Street Food Heaven

With a mind boggling array of street food, the City of Joy also has another secret name, known to anyone who has lived in or visited the city – Street Food Heaven. What makes it even more special, is that almost every street, lane, by-lane, is characterized by numerous street food vendors, who inevitably add a touch of the local flavor.

 Be it the famous puchka, or the alu-kabli, or the jhaalmuri, or be it the steaming momos, or the piping hot Ghugni with chillas, the delicacies are many. To add to the joys of a foodie, all of these come at astonishingly low prices. Roadside stalls that sell chicken, mutton and egg rolls, a delicacy made with paranthas stuffed with the respective filling of meat or egg coupled with a spicy mix of salads and sauces, are a common sight, be it North, South or Central Kolkata. Similarly street vendors selling idli-dosas are seen a dime a dozen, especially during the day. In the evening chaat-walas who concoct scrumptious chaats within a matter of minutes are more popular. Stalls selling Masala Pepsi, Doodh Fanta, roadside lassi for as low as Rs 10 a glass, line the streets in most areas. Throngs of street food vendors are seen catering to excited customers especially outside schools or office areas. Another very popular area where people pile up in the evenings to snack on some mouth-watering delights is Vivekananda Park in South Kolkata.

The thing about street food in Kolkata is that these yummy delights are not only limited to light snacks. You also get full meals at these roadside stalls – a lunch of dal, rice and sabji is available for as cheap as Rs 12 a plate. Street stalls selling biriyani for as cheap as Rs 50 a plate, chowmein, fried rice and other Chinese delicacies are popular in the office areas. If you are thinking street food means unhealthy food, think again – street food here also includes fruit stalls selling fruit salads and fruit juices for as low as Rs 20!

It is a part of the inherent culture and charm of the city to stop by a roadside stall on a busy day and hog on a plate of delicious dahi-vada or aalu chaat. Better still, if it’s a street food vendor in your area, he will not only remember but will customize the taste according to your palate, each time, without you having to ask. It is these small charms of the city because of which it has lived up to its other name – The City of Gastronomical Delights!