The ‘City of Joy’ is arguably the cultural capital of India, where finer indulgences are a basic ingredient of everyday life. In the 330-year old capital of West Bengal, life is celebrated in all its sophisticated forms, including heritage, literature, music, art, religious traditions and cuisine. The first city of India that lured colonizers in the 18th-century is an irresistible temptation for the gourmet traveller with its distinctive seafood, hearty meats, classic vegetarian fare, delicate desserts and lip-smacking street food. Eat your way through Kolkata with this 5-step gourmet guide. Any authentic Kolkata day tour on local cuisine will teach you to start with bitter and end with sweet, in true Bengali style.

1. Spice up with street-food

There is mouth-watering street food and then there is the Phuchka. Known in other parts of the country as Golgappa and Pani Puri, these small water-bombs made of wheat are crisp, light and deadly in their addictive quality. Filled with mashed potatoes and spicy sour water, these little demons will haunt your tastebuds forever. Fill up your cheeks, and munch away till your tummy groans in protest, because chances are, that your heart will want to go on. This is undeniably one of the most delicious things to do in Kolkata.

2. Go green

Bengal has been permanently hooked on to the potato, ever since the Portuguese introduced it in the 16th-century. The modest vegetable has been transformed into many delicacies with characteristic finesse and one of the best examples is Aloo Posto (potato with poppy seeds). Another interesting dish is Begun Bhaja (crisp eggplant fritters deep- fried in mustard oil), which forms part of a Durga Puja Bhog (festival serving). If you want to experiment with something unusual, try Shukto (curry made with raw banana, potato, bitter gourd, drum sticks and beans), one of the first dishes served during an authentic Bengali meal.

3. Don’t curb the carbs

When it comes to comfort food, nothing cuts it like Luchi, a fried flatbread made from refined wheat flour. Deeply divine when paired with a potato curry, this is one of the most favourite of foods for locals, usually as a filling breakfast or a heavy snack. Giving tough competition to the loveable Luchi is the Kolkata Kathi Roll, a hot, greasy treat. Just the sight of hearty kebabs, chopped onions and green chillies (usually with mutton or chicken) being wrapped into leavened dough is enough to trigger pure gluttony.

4. Everything fishy about it

The love affair of Bengali cooking begins and ends with fish…whether fried, curried, char- gilled, boiled, steamed or wrapped in banana leaf and mostly served with rice. Dive into the all-pervading, all-consuming and highly contagious seafood culture with a Kolkata street food tour. But if you have to choose one dish, make it Macher Jhol, a spicy fish curry cooked with potatoes and tomatoes, seasoned with turmeric, garlic, ginger and onions. Don’t be shy to slurp.

5. Save space for sweets

The lightly sweetened and richly textured sweets of Bengal are legendary. Pay homage to traditional Chomchom (made of flour, cream, sugar, saffron, lemon juice and coconut flakes), develop a taste for Mishti Doi (fermented sweet yogurt), and do a trial-run of the many varieties of Sandesh (prepared with Indian cottage cheese, milk, sugar, nuts and saffron). For the grand finale, gobble up the inimitable Rossogolla (sugary, syrupy balls of Indian cottage cheese and semolina dough). Then declare yourself a newly converted, die-hard fan of Bengali cuisine! Find some of these Bengali flavours with an authentic culinary walk, Soul of Sovabazar, Kolkata.
Find some of these Bengali flavours with an authentic culinary walk, Soul of Sovabazar, Kolkata.

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