Dilip Da.. Kolkata Street Food Icon !!!

#kolkatastreetfood Probably the only Puchka / Gol Gappa seller who first gives you a squeeze of Hand Sanitizer !!! Meet "Dilip Da".. he has been serving Street Food such as Puchka, Dum Aloo, Dahi Puckha etc for the past 40 years (as per Dilip Da, his family has been serving Street Food for the past 100 years). Current Location.. Hindustan Park (Southern Avenue). He is also the only Street Food seller I have met, who keeps a customer comment / feedback Diary.. How cool is that !!!!

PUCHKA !!!

Dahi Puchka

Dum Aalu

Chinese Food for Breakfast ??? ABSOLUTELY !!!

#kolkatastreetfood Tirreta Bazaar in Kolkata, for decades, has been the go to place, for the best Sunday morning hangover cure. Normally a very busy area during the day, this road sees small food stalls being set up by the local Chinese residents, as early as 4.30am on Sunday, and the food last's for only a couple of hours.. Meat Ball soup and Pork Momo served by Bunty.. Prawn Momo served by Lilly.. Pork Fried Momo (to give your liver some extra work).. Comfort food at its best !!!

Meet... BUNTY !!!

Meat Ball Soup and Pork Momo by BUNTY

Prawn Momo

Kolkata Rolls.. and then there is ANAMIKA ROLLS !!!!

#kolkatastreetfood Meet Tarok Da !!! The man behind "Anamika Rolls" in New Alipore, Kolkata (at the Triangular Park). This city is known for its Rolls, but as far as I am concerned, the Rolls at "Anamika" are way ahead of the rest.. Tarok Da, along with his Brothers, have been at the same spot for a few decades.. and sell around 700-800 rolls daily, on an average..

Mr. TAROK.. or should I say.. CHEF TAROK !!!

 

City of Joy.. rather, City of STREET FOOD JOY.. KOLKATA !!

#kolkatastreetfood There is Street Food... and then there is Kolkata Street Food !!!! Its almost as though the Street Food vendors set up shop first, and then the City was built around them.. Most of the busy side walks are paved with small kiosks selling food, and walkers need to resort to using the main road.. beauty is, you don't see anyone complaining. Seems like a perpetual carnival is on in this city. Kolkata is known as the "City of Joy".. with such a verity of food on offer, how can a city be anything but Joyful !!!!

NOTE : I will upload more detailed individual posts of my favourite Street Food Joints in Kolkata. This post is just a very small overview of what Kolkata Street Food has to offer.. I assure you, this is just the tip of the iceberg..

TERRETI BAZAAR.. Chinese Early Morning Breakfast.

KUSUM ROLLS.. Park Street.

VARDAAN MARKET !!!

CAMAC STREET.. Fried Chicken Wings !!!

ANAMIKA ROLLS, New Alipore.. Best Rolls in the World !!!!

GOL PARK !!! Fish Cutlet.

Nizamuddin !!! South Delhi's mini Jama Masjid..

#delhistreetfood How can you talk about Delhi Street Food, and not talk about Nizamuddin !!! Bang in the middle of New Delhi and south of the the real deal, ie, the Jama Masjid area, you get some great kababs, Biryani and Nihari. Went there this evening, as, had the sudden urge.. then again, such urges may be sudden, but tend to happen quite often...

Fried Chicken

Butter Chicken

Seekh Kabab

Nihari

Halwa

Jama Masjid... a Foodies paradise !!!!

#delhistreetfood Took my daughter Tania Bagchi to the Jama Masjid area in Delhi, for an evening filled with FOOD !!!! Started with some "melt in your mouth" Seekh Kabab's at QURESHI.. then had Butter Chicken (that is exactly what it is.. Chicken with melted butter poured on top) and Afghani Chicken (Outstanding !!!), at ANMOL CHICKEN CORNER.. had some Boti Kabab at LALU..Then on to some Nihari at HILAL.. Washed it down with "Pyar Mohabbat Mazaa", which is the name of a refreshing drink made with Milk, RoohAfza and pieces of Watermelon.. and finally rounded the evening off with some Kulfi Faluda and Shahi Tukda at COOL POINT.. My daughter wanted to have some Biryani, but we left that for next time, as, I wonder why, but we were feeling quite full !!!!!

Seekh Kabab's at QURESHI

ANMOL CHICKEN CORNER

Butter Chicken at ANMOL

Afghani Chicken at ANMOL

Boti Kabab at LALU

Nalli Nehari with a side of Magaz, at HILAL

Pyar Mohabbat Mazaa

Kulfi with Faluda at COOL POINT

Shahi Tukda

Yet another Food Blogger.. Really !!!

You ask, why does this world need YET another wannabe food blogger.. How is this fellow different from all the others ?? For one, I do not intend to write about food being served at fancy places.. My focus would only be on the small hidden gems, or food stalls on the streets, or self taught Cooks, who gave up their secure jobs, in an effort to set up a small place to showcase their cooking talent. I would also try to recognize and write about places serving food that is not normally considered popular cuisine. Basically, the idea is to go out in search of food that is cooked out of sheer passion !!! 

Yes, I do plan to write on food and places to eat, and give my two bits on whats good and what did not excite my palate. I would be sharing my humble opinion, as an individual who has the utmost respect for food, and more so for the person who cooks it. Food that is cooked with passion, can never be reviewed as bad food.. the most one can say is "It did not suit my palate".. Whenever I eat food that bursts with flavour on the first bite, I have visions of the chef having cooked with a smile on his face.. 

So, buckle up.. get ready for a rickshaw ride over pot holes and through crowded by lanes, in an endevour to find those lesser known eating joints, where the focus is purely on taste (with hygiene sometimes taking a back seat)..