A restaurant with outdoor seating and no air conditioning is hardly the first choice on a scorching summer afternoon. Yet, there I was, in the lush green outdoor space of Novana in Auroville. Brushing up my chopstick skills and enjoying ice-cold kombucha keeps me distracted from the rising heat and humidity of Puducherry.
After taking an unmarked turn past the Auroville bakery and walking down dirt roads, a beacon appears: a bowl of ramen on a signboard. Nestled amidst the greenery is a charming restaurant with a lush canopy, run by Koreans who now call the experimental township of Auroville home.
A board near the outdoor seating area lists drink specials and desserts. Photo Courtesy: Sangeeta Rajan
Established in 2021, Novena specializes in Korean cuisine, serving dishes straight from your favorite K-dramas. “This place is from Auroville and started as a community kitchen before evolving into a restaurant,” explains Gamsun N, who manages the kitchen at Novana.
Motivated by the desire for cultural exchange, Novena’s core team briefly introduced basic Korean conversation classes. “We’re not really an institute and not certified teachers, but it’s a good place for people to meet, and so we started teaching simple conversational Korean including how to order at a restaurant,” she says, adding that she had to stop because of the seasonal influx of tourists.
Gimbap with vegetables and cheese, served with soy dipping sauce. Photo Courtesy: Sangeeta Rajan
“Whenever we’re ready, I’d really like to start taking cooking classes and things like that,” Gamsun says, placing a colorful plate of gimbap in front of us. Korean seaweed roll filled with vegetables, sticky rice and meat or cheese as per choice, served with salty and spicy dipping sauce of soy sauce and wasabi. Crispy vegetables, well-cooked rice, bite-sized gimbap soaked in dipping sauce make the perfect start to a meal.
Next, comes a steaming bowl of japache. Sweet potato glass noodles are stir-fried with vegetables in sesame-chili oil, offering a delightful balance of sweet and spicy flavors. “We prefer organic produce. The vegetables, eggs and chickens mostly come from farms in Auroville,” she says, adding that some of the ingredients, such as napa cabbage for her home-made kimchi, come from Ooty.
Spicy Japchay with Vegetables from Auroville Farms | Photo Courtesy: Sangeeta Rajan
Other dishes on the menu range from the famous ramen (served in chicken broth and topped with vegetables, eggs and spicy Korean chili paste) to nam, which is a deep-fried rice paper roll filled with vermicelli noodles, a variety of meats and vegetables and served with soy dipping sauce. Bibimbap is the star of the menu because of its endless possibilities for customization. Also available is bossam – soft boiled pieces of pork belly served with a variety of vegetables and kimchi, which can be made into a wrap with lettuce.
“We get some of the ingredients like glass noodles, gochujang, soy sauce and gim seaweed from South Korea and from stores like Seoul Store in Chennai,” she says.
Outdoor seating at Novana | Photo Courtesy: Sangeeta Rajan
The chefs at Novana have retained the authenticity of Korean cuisine, while also adapting the food to Indian tastes. She says, “People are looking for spicy food, so I adapted and introduced spicy japacha along with regular japacha. Korean cuisine is quite flexible.” Almost every dish on the menu can be customized upon request and can also be made vegetarian or vegan.
“When I meet people who say they have come here to taste Korean food for the first time, I really appreciate it because they are open-minded. I am Korean, living in India for 20 years. If I didn’t open myself up, I wouldn’t be here,” she says, adding that food is a great way to open yourself to the world around you.
Novana is in Auroville. A meal for two costs ₹1,100.
