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Chitpur: the Muslim quarter of Calcutta

posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 11:29 AM

Author: Sanjay Kumar, Brighton

Muslim cooking came to Calcutta in the district of Chitpur. Even today the air is permanently redolent with aromatic mixtures of Amburi and Badshah Pasand tobacco, briquettes and kebabs turning on the charcoal fires in front of walk in eateries on Chitpur Road which was once the only link between the Calcutta and Delhi. I’m not the first traveller to have noticed that vestiges of the nawabi culture lingering in this enclave. It was after the fall of Murshidabad when Nawab of Bengal, Zafar Ali II, came to Calcutta that nawabi cuisine made its headway in the city. They added extravagantly lavish dishes which make up today’s wedding menus throughout Calcutta and West Bengal.

The district is full of small family run eateries serving excellent traditional Muslim fare. The most famous being the biriayani cooked with quarbani (highly seasoned marinated lamb or mutton, with wafer slices of chillies, ginger, shredded coriander and red onion) and basmati rice served on Bakr-id the day which celebrates Ibrahims’ readiness to sacrifice his son Ishmael and Allah’s reward for his faith. The month of Muharram is observed in mourning for the tragic Battle of Karbala. There was very little to eat and a khichra was put together with whatever was available. In commemoration majlis or prayer meetings are followed not by a scratch meal as elsewhere in Muslim India but a tasty khichra meal of cereals, whole beans and lentils with a little mutton and aromatic spices. Sab-e-Barat is a time of remembrance of the dead, a bit like All Souls Day in Christianity. All over this enclave scented candles are lit in homes, mosques and imambaras. Mingling with the perfume from the candles is the aroma of paratha and halwa made of spiced lentils, semolina, wheat, carrots and ducks eggs are shared by all on this day.

These small food stalls stay open all night during Ramadan, the month long fast is broken daily at Iftar, with a sip of water at sunset and the fruit of the desert, the date, followed by cucumber, piazza (onions deep fried in spicy lentil batter) and samosas, iced lime and lemon sherbet is served. The traditional Iftar food is halim which is a substantial nourishing soup of meat, lentils and cereals. Iftar parties are very common in Calcutta these days where the tables are laden with rich quorma, sizzling kebabs and chaap which are curried rib chops.

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