My World of Food and Travel

Kolkata has always been one of my favourite cities. I love the fact that it is a city of foodies, as passionate about their cuisine as they are about their litterateurs and heritage. It is a place I would never mind going back again, if only the heat and humidity were not so killing! A cornucopia of sounds and smells overwhelm me as I try to recall Kolkata. The clash and bang of ladles against woks, stirring up noodles, by the side of the street. The sizzle of caramelized onions and chicken on the griddle, the parathas and sauces, waiting in anticipation for a roll to be made. The enticing aroma of the Kolkata biryani, a far cry from its Hyderabadi counterpart, separated by the ubiquitous potato. The earthen tea cups, lying in attendance while a fierce adda or debate is going on regarding the economic situation of the state. If not the economy, then perhaps football, or KKR? I had been a regular visitor to Kolkata, thanks to my job, and I remember many a happy evening spent appre...

I love my rice. I search for the plate of perfect pulao/biryani in every city that I venture into, besides scouring the worldwide web for the perfect recipe. While in Mumbai, I used to be treated to Persian Durbar’s sumptuous mutton biryani at my report designer’s place in Reay Road. It made me look forward to visiting his office every 2-3 months. My office at that time was located in Ballard Estate, a block away from the famed Britannia and its equally famous Berry Pulao and Dhansak. The Berry Pulao there used to be our comfort food whenever one of my colleagues and I had a frustrating time in the office. At times, we used to order biryani from Noorani near Haji Ali and also from Jaffer Bhai and Zaffran. On my birthday, I had once served biryani from Food Inn at Lokhandwala and on another occasion, Lucknowi Biryani from Just Biryani at Versova.  I had to cover Kolkata as part of my job and despite my hectic schedule I used to find out some time for grabbing the amazingly aroma...

I did it! Finally, I made chicken biryani! After one failed attempt in the past and many subsequent lamentations, at long last I was successful in my endeavor to produce that dish which everyone else seemed to be adept at. Biryani happens to be one of my favourite dishes – I can have it at any time of the day! I can’t tell you how frustrating it was for me not being able to make it. Now, I can rest in peace. Whew! Surprisingly, biryani is actually a very simple procedure. I don’t know why I was so scared of it. I would take one look at the list of ingredients and decide it to be too tough. My mind would start giving me excuses like “I don’t have the right vessel”, “Too many ingredients”, “I have no time” and so on.  And then I noticed that everyone in my office brought biryani for lunch. Including a newly married colleague of mine who confessed that neither he nor his wife had any experience in cooking prior to their marriage. So, even newbies were cooking biryani, and suc...