Day 01 - Christmas and Food Chronicles in Kolkata - Chaap (চাঁপ), Kheema, and Paya

Kolkata feels more or less the same every time I come back to the city of my childhood. Perhaps a few more fly-overs, a different and newish airport and the buses and taxis are coloured and built a little different...

Approaching Kolkata to land... 6E 327

And ... EVERYTHING become more expensive with each trip that is separated by time...

Indigo works like clockwork. Kolkata proved to be as predictable. I landed in the middle of another strike... A taxi strike. After an expensive and providential journey back home, Baba decided to eat in Azizia... Well, now it is way sootier and is called Beeru's hotel.

Baba and Uncle Raymond at Beeru's Hotel, aka Azizia, Ripon Street, Kolkata

Nothing quite like good old Muslim cuisine :) 

Naan Roti

Crisp and piping hot naan rotis

চাঁপ

A dash of chaap (চাঁপ )... Fragrant with rosewater and keora paanin blended in with a bouquet of spices. Just the same way for years on end.

Kheema (কীমা )

And then there was a dal gosht cross over kheema that had dal in it... and a boiled egg for good measure.

Paya (পায়া)

Baba gravitated towards paya.

Tea (চা )

And of course, nothing works as well as a piping hot cup of tea that washes away the grease on the palate.

... The trip begins well...