10 Iconic Non-Vegetarian Dishes Every Calcuttan Must Try At Least Once

Say bye bye to your diet and head to Mitra Café for non-veg fried items that have all the heartiness of meat with all the crunchiness of fried food. The Mutton Kabiraji cutlet here is iconic – minced mutton filling wrapped in an egg net and then deep fried to reach ultimate crunch levels. Few people do the Kolkata classic Kabiraji cutlet better than them. If you’re up for experimenting, the brain chop won’t disappoint either.

Pro Tip: You’ll find it difficult to get a seat in the peak tea-time hours but you can always pack and eat your goodies on the way home.

They have the  best version Mughlai paranthas you’ll find in the city. Thick and stuffed generously with either mince chicken or broken cutlets and egg, this super speciality of Anadi Cabin is cheap and flavourful. In the New Market area, you may want to pack your food or eat in the car {the seating is not 100% comfortable}. If you’re up hunting out a feel of old Calcutta with all its nostalgia, Anadi is where to go.

Although only available in the winter months, Zakaria Street’s Sufia serves piping hot, hearty mutton nihari with crispy stuffed dalpuris {which are only INR 4 a piece} as early as 4 am! This hidden gem can be found just opposite Nakhoda Masjid. You can also get a wide variety of authentic Mughlai beef dishes including their other speciality, beef stew.

Chinese breakfast at Territi Bazaar is legendary and the pork baos are synonymous with it. A fluffy white dough stuffed with a sweet char sui pork with caramelised onions makes for a grab breakfast at the market for under INR 100.

Blue Poppy in Sikkim House is every Calcuttan’s go-to place for momos. Although the steamed and fried momos are exquisite, combine them both and you get the perfect momo aka the Kothay! Kothay is a lightly-steamed momo which is also fried on the underside so you get all the softness of a steamed momo with all the crunch of a fried one. We love the chicken ones {they are the most juicy!} but the pork ones work well too. The good news? They have even started delivering through Swiggy so you don’t have to wait in line to eat their delicious food.

You can’t have a list of incoming dishes in Kolkata and not find Arsalan on it. Although biryani lovers may contend that Shiraz, Aminia and Zam Zam put up stiff competition, Arsalan is a universal favourite. With their signature giant aloo, flavourful and aromatic long-grained rice and chicken piece with meat that just falls off the bone, their relatively less-oily biryani works its way into the list of must-try dishes of the city. With the gravy and small-cut pieces of mutton chaap, there’s guaranteed to be a flavour-party in your mouth.

Both UP Bihar and Nizam’s are household names when it comes to ordering rolls. Their signature Kolkata-style kathi rolls come for less than INR 30! If you’re all about contrasting textures, this crisp parantha, soft cuts of beef, caramelised onions and bits of chilli will be your paradise. Be at your indulgent best with the egg double kathi roll which comes with twice as much meat and an egg.

Bacon, sausages, fried eggs, hash browns, tomatoes and mushrooms – honestly what better breakfast could you get? Everything about Flurys screams ‘nostalgia’ and ‘Kolkata’ from the floor to ceiling glass windows, sophisticated tables and chairs and grand chandeliers to watching the traffic on Park Street whiz by. One breakfast at Flurys is what every visitor to the city needs to enjoy.

Working its way up to ‘iconic’ status, you’ll find groups of teenagers huddled over large bowls of Carbonara at Mezzuna. Perfectly creamy and smooth, the pasta has just the right amount of garlic and cheese and is topped generously with crispy bits of bacon. Demolish a plate by yourself for just INR 440.

The greatest mystery on Park Street is how the never-ending line outside Peter Cat never shortens. The answer is probably the iconic Chello Kebab. Pieces of grilled kebab served with mounds of rice and a load of butter, the chello kebab is what you need on cheat-day. If not for the service or the ambience, visit Peter Cat to see what the hype is all about.