Is it ready?
-Please have it.
What did he say? 
-He is like take it.
This is a quintessential street food from Kolkata
You see the main ingredient is puffed rice. Then there is Gram, Peanuts
Then he added that mixture, cucumber, onion, green chilies and coriander
There is little potato as well.
-Potatoes, coconut and two kinds of spice mix
One is rock salt and the other one is a mixture of roasted cumin and coriander seeds
Then there is lemon  juice and most important ingredient is mustard oil
That gives the unique taste to the puffed rice mixture.
I saw that he was even customizing it for people
If somebody likes this he is adding it and so
How long you have been her?
How old is the shop?
-Forty years.
From when and till when do you keep the shop open?
From 7 am to 10 pm
Do people eat Jhal Muri so early in the day?
Yes because Bengali loves puffed rice
The Jhal Muri has an interesting story.
During World War II
The Biharis who migrated from Bihar, primarily Bihar and they came to Kolkata
And they used to sell it  to the soldiers; the American soldiers in World War II
So that is how Jhal Muri got popular with American soldiers in Kolkata when they were stationed here.
That is quite an interesting fact.
The word Jhal Muri is a combination of the  words Jhal i.e. spices and Muri i.e. puffed rice
Also like because it is a mixture of everything right... there isn't just puffed rice but many other things
It is like a word for likr to describe something that is multi cultural
It is a mixture of everything
The word like Khichudi, Jhal Muri... we use it to describe things that are a mixture of everything
Thank You.
Now we will try a different type of Sandesh. and not the regular Sandesh
We will try the chocolate sandesh
I think that the best shop in the city that makes and sells chocolate Sandesh is Ghosh and Co.
It looks completely like a chocolate.
-Yes it is the CHocolate Sandesh
It has a hard chocolate coating on the top
Below it there is soft, gooey Sandesh
There is dry fruits as well
Its taste seems like we are having five star
It is like a Patishapta but in a  Sandesh
So Patishapta is a dessert
That is stuffed with grated coconut
This is like a sandesh version of it
The Sandesh is stuffed with cocconut
It is like a Sandwich Sandesh
It has different layers hence it is called the Sandwich Sandesh
On top there is a layer of Malai, then Sandesh and another layer of Sandesh
Wow
How many varieties of Sandesh do you have?
How many? Do you have any proper count
25, 30, 40
During any occasion there are more items.
-Is this mango?
My God so many varieties of Sandesh?
Thank You brother
Now we have arrived at Ramdulal Street
Here we will taste Kolkata's best Sandesh at Girish Chandra and Nakur Chandra Nandy
Established in 1844
-Yes
It is one of the oldest in this city.
And they are known for making Sandesh and nothing else
You won't get any other item in the menu
There is o Rosogolla, there is no Gulab Jamun, only Sandesh
They do one thing and they do that the best
You serve only Sandesh. that is it.
Here you will get only Sandesh and nothing else.
What all flavours do we have here?
Here you have been given the traditional Kadapak Jal Bhara
this is the JalBhara, the hard one
You also get a soft one as well
Inside it there is liquid jaggery
This is not a traditional item. It is a fusion item called Mohini Sandesh
What is it?
In it you have Malai, coconut, cottage cheese and jagegry
Sir can you tell us why there is this iron grill in front of your shop?
I haven't seen any shop like this ever
Its a matter before my birth.
This iron grill was put as a protection measure during the Naxal period
It has continued being there since then and haven't changed
It is to protect the place from Naxal attack
There were disturbances going on during the Naxal period
So the Naxal period in Bengal's history was  a highly politically disturbed and turbulent period
For security reasons they had essentially put up this barricade
And you haven't removed it since then
Yes its a traditional touch
This is the Jal Bhara Sandesh
It is made during the winters
In winters you get the jaggery one and in rest of the time you get the sugar one
This is the jaggery one
Wow
You are having the Kada Pak which is a traditional item
You also get a Soft Jal Bhara
That is a semi fusion item
The base of the sandesh is cottage cheese only
pure cottage cheese nothing else
cottage cheese, sugar and jaggery
It has dry fruits as well
There is cashews as well
What is the relationship between sandesh and Bengali culture
Sandesh and Bengali culture is deeply integrated into each other
Sandesh is an auspicious thing in any kind of delightful occasion
So we Bengalis tend to start any good event with Sandesh
We even eng it with sandesh. like Durga Puja begins with Sandesh and ends with Sandesh
Not only Puja, any occasion like wedding etc happens with Sandesh
Like in any auspicious occasion we have Sandesh
So it is used for puja as well. That is what he said.
