Kolkata's Bengali cuisine is a feast of flavours, filled with fresh vegetables, satisfying desserts, filling meat dishes, and tasty seafood. Eating local food is the best way to truly experience Kolkata. As you explore the city, let each meal be an adventure.
The famous food of Kolkata includes tasty dishes like Macher Jhol, a spicy fish curry, and Luchi, a soft bread that goes with everything. Make sure to try Mishti Doi, a famous Bengali dessert that is great for cooling off your taste buds. The list doesn't stop here; we have many famous dishes in our bucket for you. We have compiled a list of 15 famous Kolkata foods you must try when visiting.
Here, we will talk about the famous Kolkata food so that you don’t miss out on what Kolkata’s kitchen has to offer.
Fish is an integral part of Kolkata’s kitchen and something Bengalis can’t live without. Macher Jhol, fried or curried and paired with rice, makes for a wholesome meal that seafood lovers should try while in Kolkata. It is a spicy curried traditional dish that includes potatoes and tomatoes in addition to fish. It is also one of the famous dishes of Kolkata, which is seasoned with garlic, onions, grated ginger, and turmeric.
This Bengali dessert is one of the most popular culinary sweets made out of fermented sweet yogurt. Though packed Mishti Doi is available in grocery stores nationwide, you should try the fresh one from one of Kolkata’s legendary sweet corners at least once.
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Originating in Bengal and now popular in India and beyond, Kosha Mangsho is a hearty mutton curry. This scrumptious dish includes mutton, several vegetables (mainly tomatoes and onions), and a wide variety of spices.
Alur Torkari is a lip-smacking curry that is considered the best Bengali-style comfort food. It includes potatoes cooked in a thick tomato gravy. Alur Torkari is usually served with flatbreads like puri or chapati.
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Probably the most famous Kolkata food item, Luchi is a deep-fried flatbread served in Kolkata and the rest of Bengal. It is prepared from maida flour and refined and bleached wheat flour and fried in ghee or oil until crisp. To enhance your meal, pair Luchi with Alur Torkari or any other rich curry for a truly mouth-watering experience.
A true Bengali dinner is incomplete without a bowl of this tasty lentil curry made from chana dal or gram. Cholar Dal is a thick, heavily spiced, and sweet dish that can be enjoyed with lunch or puri. It is also served with plain or jeera rice. Pair it with its hearty companions, or just enjoy it as a snack. Cholar Dal is one of the best Bengali comfort foods.
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Yet another Bengali dish, Shukto, is a meal prepared with a variety of vegetables, including potato, pumpkin, bitter gourd, and bottle gourd. A little sweet and a little bitter, Shukto can be paired with rice or flatbread.
Desserts are an integral part of Bengali cuisine, and Chomchom is a truly Bengali dessert. It is prepared from flour, sugar, cream, lemon juice, saffron, and coconut flakes. Festive seasons are filled with Chomchom, a round-shaped, brown-colored sweet dish from Bengal that is popular in all corners of the country.
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Made from milk, cottage cheese, and sugar, Sandesh is a super popular dessert and is one of the most abundant snacks you can try while in Kolkata. Sandesh has various shapes and sizes, from little circular discs to round balls. It is a doughy and buttery sweet dish that one can count on Kolkata's famous food.
Who’s not familiar with Rasgullas, right? They are small balls of cottage cheese and semolina dough dipped in chashni, or sugary syrup. While most people in India believe that Rasgullas are a Bengali dish, they are truly a sweet dish originating from Odisha. Bengali sweet or Odisha snack, no meal in Kolkata is complete without gulping down a pair of Rasgullas.
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Puchka is quite a popular street food in Kolkata. It is a hollow, crispy sphere made with wheat flour into which you stuff the yummy filling of mashed potatoes, chickpeas, tangy tamarind paste, and hot spices. To eat, you stuff the whole Puchka in your mouth and let all the flavours pop out.
Kathi Rolls are a popular snack in Kolkata and are very tasty. In this, the preparation includes thin flatbread on which eggs are spread, then juicy kebabs made of chicken or mutton are filled in and rolled, topped with salad combinations including onions, capsicum, or any other that is then drizzled with sauces. This makes a perfect on-the-go meal. For these rich flavours, Kathi Rolls are much famous for being part of daily snacks, savouring every moment in the vibrant food streets of Kolkata.
Jhal muri is a popular crunchy, spicy puffed rice snack in Kolkata. Ingredients include puffed rice, mustard oil, chopped onions, cucumbers, green chilies, and a mix of a lot of masalas. This concoction is then quickly tossed and served in paper cones. Jhalmuri is a great take-away snack while one is on the move, passing through the busy markets of Kolkata. It has lightness with a lot of bold flavour, so it is appreciated by one and all, ranging from local people to travellers.
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Telebhaja means deep-fried snacks, which are pretty much a part of Kolkata's heritage. They are essentially a composition of potato, eggplant, or mixed vegetable patties that are battered and deep-fried. These are especially relished during the rainy season and served with a hot cup of tea. With every bite, one feels a comforting mixture of both flavour and texture, which goes on to make this one of the most enjoyed snack dishes during the evenings of monsoon in Kolkata.
Bhapa Ilish is one of the traditional dishes of Kolkata, where his fish is considered a delicacy. This fish is marinated with a paste of mustard, curd, and turmeric and is then wrapped in banana leaves. It is cooked by way of steaming, which confers a tender texture and soft tastes of the fish. Bhapa Ilish is prepared traditionally during the monsoon season, and one definitely has to taste it to have a true feel of Bengali cuisine.
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Did this list leave you craving the most famous food in Kolkata? Well, you are not the only one! As soon as everything gets normal, we plan our trip to Kolkata, and you can too! Head to Adotrip and book the cheapest flight tickets, hotels, and travel packages.
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Q1. What dishes make Kolkata cuisine famous?
A1. Some of the most popular dishes include-
Q2. What makes Kolkata biryani stand apart from the other biryanis made in India?
A2. Kolkata Biryani is unique because it uses a special kind of fragrant Basmati rice, juicy meat, and a blend of unique spices (besides saffron) that also includes potatoes, something which is not available in other kinds of biryanis found in other parts of the country, with that characteristic subtlety of sweetness contributed by the rose water and meetha attar (a floral essence).
Q3. From where does one get to taste the real flavours of the Kolkata street foods?
A3. For a truly authentic experience of Kolkata's streets, one must visit the places of heritage: Park Street, New Market, or College Street. These streets are enlivened by street hawkers and eat-outs that offer a variety of local foods, such as Phuchka, Jhal Muri, and Ghugni Chaat.
Q4. Which are the must-try sweets of Kolkata?
A4. Kolkata is very famous for the sweets it has to offer. Besides Rasgulla and Mishti Doi, you must surely have Sandesh (it is a fudge-like sweet, made of cottage cheese and sugar), Cham Cham (very sweet, soft, and spongy sweet dipped in sugar syrup), and Pantua (similar to Gulab Jamun, though much denser and quite often flavoured with cardamom).
Q5. What is a famous sweet in Kolkata?
A5. Some of the most famous sweets from Kolkata include -
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