The grandest celebration that everyone awaits with bated breath! The time leading up to Durga Puja is something that can’t be explained. And then the days that succeed it are filled with such devotion and joy, and obviously, feasting.
Bengali cuisine offers a delightful selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. And it’s a truth universally acknowledged that all of it must be sampled with due diligence during Durga Puja. You need to dress up, pandal hop to whet the appetite, and then dive into the nearest food stall, cafe, or luxury restaurant in Kolkata for a gastronomic extravagance. There are no exceptions to this rule!
So, in this blog, we will be charting this culinary journey and guiding you to make the best food decisions.
The First Meal of the Day
A Bengali breakfast must begin in the bylanes of Bhowanipore, Sarat Bose Road, or Sukia Street.
If you make plans to start the pandal-hopping early, it’s important to fuel up. So, there’s Sri Hari Mistanna Bhandar, Nandalal Sweets, and Mrityunjoy Ghosh & Sons serving up Bengali breakfast classics. A plate of radhaballabi or kochur with aloor torkari or cholar dal is enough to wake you up and get you going. Oh, wait, don’t think about starting until you have a classic sandesh or roshogolla followed by piping hot tea! Milk tea comes strongly recommended, but for those with lactose intolerance, please give lemon tea a try.
If you have a late start to the day and want a slightly upscale breakfast option, head into one of the best cafes in Kolkata. We recommend The Street in Park Street and Roastery in Hindustan Park as excellent brunch options.
The Divine Lunch Menu
You have restaurants in Park Street, Kolkata, like The Bridge by The Park Hotels Kolkata, that prepare their version of a buffet lunch – Sharodiya Anondo Bhoj (all the Bengali classics). Or you wait a little longer to enjoy bhog. Bhog is the food made during the Puja, as part of its tradition. This is a neighbourhood tradition where members who have donated can enjoy the prasad. The food of the gods usually comprises khichuri with a mix of vegetables called labra. Fried potato, brinjal, or pumpkin is also accompanied by this meal. However, if you’re thinking about how you can get bhog if you don’t belong to the neighbourhood, don’t worry. Once you arrive during the distribution of bhog, you are most likely to be served it. You don’t need to be on any list because this is Durga Puja, and everybody is welcome!
Eating bhog at a sarbojonin pandal might be one of the best places for lunch in Kolkata , during Durga Puja :).
No Dinner, Just Constant Snacking
There are two ways to spend a typical Durga Puja evening. Both options start with the arati, and then you either head out or you gather at someone’s residence.
If you gather at someone’s house, snacks are devoured, accompanied by adda. There are potato chips and chanachur with some Bhetki fish fingers. And if it’s a Nabami night, you might even get a home-cooked mutton dinner.
Now, for those rearing for another night of pandal-hopping, revelry, and food, things are slightly different.
You need something you can eat and walk around with? Kathi rolls are the way to go. This is just rolled-up paratha with chunks of meat or egg, smothered with lime juice, sauce, and onions. If you’re at Esplanade, head to Baadshah or Nizams. In Park Street, Kusums is the go-to. And if you’re in Gariahat, nothing is as delicious as Bedwin rolls.
If you still want dinner, the Durga Puja essentials are biryani and Chinese food. Some of the best restaurants and cafes in Park Street, Kolkata, are serving up Mughlai delights. If you want authentic Asian and North Indian flavours, we highly recommend Zen and The Bridge, respectively. Both fine dining restaurants can be found nestled inside The Park Hotels, Kolkata.
A Sweet Ending
Amidst this chaos, don’t forget to experience Bengali sweets! There are too many varieties of sandesh, but sample at least three of them. Then there are the sugarcoated sweets, or the sugar-dipped sweets that you can find everywhere. From ledikeni at Bhim Nag’s to sandesh at Girish Ch. Dey & Nakur Ch. Nandy and roshogolla at KC Das, you can’t end the day without something saccharine.
If reading this blog made you hungry, we apologise. The best cure to avoid this FOMO would be to head to Kolkata now and try everything. The Durga Puja gastronomic experience isn’t something you’ll be forgetting anytime soon!
