A Foodie's Paradise - Kolkata!

I am a rat! I sniff my way into a city to know if it can satisfy my hunger pangs. Not that I claim to have travelled extensively across numerous cities, but I have modestly managed to touch base of several Indian cities. And from the little sniffing I did, I know well where I can quell my cravings.

                                

Calcutta/Kolkata is the city every foodie must pin down on her/his map, in case she/he is looking for a haven!

 If Delhi is our national capital, and Mumbai our cultural capital, Kolkata is definitely our food capital. Don’t judge me because it’s my hometown, but when I say that Calcutta’s gastronomic affair is by far the most democratically pluralistic one, I mean every word of it. The city is like an egalitarian wok that offers an array of global cuisines to its people. From the elites to the proletariat, Kolkata has afforded all sections of its society to enjoy a foodie’s appetite and cravings. It is one of the metros, and one of the oldest ones, which still affords its public the cheapest and the most economical living in India. Momos, noodles, thukpas, chop suey, dosas, dahi-vadas, chats, puchkas, kebabs, rolls, biriyani, burgers, pasta, fish cutlets, sizzlers, pastries, puddings, custard et al, are available not just in the plush interiors of lavish restaurants, but also with the local street vendors and within a range of INR 40 –80. What better way to keep your folks happy than through her/his stomach!

All Kolkattans are foodies, irrespective of their class, creed, sex, colour and religion. And I am serious!

That all Kolkattans are foodies bear proof in the fact that every nook and corner of city has a food joint that sells its own deconstructed variety of a principal dish. The variety available for your taste buds to relish on is just mind boggling — from Mughlai to Middle Eastern, from Asian to American. What, however, makes Kolkata the heavenly abode of Foodies is the easy availability of these delicacies, both in the street joints and the luxurious restaurants. 

My stay in Delhi, over the last two years, is deeply marked with much disappointment at the limited offers that are available for everyday snacking.  North Indian Cuisine is so heavily vetted there that to satiate a sudden Thukpa craving you might have to go all the way to Majnu ka Tila! And also let’s not forget the taboo of non-vegetarianism. Mumbai has been way better, though when it comes to choices and variety, you need to remember that in an elitist society ‘beggars can’t be choosers’! Chennai is however too full of itself to bother about other cuisines. It regales in its own magnificent cuisine.

The Bengali cuisine looms large over Kolkata too, but it’s definitely not an all consuming shadow. While delicacies like Alu-Posto, the Awadhi-styled Biriyani and Rasogolla are indeed quintessential of Kolkata, it also boasts itself of the rare Anglo-Indian dishes like the Mulligatawny soup and Kedgree, with Kolkata being the home to a large number of Anglo-Indians.  If it’s Puchka today, its’s Kabiraji tomorrow and Nachos the next day. If it’s Biriyani from Arsalan today, then it’s sweets from Balaram tomorrow and Chinese from Tirettti Bazar the next day.  If it’s Pasta from the university campus food joint today, it’s Chicken ala Kiev from The Steak Factory tomorrow and Japchae from Asia In Box the next day.

 When in Kolkata you are a Foodie and variety is the word that will dominate you plate.