A taste of Kolkata: the foodie capital of India
21.07.2023 - 08:33
/ roughguides.com
India’s most underrated city, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is a far cry from its negative stereotypes: it’s friendly, attractive and home to some of the best – and most diverse – food in the country. Shafik Meghji picks out seven essential foodie experiences.
Kolkata's ultimate street food is the kati roll: aparatha flatbread stuffed with chicken, mutton, paneer, egg or spiced potato, then spiked with chilli and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, and finally rolled up in paper. Sometimes referred to as a “kathi roll” or simply a “roll”, these inexpensive snacks are sold from humble stands right across the city.
They were invented at Nizam’s, which moved to its current location (23-24 Hogg Street), just north of the New Market, in the 1930s: although the restaurant is a bit grotty to look at, the signature dish is seriously good.
© alexreynolds/Shutterstock
Bengali cuisine is one of the tastiest in India, but amongst the least known internationally. Mustard oil, panch phoran (a blend of five spices: fenugreek, and cumin, nigella, mustard and fennel seeds), coconut, seafood, and fresh and saltwater fish all feature heavily.
The best place to sample Bengali cuisine is in a family home, but if you can’t score an invite, Kolkata has an ever-increasing number of restaurants specialising in the region’s traditional cooking.
Among the best is Kewpie’s Kitchen, a private home with an attached restaurant: several lavish thalas (multicourse meals) are on offer, featuring dishes like daab chingri (spicy coconut prawns).
Kolkata was once home to a flourishing Jewish community of 4000, but many emigrated after India gained its independence and the city’s prominence began to fade. Although there are now barely 20 Jewish Kolkatans left, the community’s heritage lives on thanks to a legendary bakery.
Founded 114 years ago, and with a wood-panelled interior that appears little changed in that time, Nahoum & Sons is tucked away in the covered New Market, surrounding by clothing stores. Today it continues to do a roaring trade in currant buns, cashew macaroons, lemon tarts, cheese straws, chicken puffs and the like. Its speciality, though, is a rich, succulent fruit cake, which is particularly popular at Christmas.
The city of Darjeeling, high in the Himalayas north of Kolkata, is synonymous with high-quality tea: the crop was introduced to the region by the British in the 1840s. Much of it today eventually makes its way to Kolkata, where you can sample it at one of the city’s burgeoning number of cafés.
Less heralded than a cup of Darjeeling’s “first flush” (the first leaves picked during the harvest season), a sweet, milky chai on the street is nevertheless an essential Kolkata activity.
In much of India chaiwallahs now serve tea in