I had 4-5 hours to spare in Kolkata. I thought I'd go on a little stroll and grab some food :)
It was drizzling. Thankfully, it wasn't hot, but still, quite damp. Didn't dampen my spirits though ;)
Here's to a little walk in the city of joy, i mean mishti and doi :D
It was drizzling. Thankfully, it wasn't hot, but still, quite damp. Didn't dampen my spirits though ;)
Here's to a little walk in the city of joy, i mean mishti and doi :D
First up, a 250 yr old heritage place. Adi Haridas Modak, Shyambazar.
Known for their sit down service on banana leaf.
Known for their sit down service on banana leaf.
I had the luchi and aloo dum. The luchis were fresh off the kadhai, served to the guests in a tokri.
The luchi was not too heavy. Aloo dum had aloo chunks with the peel, clear hit of saunf and kala jeera. Not to hot. Faintly sweet tinge to it. Nice stuff.
They also lure customers by parading mishti in a gigantic kadhchi. I succumbed and tried their rosogolla,
Chhenar jilepi,
They also lure customers by parading mishti in a gigantic kadhchi. I succumbed and tried their rosogolla,
Chhenar jilepi,
And rajbhog. All strictly ok ok for me. My benchmark is nobin Chandra das and balaram Mullick at this point. This was denser, much more sweeter, and had a different, stronger flavour, which i didn't prefer. Same for chhenar jilepi.
The spring back on the rossogolla though 🔥🔥🔥
The spring back on the rossogolla though 🔥🔥🔥
But 2 luchis, and 3 mishtis cost me just 52 bucks (how, Kolkata, how???? I am crying 😭❤️😘😘).
Next up, Amrit, Sovabazaar.
Next up, Amrit, Sovabazaar.
They are most famous for their mishti doi. 100g for 30 bucks. Sign me up.
The spoon won't flinch, in spite of some breeze. It thicccccc.
The spoon won't flinch, in spite of some breeze. It thicccccc.
Great balance of 3 quintessential mishti doi elements. Sweet, sour and caramel like aftertaste. Brilliant!
I also tried their kheerer singhara aka Mawa singhara. Beautiful stuff. Tad too rich and sweet for me, but that's because I was almost OD-ing on sweets ;) superb crust, just the right amount of Mawa inside and slightly gushing syrup with cardamom flavour.
And that's a wrap at Amrit. 12 bucks is a good deal for this :D Kolkata, you are spoiling me with your prices ❤️😭😘
Next up, Chittaranjan misthanna bhandar. The rasgulla walahs of Kolkata. I missed their rossogolla last time so I was determined to take another crack at it this time :D
But first, their gulab bhog sondesh.
The hit of rose was a bit stronger this time, but that light, Airy texture...this is some six Sigma level repeatability.
Absolutely divine stuff! I will repeat this, nobody on this planet makes sweets with milk like Bengalis (+ Oriyas 😬).
The hit of rose was a bit stronger this time, but that light, Airy texture...this is some six Sigma level repeatability.
Absolutely divine stuff! I will repeat this, nobody on this planet makes sweets with milk like Bengalis (+ Oriyas 😬).
Aaand then, rossogullas. It was slightly warm as it came straight off the syrup soaking kadhai. I died, went to heaven, and came back as a devotee of this rossogolla. What the f**** how can a human make something so beautiful, so light & so damn delicious! For 10-12 bucks😭😭😭❤️
The texture, the flavour profile, everything absolutely perfect for me. This was very different from Adi haridas, & i personally liked this way better.
The spring on this in spite of me sucking all the syrup tells you how ridiculously light it is. I shamelessly popped 3 more 🙈
The spring on this in spite of me sucking all the syrup tells you how ridiculously light it is. I shamelessly popped 3 more 🙈
Ok enough mishti (for now). Time for some savoury stuff.
Not just any place, but a place where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose got his chops from, apparently :) Established in 1918, another century + old place. Lakshminarayan Shaw & Sons.
Not just any place, but a place where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose got his chops from, apparently :) Established in 1918, another century + old place. Lakshminarayan Shaw & Sons.
Known for their cutlets and chops, they have some fun items on their menu. E.g. chowmein chop, which they didn't have at that time. So I tried...
Their singhara. Because what's the point of visiting Kolkata if you didn't have one...
The filling was brown, with peanut, whole coriander seeds. Quite flavourful. I liked this :)
Dhokar barfi, a speciality here. Besan slabs, fried nicely. This was quite good! Crisp, golden on the outside, soft and well done on the inside.
And my personal favourite, aam chop!
Raw mango, slightly sweet veg chop type filing , coriander seeds, absolutely stellar stuff!
The outside wasn't as crisp but it was just right. Beautiful, golden, and not too greasy.
