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Where to eat finger-licking Kolkata-style curries in Dubai

The cuisine is slowly making inroads into the organised restaurant sector in India, (Oh, Calcutta! has been a huge hit in metros outside Bengal), but that scale is still absent in the UAE.

Someone had once said Bengali food - and here I'm talking about Kolkata Bengali food, not to be confused with the Bangladeshi avatar, where the 'East Bengal' spices tend to impart their own distinctive flavours - has not been marketed. 100 per cent true. The best versions of this cuisine are still homemade (so if you have a Bengali friend, from Kolkata, who actually cooks, the best bet is to invite yourself over).

Having said that, the cuisine is slowly making inroads into the organised restaurant sector in India, (Oh, Calcutta! has been a huge hit in metros outside Bengal), but that scale is still absent in the UAE. Contrary to popular belief that Bong food is all about 'maachh' and 'bhaat' (fish and rice), the cuisine is varied and highly nuanced, with vegetarians dishes - such as 'shukto' (a mixed curry with bitter gourd imparting the underlying flavour) - being held in very high regard. You won't get the entire spread in Dubai, but Don Giovanni's Kolkata, Business Bay (04 4212199), once you get over the Italian connection (they have an extended Italian menu as well), cooks up a mean combo of luchi (fluffy puris made with white flour), 'chholar daal' (slightly sweet chana dal, cooked with coconut chunks) and 'begun bhaja' (fried eggplants in mustard oil - please do keep in mind that mustard oil is kitchen queen in Bengali households). They also do 'shorshe maach' (fish cooked in mustard sauce) and 'doi maach' (fish cooked in yoghurt) with aplomb; the prawn malai curry (prawns cooked in coconut milk) is a tad disappointing because the prawns (at least the ones I had) are frozen ones, and that really takes the mickey out of this centrepiece, though the overall taste is authentic. You can have a side of the famed Kolkata fish fry - fillet of the river fish bhetki, soaked in green chillies and mustard paste, and fried with bread crumbs.

For "Kolkata-style" food fans, there is, of course, Shiraz Golden Restaurant (Al Karama, 04 3971449; City Centre Al Shindagha, Meena Bazaar, 04 3425111 & Madina Mall, Muhaisnah, 04 2610077) - the Kolkata based Mughlai food chain. The chain is as much part of the city's landscape as the Victoria Memorial is - that serves the amazing biryani (accompanied by a pat of boiled aloo soaked in the juices). The kathi roll - which has firmly established Kolkata's signpost in the global food market - is fantastic: succulent pieces of meat wrapped in crispy parathas, with no ketchup/sauces to ruin the experience. Shiraz also serves 'rezala' (meat slow-cooked in an yoghurt-based curry) and 'chaap' (totally different from 'chaaps' you get anywhere else in the world).

The other cuisine that Kolkata invented - on its accord - is 'Indian-Chinese' (it's not a Punjabi concept as many believe). The large immigrant Chinese population who live in Kolkata have had a line of restaurants in an area called Tangra. Chinese foodie sensibilities were tweaked and made more 'desi' in an effort to entice customers, and this created a new wave of gastronomy. You get Kolkata Tangra-style Chinese grub at Imperial Dragon (Mankhool, 04 3552028; Dubai Marina, 04 4201222 & Jafza, 04 8870898). Yes, the owner is from Tangra!

sushmita@khaleejtimes.com