Kolkata: The City That Invented the Kati Roll
Kolkata's street food doesn't ask for your attention, it already has it. The kati roll, born at Nizam's restaurant on New Market Street sometime in the mid-20th century, is a paratha wrapped around egg and meat with raw onion and green chutney. Eat one standing up at a stall near Park Street at 11 p.m. and you will understand why Kolkata has never needed a fine dining scene to feel like a food city. The jhalmuri here, puffed rice tossed with mustard oil, green chilli, and chopped onion by a vendor who measures nothing, is the kind of snack that makes you distrust recipes. The phuchka, which is what Kolkata calls its version of pani puri, uses a sourer, more assertive tamarind water than you'll find anywhere else. The city's street food has a confidence that matches its literary self-image.
