Kolkata nostalgia & gastronomy

jyotirmoy

Chai:
Bharer Chaa:Tea served in clay pots. At the Maidan, from shining brass vessels on a rainy day. This is also good at Calcutta Stock Exchange street (Lyon's range).
Boudir Lebu Cha (Deshapriya Park): This is the evergreen Lemon tea.

Here's the Must-have dessert list:
Mishti Doi & Rosogolla from Mithai (Beckbagan)
Sandesh (all types) from Balaram (Bhowanipur) (Naram pak & Ice
cream sandesh), Nakur’s at Shimle. Bhim Nag in Boubazar.
Pantua from Bancharam
Indrani from Ganguram
Rabri from Ganguram
Darbesh & Kheer er chop from Sen Mahasay in Shyambazar.
Amritti from Bhim Nag/Ganguram, Maniktala (Jalebis are no match)
Patishapta - A delicate crepe with a filling of coconut and gur at Puntiram.
Chhanar payesh - Better than rabdi anyday and does not weigh your stomach down, at Putiram (College Street)

Miscellaneous:
Alukabli - Another must try at Vivekananda Park or opposite Menoka
Cinema. This is a chat like stuff with boiled potatoes, germinated choleys, ginger juliennes etc. with juice of lemon. I had to wipe my mouth while writing about it.
Kuler achar - the best outside Gariahat market. This is a chutney made with a particular berry which is available in the winter. Try this along with Aloo Posto, hot rice & Urad dal.
Shukno mashla makha tetul - Available with the churanwalas outside all
schools, much to the delight of the students and dismay of the parents, it is made with tamarind.
Bikrampurer kashundi - Mustard just pales next to this, available in most Bengali grocery shops. Bhetci macher fry with sliced onions & Kashundi. Dijon take a back seat here.
Aamer morobba - the best outside Gariahat market, this is a mango preserve.
Mochar chop - A delight even for the staunchest non vegetarians, banana flower stuffing in a potato cover braided with bread crumbs & deep fried, at the Tele bhaja shops in Baghbajar & Shyam bazaar. Plucking out the small florets is a big job so most ladies today simply don’t cook it at home these days, of course in my home there is a slave called me who has to do this if he has to eat this stuff.
Kumro phul bhaja - In tiny little food joints around Chittaranjan Avenue. These are pakoras made with the fresh yellow flowers of Pumpkin. We often eat them with hot rice to which gawa ghee has been added.
Dulaler tal mishri- Candies made from the juice sapped from Palmyra trees. Tasty & good for cough & cold. These were all the medicines we took as a child when noses began to run.
Ujjala's Chanachur ( no comparison anywhere): Even Haldiram's don't any where come Close to it.
Dab er sarbat at Paradise at College street. One of the young managers used to practice tabla sitting there & it was great to hear him play while sipping the Sarbat on a summer afternoon.
Cakes, pastries & patties at Nahum’s in new Market. I still can visualize the shop during X-Mass time, ginger loaves, marzipans, cinnamon rolls, plum cakes, mince pies & for us who had ordered months in advance with full payment bottles of resin wine, the excise department just kept their eyes closed during this period & no one ever complained.
Baked beans on toasts at Flury’s.

