When one of your dear friends happens to be a very talented Chef and you’re a foodie it’s always a happy situation to be in. Rahul Arora is as passionate about food as I am, has already gifted Kolkata with Bon Apetite the Café (Salt Lake and Hazra) and Café Pranah (Ballygunge) both of which I frequent and wholeheartedly endorse. Naturally when he told me he was starting Paranthe Wali Galli I was thrilled. Having grown up in North India I am totally seduced by a good paratha and with Rahul at the helm I knew I would not going to be disappointed.
Our foodie group the Kolkata Food Fanatics was given the singular honor of being the first customers. Some of us had been given a sneak peek to the quirky bright restaurant and I was lucky to be one of them! The décor is quirky, kitschy and a whole lot of fun!
The day of our scheduled dinner came and we all trooped in for what we knew would be a wonderful feast. So you have a cozy restaurant filled with twenty people who are your foodie family and the feast begins! Golgappe Bombs were served as soon as we were seated in two varieties Dahi Puchka and Nachos Bomb, both were very good but the Nachos Bomb was my pick , lovely flavors and you could not stop at eating one ! We were also offered two drinks each and over the evening I tasted the Gulabi Gulkand Lassi , Motichoor Lassi and Masala Thumbs up all of which were great. They also had a Hajmola Lemon Tea on offer which I did not sample but everyone who did seemed to enjoy.
Then the onslaught of Parathas began and we were blown away. We started with the Olive Jalapeno Paratha which was different and delicious, it has a nice hit of heat so those who like spicy food will enjoy this one. This was followed by Aloo Methi Paratha and Achari Paneer Paratha which were both really good and polished off in no time. Then came the showstopper, the Cheese Paratha filled with melted cheese which oozed out when you cut the paratha and left me in absolute bliss. If you like cheese as much as I do then please go eat this one very soon! The Dhania Mirch Chicken Paratha followed which was really good. The interesting thing was that instead of the usual mince they used a shredded chicken and I liked the texture it gave the paratha.
These deadly parathas were served with curd and a fantastic pickle and onion combo that Rahul has created and goes fantastically with them. This was followed up by some delicious chicken wings served up in an old style tiffin box and some paneer skewers both of which were rather good. As you can imagine we were quite stuffed by now but the rice combos and dessert were still to be served. We were served up some herbed rice with helpings of Rajma, Kadhi, Chicken Curry and Egg Curry all of which were excellent and felt like they had been cooked in Grandma’s kitchen. My only complaint was that I had no space left to do justice to them.
We were almost rolling off the benches by now but what followed rocked our world! A sinful chocolate paratha filled with chocolate cake and chocolate sauce and then generously topped with white and milk chocolate chips and more chocolate sauce!!! Sighhhhh! Then followed the Paratha which surprised me the most …. Khoya Paratha topped with Condensed Milk! It was an absolutely wonderful jugalbandi and if I had not been so full I would have certainly done a happy dance (which I did in my head instead!)
What a wonderful evening we all had. Thank you Rahul for taking so much care of us and getting such wonderful parathas to Kolkata. We ended our evening with wonderful mementos from Rahul, a very cute belan (rolling pin) keyring and some kala khatta lozenges to carry home.
There are over 40 varieties of Parathas and 15 different Lassi’s along with lots of other stuff so go ahead and eat your way through their menu. Thankfully they are available on Swiggy as well so I will both visit and order often.
Address: P-104, Sartaj Basar Rd, lake Terrace, Ballygunge, Kolkata – 700029; Ph: 098367 60160; Hours: 9AM–9PM
Rukshana Kapadia is the Founder of https://theculinarycommentator.com/ [1] and for the unabridged version of the above visit her website.