A Traveler's Guide to Street Food in Kolkata

One of the popular aspects of Bengali culture is its food, and there is a great variety of street food available for people who love to explore the cuisine of different states. Should you ever find yourself in Kolkata looking for what kind of street food you should try, look no further.

Kolkata has a vibrant street culture with all kinds of vendors and stores to satisfy the curiosity of even the most eager travelers. Street food is its own category of culture due to it being passed down generations and being altered with exposure to different tastes and ideas.

The most famous street foods of Kolkata include Phuchka, the Bengali variant of panipuri; Jhalmuri, or puffed rice with spices; Telebhaja, fried vegetable or fish fritters; and Rasgulla, a classic Bengali sweet made with cheese. These can be found on any corner of any street because of how popular they are, and many families and vendors have their own unique recipes for them.

A dish a lot of locals will probably recommend is Luchi and Aloo Dom, which is deep-fried puri with potato curry, sometimes also eaten as a full meal. There is also Ghugni, made with yellow peas; Mishti Doi, which is curd sweetened with jaggery; Patishapta, which are like crepes with coconut and jaggery; and Chhanar Jilipi, a sweet similar to jalebi. These are also very popular in Bengal and can be found in most places.

If you aren’t too much of an adventurous eater but still want to try street food, not to worry – there’s several things that incorporate Bengali taste into the more classic street foods. Examples are Kathi rolls, Mughlai parathas, momos and chaat. They’re for perfect as dishes that suit your comfort while also giving you a sense of local Bengali and Kolkata cuisine.

Now that you’ve gotten to know what street food to look out for, you should also have an idea of the best places to get quality street food in Kolkata. There is New Market, for both shopping and street food, Gariahat Market with all kinds of vendors, College Street with many book stalls in addition to street food stalls, and Dacres Lane. All places are bustling with crowds of locals and tourists due to their multiple choices for exploration, and it goes without saying that these places are a must for someone wishing to expand their horizons with their taste buds.