A Street Romance for Taste Buds

Joydip Sur

Calcutta’s romance with street food runs deep in its veins. The city has an amazing variety of street food and embraces influences right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. From full meals to simple snacks to fast refreshers, the City of Joy has it all. Stroll down any of Calcutta’s busy thoroughfares and you will find vendors conjuring up gastronomical magic through delicious roll, chowmein, dosa, idli, dahi vada, pav bhaji, mutton stew, phuchka, papri chaat, jhaal muri, bhel puri, batata puri, ghugni, telebhaja, sandwich, fresh fruit, sherbet and innumerable other eatables.

A hot summer afternoon coming out of the GPO I was wandering where I can get to fill my tummy. For after a tedious queue at the General Post Office I was simply hungry. It was then that my taste buds awakened to the yummy aroma of spices. And much like Tom from the celebrated Toon show Tom and Jerry I was drawn towards the inevitable.

Open Sesame, what do I see! A wondrous land of lip-smacking delicacies, smack in the heart of the city. Much like the congested Arabian bazaar through which Aladdin made his numerous essays, I was introduced to canopies, tents and marquees under which one discovered everything from jhal muri to idli and dosa. This is Dalhousie’s Kiran Shankar Roy Road . Home to innumerable food stall, this locale prides itself in its delicious dimmer devil, mutton chop, moghlai paratha and traditional Bengali mishti brought from Taki. The mouth-watering taste of that mishti still lingers on my tongue till this very day.

This led me to thinking what more heartwarming food does this city has in store for us. Like they say, where there is a will there is a way. I went to Esplanade during the lunch hours and after completing my work asked my friend if we could help ourselves to some street food and he took me to Dacres Lane. Considered by many to be the Mecca of street food in Calcutta, Dacres Lane is a great destination for gulping down mutton and chicken stew along with bread toasts from morning till night all through the week. Hundreds of ‘suitors of this sensational stew’ can be found queuing in front of the stall to satiate their gastronomical desires. We too had our share of the fill and the feeling was nothing short of orgasmic. I actually took a second helping and would soon go back for more. During my visit to Dacres Lane, I discovered that this place is also renowned for its Chinese gourmet with chili chicken, chowmein and fried rice being chart toppers. A must visit for food connoisseurs.

I have always had a fetish for authentic Chinese delicacies. And this led me one Sunday morning through the by-lanes of Calcutta to the most  unlikely location in Tiretta Bazar.One can find light soups—basic broths with a few greens and the odd chicken foot stirred in. There is also the heavier variety of spicier broths, including one in which the twin hammers of Sichuan chilies and pickled garlic drowned out the fish balls – popularly called Krakatoa soup because it carved out an instant lava-filled crater in your stomach. You can also taste the steamed pao – soft Chinese bread with a variety of fillings like minced pork, fish innards, a complex vegetable mix (which is basically trimmings from herbs) and Chinese greens mixed with fungus, sweet plum stuffing. Tiretta Bazaar is also famous for its pork dumplings. The best you would find anywhere in the city. Authentically Chinese!

This was the beginning of an addiction that grew in me as the insatiable desire to have street food struck root. One evening we were taking a drive along E.M. Bypass when my friend suggested we stop over for some cold coffee at the stalls diagonally across Mani Square Mall. Trust me folks, the cold coffee served here is truly among the very best that you would come across in any street food joint in the city and still remains a personal favourite.

I started taking information about the other places where we get quality street food. And the places that came to my mind in the first place were Russell Street, followed by Vardan Market. As I stepped out of my car, I bumped into a Gandhi-topi-clad man carrying a small basket, shouting “chana jor garam”. This is the Mumbai-style mixture of chana, sprinkled with chili powder and a dash of lime. Just the perfect way to start. Once done, make your way towards the phuchkawala – Russell Steet is home to some of the city’s best phuchkas. Once you are through with the phuchkas proceed to lap up the lip-smacking ghugni chaat, spiced with shredded ginger and green chili with a tinge of lime. Yummy! After finishing my ghugni chaat, I made my way towards Vardaan Market on Camac Street. The bhel puri, papri chaat and jhal muri here are worth the wait but the tongue tingling chillas and lip smacking moong dal vadas with pudina and chili-garlic chutney are a specialty of this place. Don’t miss any of them.

And when one speaks about bhel puri and papri chaat, how can anyone forget Vivekanada Park  just off Southern Avenue. Once the evening set in, I thronged to this food hub to dig into the delicious papri chaat, bhel puri, batata puri, dahi vada, phuchka, alu dom, dahi phuchka and soda shikanji. Just the perfect place to munch on street fare in South Calcutta.

For years, Strand Road has been among the favourite destination for the romantic at heart. The sunset has never looked more beautiful than it does at the Strands when the tiring sun bids adieu for the day and sets against the backdrop of the flowing Hoogly River. But that’s not all. The Strand (next to Scoop) has also emerged as a popular destination for an impressive variety of street fare with the amchi Mumbai style pav bhaji with an extra scoop of butter being the most popular of the lot. Help yourself with a glass of masala Thumps Up and you will be ready to gulp down some more eatables on offer.

The other day, after a tiring shopping spree at New Market, my tummy was craving for some food. I immediately made my way towards the string of stalls just beside the erstwhile Lighthouse and Globe cinema, which is renowned for churning out the most delicious chana batura, samosa chaat, raj kachori and dahi vada in the city. Hundreds queue up everyday to dig into this delicious offering and they just keep coming back for more for the mind-blowing taste.

Finally, when it comes to kulfi and syrups, the place to be is at the Shakespeare Sarani and Wood Street intersection. The sitafhal, chiku and kesari kulfi is simply superb. And if you want to quench your thirst, choose between a range of rose, green mango, khus and several others syrups. So, desserts anyone?

Beyond any reasonable doubt, Calcutta’s street food culture is a subject of everyone’s envy. The sheer variety and the delicious taste of street food available in Calcutta keep its populace blissfully happy. In fact, it is only fair to say, that most Calcuttans thrive on street food and on the little pleasures of life that comes with it.