a rich culinary heritage that remains largely absent from global dining conversations. Through this dinner, guests will discover how food carries stories of migration, resilience, hospitality and belonging.
In the spirit of a traditional bhoj, guests are invited to eat with their hands, not as a novelty, but as a way of slowing down and connecting more deeply with the meal. Cutlery will, of course, be available for those who prefer it.
Throughout the evening, you will encounter flavours, techniques and traditions that rarely appear on Toronto menus, yet have nourished communities for generations.
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Lembu Cha
A traditional lemon tea served warm against the winter chill. Bright with citrus, fragrant with peppercorn and finished with a touch of black salt.
Litti, Chokha & Chutney
A feast within a bowl. Imagine golden-brown roasted wheat dumplings, their crackling exterior giving way to a fragrant filling of roasted gram flour, garlic, spices, and mustard oil. They're served alongside smoky fire-roasted eggplant chokha, mashed until silky, a vibrant tomato chutney bright with acidity, and a generous pour of warm ghee that melts into every crevice. Tear, dip, mix, and build each bite your own way.
Champaran Chicken (Ahuna Style)
Originating in Bihar's Champaran region, Ahuna is the method that relies less on complexity and more on patience. Chicken is coated with mustard oil, garlic, onions, and whole warming spices before being slow-cooked until the ingredients surrender into a deeply aromatic gravy. The result is bold yet balanced, rustic yet nuanced, revealing how extraordinary simple ingredients can become when time is allowed to do its work.
Guests requesting a vegetarian option in advance will enjoy a seasonal interpretation of the same Champaran flavours.
Alongside the main course will be fragrant ghee rice, flaky parathas, tangy pickled shallots, and a vibrant radish-cilantro chutney that brings brightness, texture, and contrast to every bite.
Khaja with Saffron Rabri
Layers of delicate pastry create a crisp, flaky bite reminiscent of laminated European pastries, while a side of chilled saffron-infused rabri adds richness and depth. Together they offer a fitting finale: familiar in technique, surprising in flavour, and deeply rooted in place.
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Rashmi Singh is a Toronto-based events and communications professional and a storyteller at heart, both at work and in the kitchen. Through Spoonful with Rashmi, she brings together the food, memories and stories that have shaped her life.
Her supper club, Laalima, is built on a simple belief: Bihari food deserves more room at Toronto's tables. One supper club at a time, she hopes to make Bihari food more familiar, more celebrated and, above all, more loved.
@spoonfulwithrashmi
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The Depanneur is where Interesting Food Things happen. For more than a decade The Dep has been showcasing Toronto's remarkable culinary diversity by hosting unique food events. @thedepanneur
