The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Kolkatan Foods. If you manage to be in an Kolkatan restaurant or you are visiting Kolkata in India, I recommend the following:
1. Bandel
It is a semi-soft paneer cheese made from cow’s milk. It originated in the Portuguese colony of the same name in West Bengal. The cheese has a crumbly texture, rich aroma and smoked salt. The whey and curd are first separated with lemon juice, then the curd is formed, drained, hardened and smoked, although the cheese can also be made in a plain, unsmoked version.
2. Chicken Kathi Roll
Chicken kathi roll is a range of kathi rolls made with chicken as the main ingredient. This is a typical street food that originated in Kolkata and consists of a flatbread like roti or paratha filled with marinated and fried chicken pieces. Each flatbread is first coated with an egg before being rolled out and cooked.
3. Darjeeling Tea
This famous tea is named after the Indian town of Darjeeling, which is the centre of tea cultivation in Bengal and was once the starting point of the caravan route to Tibet. Depending on when it was picked, it comes in several varieties: First Flush, Second Flush, Monsoon and Autumn Flush. Since Darjeeling has been one of the most expensive teas, with rare blends selling for up to $200 per kilogramme, there is a serious problem with counterfeit and adulterated blends. About 40 000 tonnes of tea leaves are sold worldwide as Darjeeling each year, but in reality only 8 000 to 11 000 tonnes of raw tea is produced.
4. Gobi manchurian
It consists of fried cauliflower (gobi) mixed with a sweet and spicy sauce (manchurian). There are two versions of this dish: dry and soaked. The dried version is often served as an appetizer or side dish with tomato sauce as a dipping sauce, while the dipped version has a thick sauce made from cornstarch and is often served as a main dish with rice, stir-fried or steamed. Chop the cauliflower florets and fry until crisp.
5. Kalimpong
Kalimpong is a paneer cheese named after the town of the same name in West Bengal. It is believed that the first version of this cheese was made by Brother Abraham, a parish priest in Sikkim. Unripe Kalimpong has a semi-soft edible skin, a slightly sour taste and a crumbly texture that makes it ideal for salads or tomato and egg sandwiches.
6. Kathi Roll
This is an Indian street food dish that originated in Kolkata. It consists of kebab kebabs wrapped in a paratha flatbread. Some say that the dish was invented because the British did not want to eat their kebabs with their hands, so an ingenious man from Nizam’s rolled the meat in a paratha. Originally, kathi rolls were made with eggs, hot sauce and meat. Kathi rolls are traditionally wrapped in paper and served hot.
7. Paneer Kathi Roll
This is a popular Indian street food consisting of flatbreads stuffed with meat, vegetables or both. This version of kathi roll has paneer or Indian curd. The cheese is diced and dried, usually in a mixture of garam masala, yoghurt, ginger, garlic, paprika, fenugreek and salt. It is then fried until golden brown and usually mixed with onions and green peppers. Paneer kathi roll is usually served with green hot sauce.
8. Rasgulla
This is a traditional dessert usually served at the end of a meal, like many other Indian dairy desserts. It is made of chhena paneer dumplings and semolina dough cooked together in a sweet syrup. The origin of rasgulla is hotly debated, with the states of West Bengal and Odisha claiming the birthplace of the desert.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Asian Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.
The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Indian Foods. If you manage to be in an Indian restaurant or you are visiting India, I recommend the following: