A taste of Bengal

Authentic cuisine

Biswas, the proprietor of this establishment, claims that his business is booming because of a few secret cooking techniques used in his kitchen, which he prefers not to divulge.

What he can tell, however, is this – all his cooks are either from Bengal or Orissa, expert at creating Bengali dishes; and he never uses masalas from the local markets in the City. “I get all my spices directly from Kolkata, and that’s what makes these dishes so authentic,” he says, proudly.

As expected, the centrepiece of the menu at ‘Best of Bengal’ revolves around fish-based dishes. Ranging from hilsa curry, which Biswas says is made using ilish machh or the ‘king of fishes’ to dishes made with tengra and rui, they are all extremely popular. “We fry the fish, and then prepare a special mustard curry, in which the pieces of fish are then boiled,” explains Biswas, adding that this is how such dishes are prepared in Kolkata.

‘Best of Bengal’ also serves several prawn curries, including chingri machh jhol, which consists of shelled and marinated prawns cooked in a spicy gravy. Customers can also opt for the chilli prawn, which is a dry side dish. Biswas explains that generally, the prawns are fried till crisp and then immersed in the gravy. Other meat dishes, like chicken liver kebabs, and chicken and mutton kasa, which is made in a thick, red gravy, are also popular.

The absolute speciality of ‘Best of Bengal’, however, are their rolls. These are available with different stuffings, including egg, chicken, fish mutton, cheese, paneer tikka, or a combination of meat and egg. Biswas explains that there is a huge demand for rolls, and he sometimes even sells around 200 in a day. “The rolls are made in a special tandoori oven. We generally add different sauces, like tomato ketchup and chilli. Vegetarians can also go for the vegetable roll, which has potatoes and green peas,” he says.

There are a variety of breads on offer that can be ordered with the curries: naan, chapati, and paranthas are all available, with the option of adding butter, garlic or minced meat to them. The ultimate bread-based dish, however, is the Mughlai Parantha. “This is a very fat parantha, which is stuffed with either chicken or fish. It’s extremely large and thick. In fact, generally three people can share one parantha,” explains Biswas. All
these breads are made in a tandoori oven.

Thalis, whether vegetarian, chicken, or fish, are also up for grabs. A standard thali consists of rice, dal, two kinds of vegetable curries and a sweet chutney. The meat thalis substitute one of the vegetables for either chicken or fish curry. Different biryanis are also available. Those with a sweet tooth can opt for either the misti doi or the rosogollas. Both are made from scratch by Biswas’s cooks, and are served fresh.