Kolkata’s Phuchka is a sinful pleasure it has the sentiment of the joyful city and its exciting people. Phuchka, Panipuri, Golgappa whatever you name it, this food bomb is absolute bliss to our tastebuds.
Phuchka Memory Lane
To talk about Kolkata’s Phuchka now in this lockdown is a heinous crime. I know I totally get you all, your pain, and your love for this luscious savory, that we all want to have it now.
Those were the heavenly days when we used to walk miles to have our phuchka from our favorite phuchkawala. And let’s be very honest guys no matter how hard you try making phuchkas at home, there is something missing always. You remember those street corners, where our beloved Phuchkawala Bhaiya use to stand, and those goons like people who crowded him, some curious some excited for their turns…And I was all waiting for you to be mine (still talking about the phuchka)…Even if we have the last 10 rupees left in our purse, no other delicacy can have a better choice to have than the phuchkas.
Kolkata’s Phuchka- Love Affair or Food Affair
Kolkata’s Phuchka has been an emotion for every age and ever people, just like the school gate wala phuchka, or the college bunk wala phuchkas or the frustrated office break phuchkas, the dating wala phuchka, the breakup party phuchkas, Oh God! it is making me travel down the memory lanes of all my favorite phuchka joint.
Okay, fine guys let us not be any sadder now. We know and we understand we do not have the privilege now to get back to our normal days and binge on to our beloved street food from our favorite roadside joint.
As Kolkata’s phuchka has been with us throughout our journey in all our ups and downs, let’s get down to the memory lane and revisit the places of our city that serves the best phuchka (as per me though).
Six Best Kolkata’s Phuchka Joints
1.Ranikuthi More Phuchka: Yes! I accept it I am biased. We all love our para’s phuchka and we are bit prejudice towards it. Why would not we? It has been the closest one… Does it be rain, storm, extremely hot & humid we can easily reach there and accomplish our pleasure… To my fortune, I had 3 phuchkawalas near Ranikuthi more, but I have my own personal favorite that’s opposite to the Ranikuthi auto stand. It serves the perfect lime-infused phuchkas with a proportionate taste of salty, tangy, and spicy taste.
2.Dakshinapan Phuchka: What can I say about this special Kolkata’s phuchka… Yes of course I do love shopping, and so love to visit Dakshinapan on weekends. But there is a bigger driving force than just shopping…Yes, you are correct its Rajendra Da’s phuckas. Every time I visit there I find 2-3 rows surrounding him and his wife. But, his phuchkas are worth a wait. He generally prefers to give you 20 rupees phuckas at max and drive you to his other delicacies like doi phuchka ( curd phuchka), alur dom phuchka (spicy curried baby potatoes in phuchka). The most unique taste I find in his normal Pani Wala phuchka is the mixture of tangy tamarind water with sweet chutney. Totally yummmmmm… It brings up the lusty taste that you won’t find anywhere.
3.Vivekananda Park Phuchka: Its a very famous phuchka joint in Kolkata. So, now this exceptional Kolkata’s phuchka wala has something additional to offer in this pandemic time. Dude and whats’ that? The saviour, hand sanitizer… Okay don’t laugh now, the Vivekananda Park phuckawala Dilip da is hygiene conscious just like me. Yes, he does use mineral water in the tangy phucka water pool and also offers hand sanitizer to his customers. He is also the one who is famous amongst Bollywood and Tollywood stars like Bipasha Basu, Konkona sen Sharma, Deboshree Roy. The normal paniwala phuchkas are absolute lip-smacking but personally, I love more here the Doi phucka. It’s creamier, crunchier with a perfect mix of sweet and salty and tanginess.
4.Vardaan Market Phuchka: This is another favorite joint of mine. This is also a famous phuchka joint in Kolkata, but I believe it has somewhat North Indian taste which makes it unique. Krishnakant Sharma owner of this phucka stall sells mouth-melting phuchkas with the phuchka water prepared with pudina, tamarind, methi, ajwain, jeera, saunf that brings a special taste to the phuckas.
5.New Alipore Phuchka: The famous phuchka by Bijay Prakash in New Alipore, is known for the bigger size and crispier, crunchier phuchkas. Even the stuffing inside the phuchka has luscious taste due to its unique masalas mix. This 45-year-old phuchka stall has its own fan base and craze.
6.B.K Paul Avenue: This is a famous phuchka joint in North Kolkata at Rabindra Sarani. It does serve the tasteful boiled aloo masala phuchka. But, It has its uniqueness for its ghugni phuchkas which boiled chickpea gravy filling phucka. This ghugni phuchka has a different fan base.
Phuchka- Forever Love
There are many other varieties of phuchkas in the market today by the tremendous innovative minds like chocolate phuchka, schezwan phuchka, pizza phuchka and they all have their own popularity. For me, I prefer the original one, Pani Wala phuchkas. As it is said first love can never be replaced.
By now, after all this phucka reminiscence, your mouth must be watering and craving for this tempting water balls, that breaks with a crunch inside our mouth and spells its magical taste to our soul.
You may also read our article on the most addicted beverage of India-Tea and get to know its origin and health benefits
Do let us know in the comment section which one is your favorite phuchka joint in Kolkata.
1 Comment