Introduction
Kolkata, the first thing that come to mind after hearing the name is "the city of joy". Kolkata is known for its rich cultural heritage, Victoria Memorial, Howrah Bridge & above all Durga Puja amongst all other thing. But there is something more than meets the eye. The one thing that quite often do not get the celebration that it deserved is the rich food culture of the city. Beyond misti doi, sondesh & rosogolla there is an entire bouquet of different cuisine that make the food culture of Kolkata amongst the most diverse in India.
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Being the epicenter of all the activities of Eastern India, the food of the city is influenced by the people coming here from different states of Eastern India. Their different religious & ethnic backgrounds and their local food habits have greatly impacted and shaped the food that can now be found in every corner of the city. The Mughals, the Chinese, the Persians (Iranians), the Tibetans, from the pages of History and to the modern day westerns food giants like KFC, Dominoz, McDonalds, etc. have all created their unique identity in the rich food culture of Kolkata. The city has so much to offer for everyone. From a poor person to the super rich, the city has something in its kitty to offer them. You can find a meal as expensive as Rs.3500 in the posh five star hotels of Kolkata and also you can find a proper meal as cheap as Rs 35 even in the present time where the inflation is at high levels, in the allies of Kolkata and adjoining office hubs of Kolkata- the so called office para as we say in Bengali in Dalhousie Square & Salt lake. This makes Kolkata a unique & affordable food conglomerate.
Table of Contents
Traditional Bengali Cuisine
Traditionally, Bengal has been renowned for its extraordinarily fertile agricultural land and production of paddy. At the same time, the rivers of Bengal are an apparently inexhaustible resource of different varieties of fish. That is why, from the ancient times, rice and fish emerged as the staple food for the Bengalis. "Macche-Bhate Bangali" (মাছে -à¦াতে বাঙালি) is a very popular phrase use to describe a Bengali.
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Rice and Fish plays a prominent role in Kolkata food culture. There is numerous number of dishes that centers around these two ingredients. From Ilish bhapa to Chingri Malaicurry the list goes on and on. Apart from these two posto (poppy seeds), dal (lentils) & different varieties of local grown vegetables, cress & creepers (শাক) also have their distinct influence in shaping the food. Although Bengali cuisine is predominantly a non vegetarian cuisine but we can not discount the vegetarian Bengali dishes which are at par with their non-veg counterparts. The shift occurred with the emergence of the Vaishnava Bhakti, cult whose followers were vegetarian and also with various restrictions which were placed on widows. Widows were barred from eating fish & meat. They also could not use expensive and heating spices or vegetables such as saffron, cinnamon, cloves, onions, garlics, although ginger was allowed. Milk based products such as cream, ghee and dry fruits were also scarcely used. These economic and social restrictions influenced Bengali widows to create a brand new set of meals that utilized only vegetables and cheap spices. Supto (a light curry made with different combinations of vegetables with none to little spices and oil) is a popular item of this new set of meal created by the widows.
The Odia cooks had also impacted the Bengali cuisine to a great extent. With the introduction Odia Brahmin cooks known as thakurs in the Bengali kitchen subtle but significant changes were brought into the cuisine. Many of the Bengali classic dishes such as kanika (Bengali মিষ্টি পোলাও) and mangsa kawsha (Bengali কষা মাংস) were originally from Odisha but were refined in Bengali kitchens by Odia cooks.
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We can see dishes like a variety of fish & prawn curries, steamed fish or prawns covered in banana leaf, mutton curries, various preparations of lentils and vegetables, posto bora were created by this confluence and they are doing wonders in the menu of every popular Bengali food restaurants in the city. To know about more of this popular food chains and their food review follow my page FoodSense.
The Mughal Influence: Beginning of Colonial Impact
Like many other cuisines of India, we can also see the influence of Mughals in the Bengali cuisine. The Nawabs of bengal like all other Mughal rulers were fond of food. They insist their cooks or bawarchis to invent new dishes with locally available produce constantly. These cooks came with the vast knowledge of spices most notebly jafran and mace. The Islamic culinary influence had gradually diffused into the local Hindu and poorer Muslim population. These cooks had brought their recipes that once only belonged for the Royals and upper class people to the kitchen of common people. This dishes includes biriyani, kormas and bhuna.
The Mughals had a particular fondness towards meat, extensive use of ghee, curd, cream & expensive spices like cardamom & saffron bringing mutton and curd based dishes into mainstream Bengali cuisine. It is their constant innovation that gave us dishes like chap (ribs slow cooked on a tawa), rezala (meat in a thin yogurt and cardamom gravy). Amongst all the Mughaliya offering that gained the most popularity are kathi rolls and biriyani. The city is filled with biriyani giants like Arselan, Aminia, Royal, Aliah, Indian and in present day one can find a biriyani outlet at every few hundred meters. Kathi roll outlets like Kusum, Rahamania are popular beyond the boundary of the city. One can go to Old Zakaria Street in Central Kolkata to truly experience the Mughal & Islamic food specially during the month of Ramzan. Follow my blog FoodSense to know in details abut all these places.
