Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, is a hub for foodies to try authentic flavours of Bengali cuisine. From Vivekananda Park to Dacre Lane, the nooks and crannies of the city are bustling with food stalls selling hot piping tea, Bengali sweets, phuchka, and other lip-smacking dishes that are sure to leave anyone in gastronomical heaven.
Video Credit: Chef Ranveer Brar/ YouTube
Recently, actor Hina Khan was in Kolkata shooting her recent project. She shared a few glimpses of what she enjoyed in between her shoots, and the images are sure to make you crave all that the actor shared on her Instagram stories. From hot rosogolla (rasgulla) to kulhad wali chai (tea in an earthen pot), it looked like Hina Khan made the best of her work trip.
Image Credit: Hina Khan/ Instagram
While the actor often shares her workout routine on Instagram, seeing her indulging in sweets and street food is a fun sight for her fans. Here are a couple of food items that the actor relished on her sets.
Puchka
Among popular street foods in India, phuchka is the most famous, especially in the Northern parts of the country. Pani puri (deep-fried spheres of wheat or rava dough) are filled with potato mixture, chickpea, onions, and Bengal gram. It is later dipped into spicy green water and sweet and tangy tamarind chutney. As soon as you put these little liquid-filled spherical balls in your mouth, a burst of all flavours leaves your taste buds satiated. Hina Khan got a small poly-bag filled with phuchka and spicy water.
Places to eat phuchka in Kolkata: Shree Thakur Pandit Ka Phuchka Jitendra & Mina Pandit, (Vivekananda Park) and Kolkata Chat Centre (Bara Bazar)
Sandesh
Sandesh (shondesh) is a popular milk-based Bengali sweet. If you haven’t tried it, especially when you are in Bengal, you are missing out on a lot. It is made using condensed milk and jaggery. Once the mixture is dense enough to be moulded into shapes, sandesh is ready to be served. If you explore the sweet shops in the capital city of West Bengal, you can locate many many flavours like chocolate sandesh, coconut sandesh, and gulab sandesh.
Places to buy sandesh in Kolkata: Chandra Nag(Nirmal Chandra Dey Street), Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick (Raj Danga and Park Street), Ganguram (BBD Bagh and Sarat Bose Road), and Nalin Chandra Das & Sons (Rashbehari Avenue)
Rajbhog and Rosogolla
Rosogolla and rajbhog are like cousins. Rosogolla is a sweet dish made out of chhena while rajbhog has a delightful stuffing of saffron, dry fruits, and cardamom seeds). You can easily find these desserts in any sweet shop in Kolkata. Hina Khan claimed that she ate 10 rosogolla, and now all her fans know what sweet dish she cherishes the most.
Places to buy rosogolla in Kolkata: Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick (Raj Danga and Park Street), Nani Lal Ghosh (Hatibagan), Suresh Mistanna Bhandar (Dhakuria), and Chittaranjan Mistanna Bhandar (Shyambazar Street)
Payesh
In one of the stories of Hina Khan, she shared a couple of Bengali sweets she ate in Kolkata. One that stood out was payesh served in an earthen pot. The dessert is made with milk, sugar, dry fruits, rice, and ghee. Cardamom and bay leaf are also added to the rice pudding to add a kick of strong flavours. Chanar payesh, shemair payesh, and lauer payesh are a few of its lip-smacking variants of payesh.
Places to buy payesh in Kolkata: Nalin Chandra Das & Sons (Rashbehari Avenue) and Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick (Raj Danga and Park Street)