Raw mango, slightly sweet veg chop type filing , coriander seeds, absolutely stellar stuff!
The outside wasn't as crisp but it was just right. Beautiful, golden, and not too greasy.
The inside, heavenly. Definitely hope to try this again!
A singhara, a veg chop, an aam chop and a dhokar barfi for 31 bucks???
Wtf Kolkata you are ridiculously affordable ya 😭😘😘😘😘😘😘😘 what a city!
Wtf Kolkata you are ridiculously affordable ya 😭😘😘😘😘😘😘😘 what a city!
Next up, more street food. At the 81 year old Hedua chat center. Bidhan sarani road.
I had the half plate khasta kochuri chat. Quite savoury heavy and there are some parallels with masal Puri here.
Green chili chutney, yellow peas, sweet chutney, masala, onion, little coriander. Crunchy kachori. Good stuff for 35 bucks.
Green chili chutney, yellow peas, sweet chutney, masala, onion, little coriander. Crunchy kachori. Good stuff for 35 bucks.
So much savoury stuff. I wonder if there's a sweet shop nearby...
Oh wait, who am I kidding, this is Kolkata we're talking about. Twitter has thirst trap trend. Kolkata has a far more seductive misthi trap trand. Legendary shop after legendary shop...on the same bloody street!
Oh wait, who am I kidding, this is Kolkata we're talking about. Twitter has thirst trap trend. Kolkata has a far more seductive misthi trap trand. Legendary shop after legendary shop...on the same bloody street!
Ramdulal sarkar Street has Subodh Chandra Mallick, Nalin Chandra Das, and Girish Chandra Dey/nakur Chandra nandy...almost 450 years of mishti making experience combined. Within 200 goddam meters. Kolkata is truly a mishti black hole in terms of density of shops❤️
Yet another top notch rosogolla. Light, juicy, airy, just the right amount of sweetness.
Their fresh chhenar sondesh is good too ;)
Light, delicate, flavourful. I am truly spoilt ❤️
Their fresh chhenar sondesh is good too ;)
Light, delicate, flavourful. I am truly spoilt ❤️
Next up, another heritage shop. The legendary Bhim Chandra Nag. One of the oldest, nearly 200 yrs old. Apparently, they gave Pantua to Kolkata.
I had the gulab bhog sondesh, monohar sondesh, pantua and rossogolla (i wanted to try similar things at multiple to get a feel for the differences). At 95 bucks, this was an elevation in pricing, but I'll happily pay for such sleight of hand ;)
But I found this very different from say, Chittaranjan, and a few other places like subodh Chandra mullick, balaram, and even Girish Chandra Dey. The rossogolla was similar to adi Haridas Modak in flavour, and was a tad too sweet for me. The sondesh was more sense, almost clay
Like texture. The pantua was also a bit too sweet for me. I'm sure this place has a lot of admirers, but perhaps, this is not my cup of tea ;) I'm a total Chittaranjan type rossogolla convert at this point ;)
Next up, a chop Shop 😬 Kalika! College square.
Next up, a chop Shop 😬 Kalika! College square.
I had their mochar (banana flower) chop. Fantastic stuff! With some kasundi, it tasted ace!
Beauty!
They also have fish and mutton based chops as well :)
No words. Just...curious...about the spelling ..
Couldn't resist jhalmuri. The mustard oil and that green chutney takes things to another level 😭❤️😘😘😘
Ok this is an on the go snack ;)
Random telbhaja stall.
Take the begun bhaja.
Obviously, the day had to end with something sweet ;) I went back to Chittaranjan, but it was closed. But no fear, Bhabatarini sweets is here :D
At 10 bucks, their rosogolla is almost as good as Chittaranjan 's. I'll take it :D (i actually ate 3 🙈😬🔥🔥🔥).
Absolutely fantastic stuff!
Absolutely fantastic stuff!
Kolkata is interesting. It's hard to walk & navigate (at least my experience) in say Sovabazaar, bowbazar, college square type areas. It's a bit messy during rains, water gushing randomly from faucets, etc. But goddamn, the food culture is sooooo strong!
That's chhennar pulav.
That's chhennar pulav.
I see world's top lists etc etc. Any list that deprives people of mishti from Bengal and Orissa is truly pitiable. The sheer technical skill needed to produce these varieties out of humble milk is truly mind-blowing.
The reason English language has synonyms is so that one could
The reason English language has synonyms is so that one could
food from place to place without sounding repetitive ;)
People conjure up great things with milk. E.g. cheese. That takes time. Age. But Bengalis. The magic is fast. And they do it every day. Best possible magic. At that price. Superlative! Nothing like it exists in this world.
People conjure up great things with milk. E.g. cheese. That takes time. Age. But Bengalis. The magic is fast. And they do it every day. Best possible magic. At that price. Superlative! Nothing like it exists in this world.
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