In Kolkata For Durga Puja? Bookmark This 6-Day Festive Itinerary

Day 2: Go Feasting On Shoshti

Food is one of the many tiny details that contribute to the character of Kolkata's Durga Puja. Bengalis love to eat, and feasting with family and friends is a very important part of the celebrations. After a night of pandal-hopping, you may find people digging into an early morning breakfast of deep-fried golden radhaballabhi discs with cholar dal (a lentil preparation) and some Bengali mishti (sweets) like malai chom-chom and pantua. There are countless streetside food stalls that sell this, as do Bengali mishti shops. For lunch, people in Kolkata like to queue up for pujo bhog. An offering made to the goddess (much like a prasad), bhog is made up of a special khichuri that is made with a rice variety called Gobindobhog, and mung dal. It is served with a side of assorted fritters like begun bhaja (brinjal fry) and alu bhaja (potato fries), and a side dish called labda (a mish-mash of vegetables). While the khichuri-labra combo remains the same, sometimes a bhog can also comprise luchi (fried disks of flour) and alur-dom, or even mishti pulao (sweet rice dish) with kosha mangsho (mutton dish). You can also walk around, sampling the enormous variety of street food on offer during Durga Puja. Food kiosks spring up all over the city offering everything, from the popular Kolkata snack of jhaal-muri (spiced puffed rice) to phuchka, egg and chicken rolls, chowmein and chili chicken, momos, chaats, biryani, and more.