Sampling Kolkata Winter Cuisine from 7 Home Kitchens

A BEVY OF HOMEGROWN CLOUD KITCHENS HAVE CROPPED UP IN THE CITY OF GASTRONOMIC JOY, RUSTLING UP EVERYTHING FROM PORK CHILLY TO PAD THAI

- SOHINI DAS GUPTA

Rare is the Kolkata winter that doesn’t seduce with a bouquet of lavish smells. Even without a map you’re well-fated to run into the possibility of plum cakes down this street or tehari along that... nolen gur at the sweet shops, and carts of breakfast dumplings.

Now the seasonal feast has extended to gourmets in the form of cloud and home kitchen services that boomed into being when the pandemic hit. Guided by market and the think-time that lockdowns afforded, chefs—young amateurs, seasoned matrons, and former hotel professionals—have put their money on remote kitchens. Suddenly sharing one’s love for good food, or monetising it, isn’t limited by the logistics of space, resources or culinary degrees. We sample seven spoonfuls of Kolkata’s home-food frenzy as it hits a sweet spot this winter.

OUT OF THE BOX

Whether it is her writing or her food, former journalist Shrutanwita Chakraborty prefers to keep things brisk. So when the 29-year-old paired up with sister-in-law and IIHMgraduate Sayeri Pramanik to start their cloud kitchen What’s in a Box?, the menu reflected her love for clean, minimalistic flavours. “A small bunch of classics that we’ve come to master” is how she describes WIAB’s gorgables—delivered on pre-ordering in and around South Kolkata.