Pan Asian in Kolkata

Kolkata has been home to some of our country's earliest immigrants from China. During childhood days, I remember stories of the most exceptional handcrafted shoes in Kolkata's China Town - the only Indian city to have one. And later in life, I would be constantly directed to the Tangra area in China Town for the best Chinese food in that city. Some interesting blog posts on those Chinese who have remained behind can be found here and here. Sadly, what remains now is a dilapidated area inhabited by a decreasing number of the older generation.

Pan Asian continues this heritage by bringing its eclectic mix of Chinese, Japanese, Mongol and Korean cuisine under one roof at the ITC Sonar in Kolkata. Interactive kitchens with seating around them encourage contact with the chefs with bespoke culinary options. The Chinese kitchen features delicacies from Sichuan and Beijing provinces. The Mongolian Brazier facilitates the cuisine of the Mongols dating back to the days of Genghis Khan, whose soldiers grilled meats on their battle shields heated over charcoal. You can choose combinations of meats, seafood and vegetabls with seasoning and sauces. Then there is the Japanese Teppan Grill featuring Teppanyaki and the Korean Bar-be-que and Hot Pots with in-built grills in the tables. If that is not enough, there is a Japanese sushi and sashimi Bar.

Tonight I began with a small plate of salmon sashimi and then followed with a Mongolian stir fry: fish, spring chicken, spring lamb, pork tenderloin, shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrots. Salad oil and the chef's condiments. Noodles.

The sashimi seemed fresh and tasted pretty good. However, without Japanese chefs at the bar tonight, the cuts weren't the same calibre. Also, the wasabi wasn't the best - far less intense than the real thing.

The Mongolian stir fry was excellent. Lots of seafood and meat and the right amount of spices and condiments. Completely filling too!

For dessert, I tried the amazing jasmine tea creme brulee. Vanilla bean ice cream on the top. Bewitching! A thin layer of creme brulee with specs of carmalized topping and a large dollop of home-made ice-cream. I strongly recommend this dessert to anyone who visits here.


The restaurants at the ITC Sonar have some of the friendliest waitstaff, especially in their speciality restaurants. I also enjoyed some very Bengali selections during breakfasts such as Radhabollobi with Cholar Dal on one day, and Kochuri with Ghugni on another. Finally, the Kayakalp spa is luxuriously laid out across lotus ponds and swaying palms.

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Aaheli in Kolkata

For a taste of authentic Bengali food in Kolkata there is no better place than Aaheli. Located in the historic Esplanade area within Peerless Inn, this restaurant serves up elaborate local cuisine in a traditional setting. Local paintings adorn the wall and brass oil lamps on tables enhances its unique Bengali experience.

Traditional Bengali food consists of multiple courses with a clearly defined order in which these are eaten. As a person who spent most of his childhood outside Bengal, I remember being chided by my aunts when I offended their sensibilities by ignoring these 'rules'. While all courses are served together in bowls around the plate, one is expected to know which one to start with and which one comes next. This elaborate ritual is still the norm in many homes in this city steeped in history.

A Bengali meal always demands leisurely attention. The secret to relishing it lies in lingering over every course and letting its layers of taste unfold. Steaming hot gobindobhog rice forms the center of every Bengali meal. Its richness springs from the variety: warm dal and fritters give way to the more complex notes of vegetables, finally culminating in the spicy magic of fish and meat.

I began with the Aam Pora Sharbat, a tangy drink made of raw mango and seasoned with mustard seeds.

When they brought the large brass plate of rice and pooris and explained the contents of the many bowls surrounding it, I was reminded of my many elaborate meals during summer vacations in Bengal during school days. Those days, the journey from Mysore to Kolkata took an entire three days by train. I still remember the verdant green surroundings, lotus-decked ponds, tube-wells in the bathrooms, varieties of fish for lunch and dinner, and of course sweets of all shapes and sizes. Not much has changed!

The bhaja-moogh'er dal is a distinctly Bengali twist to the popular Indian lentil dish. The lentils are lightly roasted before being cooked and tempered giving it an unique taste. You eat the dal with some rice and the fritters.

The chorchodi, a medley of leafy vegetables cooked with eggplant and whole spices in mustard oil is a favorite of mine. This simple dish was excellent and I polished it off in an instant.

The sorse dharosh, okra cooked in a paste of mustard was good too, but not terribly exciting.

The bhetki paturi, fish wrapped in banana leaf and steamed with spices and mustard paste was tonight's stand-out dish. It was brought sizzling to my table, and the heady aroma of mustard and the freshness of the fish was nothing short of delicious.

The Ilish bhapa is fresh-water Hilsa fish - from the famed waters of the River Padma in Bangladesh - steamed with a coating of yogurt and spices. The fish was fresh, as tasty as ever and amazing. Of course, if you aren't Bengali you may have some trouble with the numerous thin bones that make eating this fish as troublesome - and as fulfilling - as eating crab.

The chingdi mach'er malaikari was next. Another common delicacy, this dish is made of jumbo prawns in a very delicately spiced gravy of coconut milk. The preparation here was good too, but not particularly outstanding; actually, I think I like the one at Oh! Calcutta better.

There was a portion of ghee bhat and pooris accompanying these dishes. Ghee bhat is the Bengali version of pulao, with rice tossed in home-made ghee, raisins and cashews before being steamed.

Finally, the desserts. A traditional Bengali sandesh followed by payesh. Payesh is the Bengali name for kheer or payasam. The best is made of notun gur or khejur gur, date palm jaggery that is harvested during the winter months.

