Aminia, the casual fine dining restaurant which has brought its first outlet into existence in1929 in Zakaria Street, Kolkata, by late Abdul Rahim began its glorious journey by servingKolkata, the famous Awadhi cuisine of Lucknow and later added other Mughlai dishes to themenu too. After seeing the growing fondness and demand for Awadhi food among the folksof Kolkata, the second generation of the family decided to expand their business.
Completing 90 years, today Aminia has a total of 9 outlets all over Kolkata.The casual fine-dining restaurant is today being run by its third and fourth generation andhas expanded its chain by setting up outlets in Golpark, Jessore Road, Shyambazar, Rajarhat,Behala, Barrackpore, Serampore and Sodepur. Keeping its ambience simple and theme-based, Aminia makes sure that each outlet looks different from the others.
On 31st January 2020, to celebrate the glorious journey, Aminia hosted a lunch with famousinternational chefs, ArbiGharakhani from Armenia, Jose Ruiz Torres from Spain andChristopher John Crockett from Wales. Mr. KabirAzhar, the CEO of Aminia and Executivechef Sarafat Ali, shared Aminia’s unforgettable journey and experience with them. Theywere given a tour of the kitchen, where they could see how the dishes are prepared inAminia, the ingredients and the machines which are being used in Aminia’s kitchen. Thechefs were delighted to see how they blend in the flavors of Awadhi and Mughlai in theirdishes. After the enlightening experience in the kitchen, they sat for lunch with themembers of Aminia and few eminent influencers of the city where they shared their culinaryexperiences and stories of their journey. Aminia had curated a special menu for this lunchsession which included the classic dishes of Aminia with few of the new additions. Thestarter included Mutton Galawati Kebab, Mutton Pasinda Kebab, Fish Irani Kebab and manymore and the main course consisted of Mutton and Chicken Handi Biriyani, Awadhi Biriyani,Dum kaDahiMurgh, Aminia Special Mutton Curry, etc. In the dessert section of the menu,
Saffron Milk Cake, Kunafah, Firni, and a few more items were included to end it on a sweetnote.Talking about the experience Chef Jose Ruiz Torres said, “It is my first time in India and myfirst day in Kolkata, I was really excited for today’s lunch at Aminia, as I have never tried thistype of food. I have really enjoyed the visit to Aminia’s kitchen and just loved the DumBiriyani and Kebabs”.
When asked to ArbiGharakhani about his experience, he shared “I hadan amazing experience and Kolkata always surprised me with its food. This is my third time in Kolkata. Though I have eaten Biriyani earlier, this Biryani was different especially theMutton Awadhi Biriyani”.
Chef Christopher John Crockett stated “I had an amazing morningin the kitchen with Chef SarafatAli, it was a pleasure seeing how the dishes are beingcooked in Aminia. I had a lovely chat with Mr. Kabir regarding Aminia’s Journey”. Mr. KabirAzhar, who was extremely happy after hosting the lunch said,” It was a great pleasure forteam Aminia to host lunch with the international chefs. Sharing our journey with them waslovely, even I am glad to give them a close look at Aminia’s kitchen”.