Chicken Roll from Elfin Bar

My foodie eyes had noticed sometime back that Elfin Bar & Restaurant, an old bar on Meredith Street (Near Bentinck Street crossing) frequented by officegoers in CBD had opened a takeaway fast food counter. It mainly sells rolls. Tried its chicken roll the other day. It was better in taste than the ones you get in sundry roll shops around, because of better ingredients, cooking and that it was made with oil instead of vanaspati (which leaves a stickiness on your tongue long after). The prices are regular. The chicken roll cost Rs 20. Would like to come back.

Mutton Handi Kebab at Gypsy

Tried this new dish - Mutton Handi Kebab - at Gypsy - a new restaurant on Chandni Chowk Street (near GC Avenue crossing). I had been craving for some spicy mutton dish for some days, though I had gone there for kebabs. I looked at the photo of the dish once on the menu and ordered it....and didn't regret. It was super yummy!

Mutton Handi Kebab is a spicy and oily dish with small pieces of boneless mutton in very little gravy. At Gypsy they served it with coriander leaves on it. Polished it off with a lachchha paratha, but a naan / butter naan would be a better choice. Priced at Rs 70, it's a tempting deal for any foodie looking for value for money.

Found this picture of handi kebab on the net for putting here as a reference. This was more or less how it looked (Though the dish in the picture is beef).

Gypsy is from the owners of Aminia, the famous Mughlai restaurant at Dharmatala. Kebab seems to be its speciality and it serves them at extremely reasonable prices (within Rs 70-80). It's just a few steps away from Sabir. Am looking forward to try the regular kebabs at Gypsy.

The AMRI Fire

I have little to add on the devastating fire that broke at one of the top and expensive private hospitals (AMRI at Dhakuria) at around 3.30 am that shook the city today. The death toll, rising possibly every hour, reportedly stands at close to 90 now, apparently most of them patients, including many old and immobile. The fire started at the basement and rose up to the second floor.

This is the second biggest fire the city witnessed haplessly after the one at Stephen Court in March 2010!

What I find particularly shocking is that the fire safety of such an advanced institution where people would come to save lives of near and dear ones against hefty expenditure apparently left a lot to be desired! Did they have smoke alarms, I wonder!

As per last update, the CM Mamata Banerjee, who's also the Minister of Health, has cancelled the license of the hospital. Six directors of AMRI (most of them big names in the industry) have been arrested.

This incident has tarnished the goodwill of the AMRI chain (They have another full-fledged hospital in Salt Lake and a newly started maternity and pediatric hospital at Mukundapur on EM Bypass) majorly and the group (Promoted by two leading local business groups - Emami and Shrachi) will have to struggle hard to revive it in the coming years. The healthcare chain expanded remarkably in the last 10 years. Public memory is short in general, but since this is healthcare this nightmare is not going to fade away easily. This incident should also lead to a new benchmark of fire safety standards in private hospitals in Kolkata.

The offenders should receive exemplary punishment in the court of law and the government should leave no stones unturned to do the needful. It's good to know that the CM has vowed the 'harshest punishment possible' for the guilty.

Looking forward to the development that follows.

Two ‘Kachuri’ Experiences

1. Tucked away in Meredith Street, near the Bentinck Street Crossing, is this low-profile, old vegetarian eatery ‘Shivam’s’. It serves a variety of vegetarian fare at down-to-earth prices. It’s my favourite place to eat when I opt for a roti lunch at work and have the time to go out.

Was feeling very hungry post-work last Tuesday evening (the Muharram day). As all the joints I went to were closed, I settled for Shivam’s. Had kachori and alur tarkari (Potato curry). The kachoris were thick and the curry was light, cooked home-style, with less gravy and more potatoes. The curry is markedly different from any other place serving the same food. It was a tasty and filling evening snack with four kachoris (At Rs 16).

Had written about its singara and vegetable chop last year in a tiny post Evening Snacks.

2. This run down telebhaja (Kind of fried Bengali snacks) shop at a dilapidated house at 17 Dixon Lane (Now known as Shahid Sushil Dasgupta Sarani, adjacent to Prachi cinema) is popular for its cheap kachoris. Till two years back or so, it sold kachoris at an unbelievable Re 1 a piece. Went there this morning for kachoris after a long time. The price stands slightly higher at Rs 1.50 a piece now, but the taste is equally good as last time. Keeping with the season, green peas show in the delicious alur tarkari served with the kachori. They also sell jilipi, beguni, alur chop, phuluri, and dhoka among other things.

