Calcutta and street food go hand in hand and the ‘Streets of Kolkata’ food festival at City Centre Salt Lake and City Centre New Town in association with t2, held from December 2 to 4, was one where you could get the best of it in one place. While there were dishes like the ever-popular biryanis and chaanps, there were other innovative dishes using bamboo shoots, gondhoraj lemon, and so on. There were a range of popular sweets as well. With 15 stalls at City Centre Salt Lake and 13 stalls at City Centre New Town, the festival was a haven for foodies.
“The Streets of Kolkata food festival was organised last year as well. This year it was appreciated even more because of the kind of participants and the weather that complemented the event immensely. Our malls have become a destination for foodies to come and explore at all the different kinds of food festivals that we have been organising for the past decade. Calcutta is also the street food capital hence we thought of organising Streets of Kolkata. This is the fourth year of the festival and the craze hasn’t died down yet,” said Ramesh Pandey, vice president, marketing and events, Ambuja Neotia Group.
The Telegraph gets you the deets.
CITY CENTRE SALT LAKE
Made of a rich spice rub comprising 52 spices and fried in ghee, this richly flavoured chicken dish, the Murgh Changezi, was the specialty at Taskeen. Rs 250 (regular), Rs 480 (medium), Rs 700 (large)
Soft and spicy, these delicious Galawati Kebabs at India Restaurant were lip-smacking and found many takers. Freshly cooked, these can be had with a side of Lucknowi paratha. Rs 430 (four pieces of kebab with one paratha)
The gondhoraj fever is slowly but surely taking over the city and one of its latest proponents is the Gondhoraj Biryani, as seen at Desi Foodiez. The aromatic biryani was light and flavoursome but without the overpowering taste of lemon. Rs 220
Winter calls for sweets, especially ones made of jaggery like these soft and delicious Gur Sandesh from Felu Modak. Rs 20 (per piece)
“We are really enjoying this food festival. I have come to visit my daughter and we spotted the festival while we were out. There is a great selection of stalls here and we are looking forward to explore,” said Gargee Chakraborty, who was present with her daughter Angana Ghosh.
“I did not know about this beforehand, but spotted it while I was here. It looks amazing so I am taking a look around,” said N.K. Saha.
CITY CENTRE NEW TOWN
Warm and buttery, this pav bhaji from Agarwal’s Paw Bhaji screamed comfort food. The dish was only mildly spicy but flavoursome. Rs 100 onwards
One could pick from a range of interesting and delicious chaats at Hedua Chat. On the menu were varieties such as Singhara Chaat, Tikiya Chaat and more. Rs 70 onwards
Fried munchies are a must-have while being out on the streets. We spotted these Gondhoraj Chicken Kebab Fries at Poush Parbon. Rs 150
There were a range of different cuisines available as well at the festival like at Go Lebanese. The Shawarma was chewy, spicy and came in wraps, salads and more. Rs 170 onwards
“This is our first time here. Our kids have gone to a birthday party nearby and we were really hungry so we decided to drop by the food festival. The festival is really great,” said Basubhadra Chakraborty (in purple), who was present with Palash Chowhury.
“We actually got to know about the event from The Telegraph itself and we are really excited to be here. We are looking around at the various stalls and the great number of food items available,” said Sarbani Yaduka, who was present with her family.
