11 lip-smacking street foods of Kolkata

Kolkata as the capital city of West Bengal breeds nostalgia, and once you are there, you never feel like leaving the city. Simply the reasons are-the easy city life, the warmth of people and last but not the least-cheap and finger-licking Bengali street food. From easy-to-make Phuchka to the overdose of Chhanar Jilipi, the city offers everything regional that your taste buds would love to relish. Here is a list of 11 must-have street foods that truly reflect the diversity of Bengali cuisine.

Here the monsoon evenings are incomplete without the smoking hot delights that are made with besan batter, eggplant, onion, and potato, and are best served with masala tea. FYI, Telebhaja refers to pakodas deep fried in oil. Period!

Well, there is nothing alien about this street snack. What we call as ‘Samosa’ is what Bengalis call as ‘Singara’. The difference lies in the stuffing, size, and shape. Here, the stuffing consists of cauliflower, potato, coconut, roasted peanuts, and mustard oil. Singara is comparatively smaller in size, as compared to samosa.

Golgappas of Delhi and Panipuri of Bombay has a soul sister in Bengal and is called Phuchka. Here, this street dish is so famous that you can easily find more than 25 types of phuchkas in the City of Joy. Sounds tempting?

It’s a famous breakfast dish in the city that is no less than a saviour for the bachelors of the capital and can be relished on streets near every office building along with cutting chai or chach. (Image: instagram/foodgram_india)

Keemar Doi Bora is the Bengali version of ‘Dahi Vada’. This sweet and savoury dish involves deep-fried balls of minced meat soaked in a pool of sweetened and spiced yoghurt. You can easily spot the stalls of Doi Bora across the city.

Visit the city and try the Kathi rolls available on the street stalls and you will forget the flavour of established brands selling rolls.

Prepared with puffed rice, onion, green chilli, mustard oil, salt, pepper and mustard paste, this street snack is served in a paper cone and is a must-try near the banks of the Hooghly River, and outside Victoria Memorial.

Easily available in every nook and corner of the city, Ghugni is a boiled and pan-fried dish made with white and yellow gram peas. The peas are tossed in a pan along with chopped onion, green chilli, lemon juice, spices and fresh coriander leaves.

Your street food journey in Kolkata is incomplete without crispy fish cutlet and chop that are usually served with ketchup, chilli sauce, and pudina chutney. Tempting?

It is a crushed and dry version of panipuri/phuchka. Easily available on all phuchka stalls, this savoury dish is all about crushed panipuri balls, boiled peas, salt, pepper, tamarind chutney, lemon juice and chilli powder.

Similar to gulab jamun in texture, this sweet delight of Bengali cuisine is made with cottage cheese and can be relished on street stalls selling morning breakfast of (Luchi Aloo). And for those who want a bit of sophistication and hygiene, it can be found in almost every Bengali sweet shop in the city.