The Mutton Roll at Anil Saha

When Anil Saha, a businessman experienced in the fast food business opened his roll shop (Named ‘Anil Saha’) next to the extremely popular Kohinoor roll centre in Barrackpore Chiria More in the 90’s, many were apprehensive of its success. It was mostly because of Kohinoor’s popularity.

It didn’t take him long before he proved all wrong with a roaring success. It became one of the hottest roll joints in Barrackpore. It has been one of my favourite local joints since then.

One of its best items is the mutton roll. Full with juicy pieces of soft mutton, cooked in a light gravy (Somewhat home-style), it’s just the way a good mutton roll should be. Making this food is indeed an art that few roll joints even in Kolkata city have mastered. The mutton roll from Anil Saha has been a hot favourite since our student days when it would be considered an occasional indulgence considering the megre pocket money we used to receive from our parents.

Went to the place yesterday with an old friend equally fond of the mutton roll. And we ordered it! And it felt great to experience the same old taste! We felt nostalgic. It costs Rs 35 now, but delivers complete value for money. They make the paratha with white oil, not with vanaspati unlike other roll joints. So there’s no greasy aftertaste caused by vanaspati.

For those interested, it’s located behind Roy Optical which is a well-known optical store right at Chiria More junction, near the island. And anyone around can help with direction.

The toast at Chittababu's Shop

My recent visits to this favourite place after a long gap and savouring their toasts brought me to this post.

There are toasts available in the city (at numerous street shops and small joints) and then there are toasts made at Chittababu’s Shop! I sincerely believe few make toasts as good as Chittababu’s Shop. Crisp and brown at places, with a thin streak of just absorbed butter in the middle and a dash of salt ‘n’ pepper sprinkled over. Umm….pure bliss! This non-descript yet legendary shop at Dacres Lane (at Esplanade East, a few minutes walk from Dharmalata / Esplanade metro station) is the eternal favourite of the large population of local officegoers.

Apart from toasts, the ghughni made at this place is extremely popular and markedly different from the regular stuff you get outside home. The ghughni is darker, thicker and taken with two toasts can make you feel full. The package comes at Rs 14. If you take plain toasts (without butter), that’s preferred by many, it will cost Rs 12. A great alternative to ghughni (with toasts) is the liver curry – small pieces of chicken liver in a mildly spicy vegetable curry can make for a memorable evening snack.

Their tea also stands out and needless to say is preferred by many to pair with toast or round off their evening snacking.

The shop is also famous for its fish fry and stew. There are many other pop picks like fish roll, fish pakora and fish chop. They have also been serving chilli chicken and maybe one or two odd Chinese dishes for some years but that cuisine is definitely not their forte and doesn’t reflect their culinary expertise. I also used to love their chicken pakora. A small pakora with juicy chicken inside, a wee bit sweeter than regular chicken pakoras (because of the filling) would make it outstanding. They would come at just Rs 7 apiece. But on my last visit observed that the pakora has become smaller and the taste wasn’t as good. Is rapidly rising prices the culprit? Would have loved if they priced it at Rs 10 and made it a bit larger, while not compromising on the taste. Was the double-digit price a difficult decision to make? I wonder.

(You may also read my old post Chittababu's Shop).

Chakhori Corner - the Kolkata food blog

I found this blog about Kolkata food called Chakhori Corner some months back. And being a true blue foodie with a strong academic interest on eating out, got hooked to it. Three foodie college girls - Jahnavi, Sohini and Sreeparna - review restaurants on this blog with rating on various parameters comprising decor, cleanliness, service, taste and value for money. Each post mentions portion size (i.e. one portion is ideal for how many heads) and cost of individual dishes and their photographs.

The eateries are mostly in the budget category and spread in south and central Kolkata, across cuisines. The cuisines show in the various labels listed at the right, so you can pick up a cuisine and check out posts on various restaurants reviewed under it.

What I especially like about Chakhori Corner is that it shares a down-to-earth and extremely honest view about the restaurants. The bloggers are not in awe about any place and thus don't get carried away. 'Value for money' is an attribute that is sincerely reflected in all the posts. Hence, apart from being a reliable Kolkata food blog, it's worth trusting for the value conscious and price sensitive Kolkatans. There are reasons that it has more than 100 followers, who I believe, are mostly from the city.

