For the love of food: Cutlets special and Kolkata food dairies

It rained yesterday, Kolkata enjoyed the first proper ‘Kalbaishakhi’ and as per me ‘right-on-time’ for a change.

Well I have special something’s for rain and food. Be it the cold coffee while watching rain drops, or be it the ‘Cutlets’ I am going to write about today.

In India, when we say ‘unity in diversity’ – we at times really mean it, per say our love for food and ‘celebrations’

Poila Boishak is due on 15^th April ( Bengali New Year). Shopping is a compulsion and so is eating.

This blog post is about a very old but famous ‘food cabin’ known as the ‘Anadi Cabin’ in Kolkata. It’s a part of this city’s ‘food heritage’. While we gorge on ‘chinese food’ or ‘Punjabi food’ all the time ( I love paranthas and butter chicken masala), Bengalis do have their own share of ‘speciality’ too.

Everybody must have read and tried ‘cutlets’ – which are minced fish or meat marinated with a number of spices fried in hot oil and served with ‘kasandi’ (a special sauce made of ‘shorshe and shorsher tel’).

My mention of ‘Anadi Cabin’ is because of its Moghlai ‘porota’ and ‘CHICKEN KABIRAJI CUTLET’. While shopping for Poila Boishak, I chanced upon this very old ‘food counter’ and I could almost smell the air luring me to pay a visit.

And of course I did. The shop is nothing like any restaurant we generally visit. The walls are old, a man is cooking right in front of you and it’s heated like an oven inside the cabin.

But the best part still is that about hundreds of people eat there every day. While I was waiting for my ‘Chicken Kabiraji Cutlet’, I decided to talk to a grumpy looking uncle who sat right in front of us and said in a demanding tone (to the waiter), “Ei ekta gorom gorom fish fry de toh” (serve me a hot fish fry right now).

I wanted to know about Anadi cabin, so I asked him how long he had been eating such fish fries and moghlais out here. He replied “Before you were born”. And then he smiled and said, “It’s not the same anymore, as it used to be before”. I defended by saying, “But this kabiraji is tasty uncle!!” (Yes my order finally arrived and there was no stopping me).

He told me the story of how big the ‘cabin’ used to be and now how small it is. The waiters in the mean time were busy taking orders for both take away food parcels and for the ones like us, who were sitting and eating there.

We ordered for ‘chai’ (tea) which they served in small white Chinese cups, but the feel was very old Kolkata style. I ordered for another fish fry.

It was time to leave, because about 15 people were waiting to come inside and get their share of ‘Anadi Cabin’s slice of delicacy’ – as I would love to call it.

If anybody ever comes to Kolkata, do try the special ‘Moghlai’ of Anadi Cabin (Esplanade)  and of course the ‘Chicken Kabiraji’.

Ohh by the way ‘chicken kabiraji’ is a bigger version of chicken cutlet wrapped and fried in egg white. You also get mutton kabiraji (for the mutton lovers).

Below is the picture of 'my' chicken kabiraji which I managed to click while eating halfway :P

While leaving the uncle asked, “Moghlai ta khabena?” I replied “Next time” and we left.

PS: This is a special dedication to a friend of mine, who is as much a food lover as me. Stays in Bangalore now and forget Maach, he misses  alu posto too. So here’s to you. There is always coming back to Kolkata ;)