Simply delicious:
Kasha mangsho- a mutton curry at the Golbari at Shyambazar. Quarter of a plate used to be enough for one person. Even with a lot of research I haven’t yet cracked the trick I must admit. Although it is referred as Punjabi food in Kolkata I haven’t found it anywhere in Punjab.
Muri ghonto - Defies description, this one is rice cooked with rohu fish heads. Check out at Suruchi Elliot road.
Daab Chingri from Kewpies (Elgin Lane): This is Prawn cooked in coconut.
Chicken Cutlet near Samur (Bhowanipur)
Moghlai Parota from Anadi Cabin (S N Banerjee Road). This is a crisp paratha with egg & mince filling.
Chelo Kabab from Peter Cat: This can't be explained.....
Double Egg Chicken Roll from Kusum (Park Street )
Steak at Oly pub (with beer!!): This joint is also at Park Street.
Champ & Biriyani at Royal hotel in Chitpoor. Close competition for Karims in Delhi although the menu is different.
Kochuri & Tarkari from Tasty Corner (Mandeville Gardens) & various tele bhaja shops at residential localities. Last time I went to Kolkata I took my daughters to taste this. The Aloo Pumpkin tarkari was served in a bowl made of dried leaves. A part of the gravy oozes out through the joints. I stopped them in time before they were about to ask for tissues which would have been a most outrageous thing to do at such establishments. I told them to lick it off, I did but they didn’t, half the fun gone!
Kabiraji Cutlet from Regent (S N Banerjee Road). The speciality of this dish is the fluffy & crunchy wrapping made with egg whites. Thanks to a Bengali lady who has dared to open a Bengali restaurant where we live in Delhi & has imported some good cooks from Kolkata. We get to eat this stuff now!
Bijoli Grill's Fish Roll.
Phulkopir Singara from Mrityunjoy (Lansdowne), small Samosa’s with cauliflower filling. Best enjoyed with a steaming cup of good Darjeeling tea.
Pabda Paramaditya, a delicate fish cooked in a very tasty gravy at Aheli.
Bread & hot mutton stew at Dekker’s lane at lunch time on working days only.
Roti & mutton curry at Aminia. What a treat after a film at one of the many theaters near by or after a tiring shopping at the New Market..
Pulao & mutton rezalla at Shiraz.

Drinking:
The country liquor bar at Khalashi tala, in our time writers, film makers, ad men, actors would sit & discuss various things over the drinks, there would also be groups of smugglers & wagon breakers, thieves plotting out the night’s activities, harassed men pouring out their woes to patient listeners. Fights would break out once in while but a word like “Poolish asche..” would calm down the people. Rickshaw pullers who is to hang around were experts in guessing the level of inebriation and quoted accordingly. I really miss the sound of their bells at night.

Judi

This all sounds absolutely delicious ..... and as I shall be in Kolkata in exactly one month today (yippeeeeee!! I shall print your list off and take it with me!

Thanks for these tips, I'll certainly try many of them.

__________________
It is better to light a candle than complain about the darkness.

Casey

I will also be in Kolkata and will have this list with me! Thanks so much. This will be fun to see how much of the list I can hunt down. A kind of food treasure hunt.

somnath

Allow me to post this link: FOOD for thought!

and take a complete rest. Any one, coming to Kolkata please read these two posts of Jyoti da and Natasha. Hats off to both of you covered EVERYTHING.
This is interesting that both of them are away from Kolkata since long still they are able to remember and share all these.

- Somnath

jyotirmoy

How can I forget Kolkata? Forgetting Kolkata means forgetting my roots. Kolkata taught me every thing that I possess & cherish. I miss so much of Kolkata, mainly the PEOPLE.
One day soon I will go back when I wont have to work, I will walk along the College street browsing the astounding collection of second hand books, step in to the coffee house to hear what the young people are saying, I will watch the sun set from the strands, get lost in the crowd of the "Maha Nagar", I will board a bus and some one will give up his seat for me, I will watch the fairy on the top of the St. Pauls Cathedral & feel sad & I will return home safe & sound. Thats Kolkata for me.

somnath

Hmmmm…….. you are so immotional, but Jyoti da, I think you must visit Kolkata ASAP. Because I also feel sad when I see the fairy but here . Please come to Kolkata and refresh your sweet memories.

jyotirmoy

Thanks Somnath for the link. I always felt that the fairy is trying to fly but stuck to the structure she is unable to fly & probably that made me feel sad every time I looked.
There are some extremely beautiful memories of myself doing some things in the sprawling lawns of Victoria Memorial wearing bell bottomed trousers, khadi kurta & Kohlapuri chappals, a packet of Charminar in the pocket while 72 miles away a professor was lecturing on something like Nyquist critera which I had bunked & took the first local to Howrah. I hope the young people are still doing this sort of things & some relative or some realatives of the relatives happen to notice & report.

anindya911

Jyoti da,

You got me salivating all over the keyboard (I had to mop up before typing this ). Its a definately a must have guide for any food junkie. Myself being a bango (Probashi), I still haven't came across that much, only heard of some and myself sampled few.
Now, a trip to Kolkatta will be definately on my new years resolution!

Thanks, keep it up!

Anindya