It also lists a few easy-to-do recipes of common Bengali delicacies.

They also have a Facebook page. See it here.

A definite recommendation!

A-1 Haji Fast Food Centre

When this new fast food centre opened in Baguiati (in Ashwini Nagar, near Phoira Bhawan) last year, a lot of locals must have expected to get quality biryani and mutton delicacies, because the name ‘Haji’ is legendary in Kolkata for its quality raw mutton from numerous outlets across the city. It was seen that the mutton roll sold at A-1 Haji Fast Food Centre is cheaper than average. The reason is not a difficult guess, the raw mutton is in-sourced.

Soon after it was opened, it was a hit in the area. Food flies off the counter in the evening.

Had brought its biryani to a reception at home last week. Must say I was impressed with the quality. Post a ‘genuinely’ positive feedback from the guests, when I started on the biryani it wasn’t exactly hot. But it was yummy. The mutton was succulent. Yes, it was a little rich, but that’s fine. Even after eating to my heart’s content there wasn’t any uneasiness.

The prices are quite reasonable. Let’s look at some of the items : Mutton biryani sells at Rs 70, special mutton biryani Rs 110 (with 2 pieces of mutton and a larger quantity of rice), chicken biryani Rs 65, special chicken biryani Rs 100, chicken chaap Rs 50, mutton kassa Rs 70 (full) and Rs 35 (half), chicken kassa Rs 60 (full) and Rs 30 (half), special masala tikia Rs 20, chicken roll Rs 20, mutton roll Rs 22, special tikia roll Rs 17 and chicken boti kabab Rs 60 (There’s no mutton variety).

Hope to explore its mutton roll and other dishes.

For those more interested to check it out, it’s located at HC1 Ashwini Nagar, Baguiati, Kolkata 59, and can be reached at 32562688.

The 'Fitted' Fashion

Went to Big Bazaar last Sunday to pick up a t-shirt. I last bought a t-shirt quite a few years ago.

Picked up a turquoise blue round neck and went into the trial room. And…did not like the fit at all. It was making my thirties stomach bulge (an office bulge to be precise, the average one you have thanks to sitting long hours at the desk) too prominent. It was a close fit. Thought of changing to a dark colour that has the ‘hiding’ quality. Tried a dark grey, but the fit of the large size (which is my size) still left a lot to be desired. The bulge wasn’t showing much because of the dark colour, but not that it couldn’t be noticed at all. Finally I had to pick up an XL for the fit to be acceptable. Something I have never had to do ever in my life.

The experience in the trial room gave me a hard realization that this in an age of the fitted fashion as far as western clothes are concerned. If it’s fashionable, it’s got to be fitting. T-shirts to shirts, all follow your contour, and some of them do it closely (the body fit). Yes, you are a bit relieved with short shirts that are a bit loose (unless you are grossly out of shape). In our younger times, it was different. T-shirts were loose, and shirts were looser. When not tucked in, shirts looked shapeless. So unless one was absolutely out of shape he wouldn’t need to be much careful about the fit. Cut to today’s times, those who are conscious about how they look in clothes need to be extra careful about the fit.

A fun question

Met a colleague on another's invitation last Sunday evening. He was dressed in a nice, long burnt orange kurta and faded blue jeans. We discussed how his teenage son keeps borrowing his clothes and footwear as he (the son) feels like. There's another colleague who is often teased by us for often wearing his teenage son's tees to work.

Both guys are in their forties and in reasonably good shape for their age. And they are fine exchanging (or letting the son borrow) clothes with their children. There must be many like them in the city. Which brings me to the question : Are their many women in the city too who exchange clothes (no, not saree) with their daughters?

Calcutta Times : The Saturday Avatar

Needed to put in this clarification after my two recent posts : The New Calcutta Times on October 8 and Calcutta Times : a put off after a great hope on October 10.

Well, it's permanent. And it's ONLY on Saturday. On Saturdays, Calcutta Times is donning this exciting tabloid avatar. Apart from familiar sections it has a cover story. The interviews are also structured differently, with more pictures and text boxes, to suit the tabloid format. Loved the interview of the actor brothers Gaurav and Arjun Chakraborty (Of Gaaner Opare fame), also known as the sons of the well-known actor couple Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Mithu Chakraborty, on the October 29 edition (See the cover in picture).