You are half way there.
-Before leaving I will be a complete Bengali
Very nice sir it was totally moist and soft
I really liked it. it has the liquid jaggery
It is slightly more sweet than others. it is called the Kada pak
Which is the classic Sandesh?
This one that you are eating, the Kada Pak Jal Bhara is the classic one
You have many other varieties as well like  blueberry, kiwi
Yes these are all fusion items
This is the samosa made of cashew sandesh
This one is the coffee one, sugar free one
What is the round one?
-It is Manohara
On top there is a coating of Jaggery
And inside their is sandesh
Coffee is mixed in this sandesh and on top there is chocolate chips
Wow
It has such a strong flavour of coffee
I had never thought of trying cottage cheese with coffee
How did you like it?
How many varieties are there ?
30 to 40 varieties
I liked the fact that the sweets here were not that sweet
It was just pure Cheena
And specially the Mohini sandesh was quite tasty
where are we going next?
Next we are going to have yellow pea chaat
Hedua Chaat Center
That's being here for 79 years
And Ghugni is also an iconic dish in Kolkata
We have Ghugni for breakfast
And the chaat that you get here is very tasty
This is Gugni Samosa Chaat
Samosa, Ghugni , Sev, Spices, lemon, coriander and onions
I have eaten from his grandfather as well
Who made it more tasty?
They have the same taste
The Singhara that you are eating doesn't have any potatoes in it.
Then what is there in it?
There is a lentil stuffing
I am astonished that the shop is 80 years old
He said he has been eating from his grandfather's time
Lot of my acquaintances have eaten here
They live in front of the liberty cinema
anyone who is travelling to this area will come and eat here
It doesn't harms you hence the next morning too you feel lighter.
This Gugni is yellow peas.
-Yes
 
At many places the black gram is also known as Ghugni
In Kolkata, Ghugni is this only
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For instance chicken cutlet, fish cutlet
So these were the popular snacks during the British times
And that passed down to the upper class Bengali men.
He was mentioning about the Babu culture, the babus
they used to love eating cutlets and chops because
they felt that they matched up to the stature of the British
It was like trying to incorporated the Bengali references
You have chops and cutlets served with Kasundi
When Britishers used to have chops and cutlets
they have to make it out of local ingredients right
So if you see the British cook books from 1800s
There you have a lot of recipes
That are made by the combination of Bengali and British influence
So now we are at Jatindra Mohan Avenue
And now we are going to try Kolkata's version, Bengal's version of fish and chips
Which is fish right
and the best place to try it is obviously the  Mitra Cafe
which is again 100 years old
There is a limited menu for the vegetarians
Limited options are there
So mostly there is mutton, prawn, biryani, chicken and pudding
What are we going to try?
-Fish Fry
The texture of these two items almost appears the same.
-yes
Both have been fried using bread crumbs
This one is spicy
The Kasundi is strong as well, very strong.
The taste of the Kasundi is different at different places
At some places it is strong, at some it is lighter and in some places it is sweeter
Exactly
Like the one that we had tried at Dilkhush Cabin had a little bit of sweetness
At Allen it has a thin consistency
And the one here is very strong
In this there is chicken mince
and some chicken pieces as well
The chicken is hand pounded
and then it has been batter fried with spices
The customers here are mostly office goers
There are those who are returning from the   office and are getting it packed
It is like an evening snack and dinner time thing as well
So finally we will end with a Kolkata style Paan
Bhaiya a Paan Please.
With this we will end our North Kolkata food tour
Today's day was great
Today we got the real feel of Kolkata.
Which you call Calcutta, Kolkata or Cal
We tried so many things
we traveled in the local transport
In yellow taxis, trams
Also we roamed around the lanes and went to Kumartuli
We tried to grasp the culture and life over here
And also tried the local dishes
Many Many thanks to you
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
