3 Amazing Historic Facts About Three Different Famous Dishes of Kolkata.
9:23 AM
Food is not just necessity, it is an art, an emotion and moreover fun for foodies. Any kind of food
reflects some glimpse of the culture. So as, foods of Kolkata are deeply related to history of
Kolkata. Every food item has separate interesting story. Let’s just find out some interesting
historical fact for the famous ‘must try’ food and desserts of Kolkata.
Ledikeni and Lord Charles Canning:
Light fried reddish brown sweet ball is known as Ledikeni, a famous sweet of Kolkata. The name
is quite strange right? The naming is related to the history of Kolkata. In 1856 lord canning
became the Governor General of India. Regarding this, his wife Lord Charlotte Canning came
India and stayed over here since 1861, till her death. This special dessert was made by Bhim
Chandra Nag, the legendary confectioner, to commemorate Charlotte’s visit in India. Bhim nag
made this historic dessert with chenna(byproduct of milk), flour and soaked those sweet balls in
sugar syrup. This sweet became the most favorite dessert of Lady Canning. After her death in
1861, in Kolkata, this sweet became famous with the name of ‘Lady Canny’, commonly called
‘Ledikeni’. So, if you are new in city, do not forget to taste this historical dessert.
Phuchka and the great Indian epic Mahabharat:
Can you believe the famous Indian snack Phuchka (partly said as golgappa or panipuri) is related
to Mahabharat? Hard to believe right? Phuchka or golgappa was originated in Magadh, known as
‘phulki’. In some other beliefs golgappa or puchka was originated in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
about 100-125 years ago. But the most interesting part is, the mythological story of the
Golgappa could be traced to the ‘Mahabharata’. As per the tale, when a newly-wedded
Draupadi came home, she was given a task by her mother-in-law Kunti. As the Pandavas
were living in exile, they had to manage with scarce resources. Kunti wanted to test if her
new daughter-in-law would be able to manage with them. So, she gave Draupadi some
leftover vegetables and just enough wheat dough to make one puri. She instructed her to
make food that would satisfy the hunger of all her sons. It is believed that this was when
the new bride invented an early variation of Golgappa. After independence Now, one of
the most awaited snacks of India.
Kolkata Biriyani and Nawab Wazed Ali Khan:
Kolkata Biriyani is special for the use of boiled potato in the Biriyani. The use of potato
makes Kolkata biriyani special. For Biriyani lovers the potato in Biriyani is not only an
ingredient but also an emotion. The trend of using boiled potato in Biriyani was stated by
nawab Wazed Ali Khan. In 1856, Wazed Ali came in Bengal and spent the rest of his life
in city of joy. He started his life in Metiaburj, Kolkata. He transformed Metiaburj as
mini-Lucknow. He also started a new trend of cooking named Dampokht (cooking in low
flame). For him the trend of nawabi Biriyani was started in Kolkata. But he ordered to
make it less spicy and asked to use boiled potato in the place of grilled piece of meat,
which is pretty different from Awadhi biriyani. This kind of cooking process made
Kolkata Biriyani unique. So, if you are new to Kolkata, you can try the Kolkata biriyani,
the ultimate of all biriyani lovers.
Food is not just necessity, it is an art, an emotion and moreover fun for foodies. Any kind of food
reflects some glimpse of the culture. So as, foods of Kolkata are deeply related to history of
Kolkata. Every food item has separate interesting story. Let’s just find out some interesting
historical fact for the famous ‘must try’ food and desserts of Kolkata.
Ledikeni and Lord Charles Canning:
Light fried reddish brown sweet ball is known as Ledikeni, a famous sweet of Kolkata. The name
is quite strange right? The naming is related to the history of Kolkata. In 1856 lord canning
became the Governor General of India. Regarding this, his wife Lord Charlotte Canning came
India and stayed over here since 1861, till her death. This special dessert was made by Bhim
Chandra Nag, the legendary confectioner, to commemorate Charlotte’s visit in India. Bhim nag
made this historic dessert with chenna(byproduct of milk), flour and soaked those sweet balls in
sugar syrup. This sweet became the most favorite dessert of Lady Canning. After her death in
1861, in Kolkata, this sweet became famous with the name of ‘Lady Canny’, commonly called
‘Ledikeni’. So, if you are new in city, do not forget to taste this historical dessert.
Phuchka and the great Indian epic Mahabharat:
Can you believe the famous Indian snack Phuchka (partly said as golgappa or panipuri) is related
to Mahabharat? Hard to believe right? Phuchka or golgappa was originated in Magadh, known as
‘phulki’. In some other beliefs golgappa or puchka was originated in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
about 100-125 years ago. But the most interesting part is, the mythological story of the
Golgappa could be traced to the ‘Mahabharata’. As per the tale, when a newly-wedded
Draupadi came home, she was given a task by her mother-in-law Kunti. As the Pandavas
were living in exile, they had to manage with scarce resources. Kunti wanted to test if her
new daughter-in-law would be able to manage with them. So, she gave Draupadi some
leftover vegetables and just enough wheat dough to make one puri. She instructed her to
make food that would satisfy the hunger of all her sons. It is believed that this was when
the new bride invented an early variation of Golgappa. After independence Now, one of
the most awaited snacks of India.
Kolkata Biriyani and Nawab Wazed Ali Khan:
Kolkata Biriyani is special for the use of boiled potato in the Biriyani. The use of potato
makes Kolkata biriyani special. For Biriyani lovers the potato in Biriyani is not only an
ingredient but also an emotion. The trend of using boiled potato in Biriyani was stated by
nawab Wazed Ali Khan. In 1856, Wazed Ali came in Bengal and spent the rest of his life
in city of joy. He started his life in Metiaburj, Kolkata. He transformed Metiaburj as
mini-Lucknow. He also started a new trend of cooking named Dampokht (cooking in low
flame). For him the trend of nawabi Biriyani was started in Kolkata. But he ordered to
make it less spicy and asked to use boiled potato in the place of grilled piece of meat,
which is pretty different from Awadhi biriyani. This kind of cooking process made
Kolkata Biriyani unique. So, if you are new to Kolkata, you can try the Kolkata biriyani,
the ultimate of all biriyani lovers.