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.
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.
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 used to hang around were experts in guessing the level of inebriation and quoted accordingly. I really miss the sound of their bells at night.

prits_smiles

I would like to add a few for the veggies..

Crispy Chilli Babycorn and Chinese Salad at Bar-B-Q Park Street
Milk Bread from Flury's
Tea at Rusell Street crossing opposite CA Institute
Puchka and garam Vadas in front of Vardaan Market Camac Street
Thali from Lakshminarayan Mandir in Bhawanipore
Jhaal Muri from Shri Shiksha Yatan Lord Sinha Road
Ice cream from India Hobby Centre Park Street
Pineapple Raita from Orko's City Centre
Chocolate Partries from Cookie Jar
Masala ThumpsUp in front of victoria
Salads of your choice from Escoffier
Idly Dosas at Anand
Jalebis from Gangaur and Chitrakoot
Garam Gulab Jamun from Haldirams
Rassogolla from Chittaranjan
North Indian food at Teej

capt_mahajan

I must admit I ran down jyotis list to see if "muri" was included. Since it was, I am content.

jyotirmoy

Yes Capt. Jhal Muri is there

somnath

I hate foods.
BTW, Look at the 2nd post! “Chhoti Natasha”.
why ?? Ok : FOOD for thought!

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Nattusbs

Back in 1977 when I was a student in India I went to my classmates home in Calcutta. He took me to a place that had the tastiest Moghlai Paratha - and all these years I have been trying to remember, Finally, in this thread I found it - Anadi Cabin!!! I am sure that's the place.

Then I did a search on the web and got various links - articles by a person with initials SRD - now, is that Jyotirmoy?

Cheers

Nattusbs

jyotirmoy

Sorry Nattusbs my initials are not SRD. Lot of people have written about Anadi Cabin, which was quite an institution. Another once famous place was "Delkhosh". A regular at this place was an Auyrvedic doctor who had a grand idea & along with the chef created a legendary thing which was named Kaviraji Cutlet. Kaviraj means Auyrvedic doctor in Bengali.

cheenee jeenee

Any suggestion for a nice venue for dinner on Christmas Day in Kolkata for a group of of us? Music would be good too. Is Park Street the best bet? Indian food of course.
( this was my question)

Then I found Jyotirmoy's delightfully delicious gastronomical menu.... dating back to 2005!
We will need 12 months to do justice to that list but with only 5-6 days in Kolkata we will just have to do our best.

atala

I like Muri the best the way it sounds when vendors come with their "belly shops" on local trains, and sing Muri Muri It is so sweet how some do it. I would never try it though. would cause belly problems for sure

capt_mahajan

Muri at Victoria Memorial, on a hazy winter evening, and a walk down the river thereafter, is a favourite pastime of mine in Calcutta, oops Kolkata.

loonypooh

where can i get "paati shaapta"? i used to love it as a kid!! after my grandmom, no one else knows to make it.. its been some 10 yrs or more i have been craving for it!

jyotirmoy

Try Puntiram in College street

robotvoice

one i will miss: the street dosa on esplanade south of park street. yummm

kristinm

Jyotida and others - I'm just reading Chitrita Banerji's new book 'Tasting India'... she is from Calcutta (I'm sure you know her work) and describes Bengali cuisine - particularly of the home cooking variety - in mouth watering detail. Calcutta is definitely our starting point on our next Indian trip! The Bengali desserts & sweets sound amazing - and the fish dishes .. she talks about great big whole fish, and a fish called a Shad - which is dying out. It sounds a lot hotter than the food we had in the North though?

jyotirmoy

That Shad is a poor cousin of our great Ilish(Hilsa) fish. Over fishing of Ilish has resulted in decline of this fish.
Ms Banerjee's book on Bengali cuisine is a very good read, but I was told that her recent writings on Indian food are not up to the mark.