Kolkata biryani has a potato in it, and sometimes a boiled egg, and no other city does this. The usual explanation is that when Wajid Ali Shah, the deposed Nawab of Awadh, was exiled to Metiabruz in 1856, his kitchen had to cook for a court on a reduced pension, and the potato — then still a novelty in Bengal — stretched the meat. Whether or not that is exactly how it happened, the Awadhi kitchen arrived with him and stayed.
The result is lighter and less spiced than Hyderabadi biryani, with more attention to the rice and the aroma than to heat.
Central Kolkata
BBD Bagh · Esplanade · New Market · Park Street · College Street · Bowbazar · Burrabazar| Name | Where | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Indian Hotel1905 | Rabindra Sarani, Chitpur | The oldest of them. Mutton biryani and chaap; the rooms have changed very little. |
| Aminia1929 | New Market and city-wide | A Kolkata household name; biryani, rezala, chaap. |
| Nizam’s1932 | New Market, Hogg Street | Where the kathi roll was invented — kebab wrapped in paratha so clerks could eat without a plate. |
| Shiraz Golden Restaurant1941 | Park Street and Mullick Bazar | One of the city’s two or three biryani benchmarks. |
| Sabir’s1930s | Chandni Chowk | Rezala and mutton; an old-city kitchen. |
| Zeeshan1990s | Park Circus and city-wide | Large, busy, consistent. |
| Rahmania1930s | SN Banerjee Road | Old-style Mughlai, plain room. |
| India Restaurant | Phears Lane | A small Mughlai kitchen in the old quarter. |
South Kolkata
Bhowanipore · Kalighat · Gariahat · Ballygunge · Lake Market · Jadavpur · Tollygunge| Name | Where | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|
| Arsalan2002 | Park Circus and city-wide | The biggest of the modern biryani houses. |
| Aminia | Rashbehari, Gariahat | The South Kolkata branches. |
| Siraj Golden Restaurant | Park Circus | Biryani and Mughlai. |
| Metiabruz kitchens1856 | Metiabruz, south-west Kolkata | Where Wajid Ali Shah’s court settled. The Awadhi kitchen came here first. |
North Kolkata
Shobhabazar · Shyambazar · Bagbazar · Hatibagan · Kumartuli · Jorasanko · Maniktala| Name | Where | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|
| Chitpur Mughlai kitchens | Rabindra Sarani, Chitpur | The old Muslim quarter and its kitchens. |
| Nakhoda Masjid lanes1926 | Zakaria Street, Chitpur | Ramzan eating; haleem, kebab and sweets through the month. |
East Kolkata
Salt Lake · Sector V · New Town · Rajarhat · Tangra| Name | Where | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|
| Arsalan | Salt Lake and New Town | The suburban outlets. |
| Aminia | Salt Lake | The Salt Lake branch. |
What to order
- The potato. Do not ask for it to be left out.
- Kolkata biryani is milder than Hyderabadi. That is the intention, not a shortcoming.
- Chaap — flattened mutton in a thick gravy — is the standard companion
- Rezala, white and yoghurt-based, is the other Kolkata Mughlai dish worth ordering
- Firni in an earthen pot at the end
Other kinds of eating
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