Looking forward to the Saturdays for one more reason!

(Picture sourced from The Times of India e-paper)

A nip in the air

There is a nip in the air....and the mind (the body too) is ready to embrace the season (despite the ongoing bout of flu). The sun is mellow, and inviting us to find more occasions to go out and feel it. And yes......food beckons ...vegetable chop, phulkopir singara, koraishutir kachuri , hot momos, stews and soups..nolen gurer sandesh, gurer rosogolla ...and much, much more as the body is prepared for a long and varied gastronomic journey ahead.

Enjoy Kolkata!! And drop your take on the above, especially your favourite winter foods.

A milestone

Am absolutely loving to share with you, the KC readers, that KC has just crossed 60,000 page views. Considering the count is since its birth in May 2006, that's close to 1000 page views a month! And that's pretty good by the standards of an Indian blog.

Thank you readers from the core of my heart, for visiting. Special thanks go to the followers of this blog. Hope it makes their following KC more worthwhile.

Keep visiting and keep contributing through comments, suggestions, info on and pictures of this lovely city. Hope to have a long journey together.

The Date with Tin Tin

After a fairly long time I’m keenly awaiting a Hollywood movie. Tin Tin, one of the favourite comic strip heroes of our generation, that grew up in the seventies and eighties, is coming back with a bang to the celluloid after almost four decades of his last screen outing.

The iconic comic strip by Herge (as he was popularly known) from Belgium, was first published in Bengali among all Indian languages. Two pages of the adventures of Tin Tin was a permanent feature of Anandamela- the popular fortnightly children’s magazine from the ABP group, and it was the first thing that I would invariably check out immediately after grabbing a new copy. The comic strip stayed as Anandamela went through a transformation over time, including converting to the regular size from a small size (that of a regular book) that is my first memory of the magazine and Tin Tin as well.

I followed Tin Tin, a young, boyish-looking reporter with a golden tuft that was sort of his brand identity, having a penchant for cracking mysteries, through his series of adventures that took him through various places across globe from desserts to the land of Red Indians, and even moon. He and his dog Snowy were often accompanied in the adventures by Captain Haddock, the hardcore mariner with an amusingly colourful vocabulary. And the duo would often come across Professor Calculus, the semi-deaf inventor whose famous line was ‘More to the west’, and the twin detectives Thompson and Thompson known for messing up things more than solving cases. To make it suit the language, especially the school-going readers, Snowy was called Kuttus and the detective duo Johnson and Rohnson in Anandamela, and later in the Bengali edition of Tin Tin books published by Penguin. Tin Tin sailed across many incredibly challenging and life-threatening situations by virtue of his quick wit and vast knowledge.

The attraction of the movie in question, apart from the fact that it is largely a 3D-animation-based (with actors playing the famous characters besides a completely animated, perfect-looking Snowy), hence a smarter version unlike the previous ones, and that the pirate villain is played by Daniel Craig, is that it is directed by none other than the great Steven Spielberg, a self-confessed Tin Tin buff. Fate came between him and his dream movie for a few decades before he filmed ‘The Adventures of Tin Tin : The Sectret of the Unicorn’ (about a sunken treasure in a huge ship named Unicorn, one of my favourite Tin Tin adventures) that is releasing worldwide in phases now. It has released first in Belgium, the country of Herge, and where Tin Tin is a national icon, on 26th October, followed by other European countries, Asia, Africa, the Australia continent and finally in North and Latin America through December ’11 – January ‘12. It is releasing across India on November 11.

Can’t wait to set a date with my childhood hero after November 11!! Am sure, scores of Kolkatans who have been avid Tin Tin readers in their younger years are feeling as nostalgic or more. Would also like find it out for myself how the young reporter fares on celluloid in the age of famous big screen versions of Spiderman, Batman and Harry Potter.

Pictures : 1. Tin Tin & Snowy from the comics, 2. The movie poster of 'The Adventures of Tin Tin : The Sectret of the Unicorn' and 3. Tin Tin and Captain Haddock from the movie.

Dining at Anand

Had heard a lot about Anand - the south Indian cuisine restaurant - a lot before I moved to my new workplace in April 2011 at Chandni Chowk where it is located. Naturally I was keen to check it out thereafter.