The Chinese & Tibetan Influence
Being the gateway to the south east Asia & China, many migrants from these areas specially Chinese were migrated and settled in Kolkata. Originally settled into a village called Achipur south of Kolkata in the late 18th century, the Chinese community later moved into its present home in Tangra at the eastern edge of Kolkata. With them they bring Chinese food. These people were mostly Cantonese tradesmen and sailors who first settled down here and decided to cook with whatever items they had at hand. Due to the taste of the food and quick cooking procedure, their dishes sprung to popularity very soon amongst the locals. As their food bare no similarity with the original Chinese recipe other than the use of soy sauce it gave birth to the Indian-Chinese cuisine. The food become so popular that it can be found in every corner of the city and become widespread through out the region.
The Indo-Chinese food got the second boost of popularity in the late 1950s when Tibetan and Nepalese immigrants migrated to the city in large numbers and found ready employment in the many kitchens that can now be found on virtually every street in Kolkata.
Momo, Thukpa, chop suey, different recipes of noddle, manchurian and many more have now become part and parcel of our everyday food habits and can be found everywhere in the region. The various eateries at Chinatown, Tangra and the morning breakfast market at Terreti Bazar, Kolkata serves the best and authentic Indo-Chinese food and always filled with crowd.
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The Colonial Influence
When the ships of the different European colonizer and tradesmen touched the shores of India and Bengal, they bring in with them an array of vegetables and other food items with them such as potato, tomato, chili pepper, okra, cheese, cauliflower, cabbage, jelly, biscuits etc. But these new vegetables and food items were were not so popular until the British became the administrators of Bengal and promoted those things for mass consumption.
The shift in the eating culture began with the expansion of the British paramountcy in Bengal and reached its culmination during the early 20th century. As the British Colonies expanded through out the globe and Kolkata being its center (other than London) people from various countries arrived in the city. They set up various shops in the city and made puff pastries, channa, chocolate, chips, chop, cutlet, rosogolla & ledikini etc. all gained tremendous popularity during this time. British also brought in tea, coffee and various types of biscuits and snacks which gave birth to the cafe culture in the city.
Flourish, Peter Cat, Nahoum, Mancherji's at Esplanade and Park Street area, The Great Indian Coffee House at college street are some famous cafes in Kolkata. These cutlets, chops & juices became the lifelines of the bengali cafes such as Basanta, Mitra, Anadi, Paradise & these are still popular amongst the population since their foundation a century ago. To know more about these places and their rich history follow my blog FoodSense.
The Impact of Globalization & Western Influence
As a multi-lingual and multi-cultural city Kolkata's cuisine has always embrace the changes and shifts in the taste & preferences of its people. As one of the centers of economic activities many communities has migrated into the city and brought in their cuisines most notably the Marwari & the Jain community and their influence on the city's cuisine can be seen prominently.
Another shift took place when Indian economy was opened to the world in the early 90s. The liberalization of the economy brought in the phenomenon called globalization. As the country was getting more and more connected with the western developed countries it also created demand for western cuisine amongst Indian population. This made the entry of large western food chains possible in Indian markets. Soon food chains like Dominoz, McDonalds opened their shops in every major city of the country and instantly they become popular amongst the population specially amongst the gen-Y.
With the success of these western food joints in India, we have also seen the rapid expansions of Indian food joints such as Pizza Hut, Wow Momo etc in the city. As more and more of these businesses become successful new business models were developed and the stores of these food joints spread in every major hubs of the city thanks to the franchisee business. Who would have thought that one day we can get the taste of Italian pizzas, Mexican Tacos, Middle eastern shawarmas & American burger and fries so easily, just in the reach of our hands, thanks to globalization.
It is the influence of the western food culture and trends that now we can see theme based restaurants, fine dining restaurants or restaurants that specialized on a particular cuisine or food item everywhere in the city. They all have found their niche in the city.
This large corporate food chains come with huge amount of resources and with their extensive marketing campaign they can create havoc in the industry and nearly drive out the local business very easily. This is very much happening in the food industry as well. As people are growing more and more fondness toward these style of food culture, it is hampering the local cuisines. But Kolkata is known for embracing its heritage, culture and traditions no matter what happens. The beauty of Kolkata lies in the attitude of accepting changes but keeping a strong hold onto the culture and tradition and food is of no exception to this attitude. It is for this reason that you can see that traditional & modern eateries co-existing and thriving at the same time.
To know more about Kolkata's food, their reviews and much more, follow my blog FoodSense.
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