Along with everything else, I also enjoyed the aam khejur'er chutney, a thick sweet-sour chutney made of dried ripe mango and dates.

All in all, a very satisfying meal. There were many more items on the menu I would have loved to explore. Exotic items include those made of thod and mocha, the stem and flowers of the banana tree and probably unique to Bengali cooking.

Aaheli is located within the Peerless Inn at 12 Jawahar Lal Nehru Road, Esplanade. Ph:2228-0301

For visiting foodies, other options for Bengali food in Kolkata include:

13 Parbon, 49C Purna Das Road in Golpark. Ph: 2463-2016. They serve age old Bengali cuisine in a refurbished way. Try their boneless Bhapa Ilish.

6 Ballygunje Place at that address in Ballygunje Phari, Ph: 2460-3922. Try their Daab Chingri.

On my evening to Esplanade, the streets were crowded as only Kolkata can be: a teeming mass of people as far as the eye can see. The occasion: shopping for the coming Durga Pujas. Other than for this dinner in Aaheli, I didn't venture out into of the ITC Sonar much. As I write this post, Durga Puja is being celebrated by Bengali everywhere. Durga Puja is to Hindu Bengalis what Christmas is to Christians and Ganesh Chaturthi to Hindu Maharashtrians. It is as much a cultural expression as it religious, celebrated with much pomp and splendor. Wish all my Bengali readers a very happy festive season!

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Dum Pukht in Sonar Kolkata

Another business trip. Usual. To Kolkata. Very unusual! The trip was held hostage until the last day due to the Jet Airways strike and other intrigue in the workplace, but I am glad I made it to Kolkata; the trip was well worth the time I spent.

The ITC Sonar Kolkata brings to life the mood of the colonial era with its sprawling homes and gardens along the Hooghly River. And to tantalize the food buds in a city known for its culinary sophistication, the Sonar Kolkata has some of ITC's best, including Dum Pukht, Pan Asian, Peshawari. Having loved the food of Dum Pukht at both New Delhi and Mumbai, I decided to try their Kolkata namesake as well.

Dum Pukht recreates the 200 year old legacy from the kitchens of the Nawabs of Awadh, show-casing the culinary tradition of dum cooking - a style of cooking food over slow fire in sealed deghs - that has regaled connoisseurs from the world over. Characterized by the subtle use of spices, this restaurant brings to life the culinary sophistication of the nawabs.

They offered me a 'bespoke menu', a tailor-made menu that allowed me to taste multiple dishes in smaller portions. The feast began with multiple exquisite kabab offerings.

The Jhinga Dum Nisha, jumbo prawns marinated in cheese and hung yogurt, is flash cooked in a tandoor before being finished on 'dum'. Excellent stuff, the crunchy fresh prawns combined with the heady but delicately fragrant spices making for a great beginning.

The signature Dum Pukht Kakori, a delicate melt-in-your-mouth kabab of finely minced lamb flavored with cloves and cinnamon is wrapped around a skewer and char grilled. This exotic kabab's origin is the stuff of many stories. The kabab - served on a ulte tawa ka paratha -was excellent, even if it tasted different from that in The Great Kabab Factory.

They rounded this platter with a Hara Kabab, made of spinach, spices and cottage cheese. There was also some garlic achaar that I hadn't run into for a long time.

Next came the Murg Rizala, a dish of boneless chicken stuffed with herbs and chillies and dum cooked in a gravy of yogurt with a hint of almonds and garnished with egg white, bell peppers and tomatoes. I enjoyed the sharp tang of fresh green chillies in this dish - very unique.

The Subz Miloni stood out too - a melange of seasonal vegetables cooked in a smooth green puree of spinach and fenugreek. The dish was simple, but expertly cooked!

The Dum Pukht Koh-e-Awadh was a chef's special qorma of elegantly exposed lamb shanks that were dum cooked in their own cardomom tinged juices and marrow and finished with saffron. Pretty good, but the richness of the gravy made it difficult to finish. Incidentally, qormas, qualiyas and salans were the three classification of Mughlai gravy dishes: while qormas were thick gravy preparations that frequently used pastes of dry fruits, qualiyas were lighter with haldi - turmeric paste - as a key ingredient. Everything else was classified as salans, even thoough the ones in Hyderabad are characterized by peanut paste.

Finally, I have to mention the Dal Dum Pukht, a yellow dal of arhar cooked with yellow chillies, yogurt, and tempered with caramelized garlic, that last ingredient enhancing the magic of this dal considerably!


The Khaimiri Roti and Warqi Paratha - two exotic Indian breads - were excellent and prepared fresh. There is so much variety in Indian breads, but some - such as the ones I tasted tonight - are not easily found.

It was time to try their speciality, the Dum Pukht Biryani and I was already full. I had to try a few spoonfuls of the fragrant basmati rice that had been simmered with mace, itter and kewra before being finished in a sealed handi. The biryani, prepared in the Lucknow style, is distinct from its Hyderabadi cousin.

The Kulfi Lub-e-mashooq ended the elaborate meal. This creamy saffron and pistachio kulfi was served with falooda - wheat starch noodles - and a herbal syrup.

The Dum Pukht is open all the way up to 11:45 PM which allows you to have a leisurely meal - the way kababs and biryani are meant to be enjoyed. Among the three locations, I have found the ones at Delhi and Kolkata more vibrant and lively than their namesake in Mumbai.

Related Posts:

• Of Nawabs and Kababs
• The Great Kabab Factory
• Dum Pukht in Mumbai

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