By now I have been there a couple of times, and I love their long and perfectly crisp masala dosa which has a lightly cooked potato filling, and the mixed uttapam too. The sambhar particularly appeals to me. The sambhar and coconut chutney are refilled whenever required, without call, and at no extra cost. The service is quick, and if you order dosa it's the quickest. The dishes are priced at just a small premium. A masala dosa comes close to Rs 50 (without VAT). The lassi is good too, and I guess the other south Indian items that I haven't tried are more or less similarly good in taste.

They serve north Indian dishes (Like chana batora, chaats etc) too.

Naturally the air-conditioned joint is a favourite among officegoers in the CBD. Be prepared to wait for some time at lunch hour though the sitting capacity isn't small.

What many may not know is that Anand makes good veg pizzas too. It was recommended by my foodie boss and I vouch for that after tasting two varieties. And they are much inexpensive considering the quality. Wish to taste their mushroom pizza some day.

A feat at CMRI

Here's a friend's post on Facebook (My additions are in bold):
CMRI (Calcutta Medical Research Institute), Kolkata rejoined 4 severed fingers of a 3-year old girl (from Ghatal, in Bengal) in a 8-hour long operation on 13th October 2011. Congrats docs! She's expected to recover fully in about 6 months.

A few years ago doctors at the same hospital successfully rejoined the severed hands of a factory worker from Hooghly who carried his own limb to the hospital wrapped in a plastic bag.


Take a bow, docs at CMRI, for your magic on limbs!!

Sandesh from Nakur

The client treated with two varieties of sandesh from Nakur Chandra Nandy, the famous sweet shop near Hedua, on occasion of Bijoya. Nakur's sandesh is legendary and a bite into the soft (Naram pak variety) chocolate sandesh was ample proof of that. As the liquid chocolate came out of its core, it felt heavenly. It's difficult to stop at one even for someone without a sweet tooth like me (also considering I'm watching my diet these days). The other one, a regular ‘Naram pak’ sandesh, was great too.

Calcutta Times : a put off after a great hope

Unfortunately Calcutta Times was back to its old broadsheet avatar on Sunday, October 9 (Re: My last post The New Calcutta Times) and it continues today. The hope for a proper tabloid-style avatar, giving t2 a run for its money, crashed.

The new Calcutta Times

The brand new tabloid size avatar of Calcutta Times was a pleasant surprise this morning. Am loving it! Noticed that it is now talking to its readers directly (Like "We'll let the photo speak" or "We're ready to insure it"), just like t2 does it.

Loved the naughty cover story on the most 'insurable' assets of the beauties of Bangla film industry.

t2, you have serious competition now. The Kolkata tabloid scene looks set to be more exciting!

(Picture sourced from The Times of India e-paper)

Pujo 2011

It was decently spent. Through pandal-hopping at Barrackpore (checked out the first theme Puja - known to me- there), home-cooked mutton curry on Nabami, Salt Lake Pujas and Kakurgachhi-Sribhumi-Lake Town Pujas.

Didn't find the idols impressive this year. The patterns were too common, except for a bit of innovation like Lake Town Pradip Sangha (Conceived by Artist Prashanta Pal), and Salt Lake FD block (just the sheer size, all of 51 feet). The leading trend was the Jamini Roy-influenced style. I felt that the attention of the Puja organisers has drifted from the idol, (very unlike what it was in the 90's) and set on attracting huge footfall with newer and sensational themes in pandal. Some 'arty' idols were pretty small in size, rivaling a Saraswati idol one sees at the time of Saraswati Puja. Didn't find a single memorable face among the idols, and sorely missed the traditional angry face of Durga.

The auto rickshaws, of great help during pandal-hopping, made a killing, fleecing the vulnerable passengers. I was charged Rs 15 (the regular fare is Rs 8) for Ultadanga to City Centre and an incredible Rs 20 for Baishakhi to Ultadanga (More than double the fare). Was so irritated in the latter case that I refused to pay in change initially.

Didn't also find anything new in the street food, except for the Fruity Freeze range of Rollick ice creams. Had the Daab Malai flavour. Innovative and good in taste, but wish they used more of green coconut pulp instead of a mix of the same and coconut with the ice cream. The price (Rs 30 a single scoop) was exorbitant too! The rest was the same, routine roll-phuchka-ghughni-bhel puri-papri chaat-chowmein and ice cream. With an increasing number of cuisines on offer in the restaurants, it was time Kolkata expanded it's street food offerings too!