10 of the Best Street Foods in Kolkata to Trigger Your Taste buds

Kolkata’s flourishing street food business is famed not just in India but also worldwide. Ghugni, phuchka, eggroll, telebhaja and other mouthwatering tidbits are easily available in every nook and corner of the city, though places like Dalhousie, Esplanade, Gariahat, Burrabazar and Exide crossing are regarded as the best street food joints here. Here is a list of the most famous street foods of the city that would satisfy the gourmet in you without hitting hard on your pocket.Kolkata Street Food

Eggroll – Deep Fried Wraps with Flat Bread and Eggs

Egg Roll Best Street Food in Kolkata
One of the typical street foods of Kolkata, the egg roll is a favorite for those wishing to have a filling evening snack at a low price. Besides the layer of fried egg, it is stuffed with onions, cucumber, and sauce (tomato and chilly). If your taste buds yearn for additional spice, ask the vendor to include loads of chilies.

Varieties: Double egg roll (2 eggs used), egg chicken/mutton roll (egg roll with a stuffing of chicken or mutton); chicken roll, mutton roll, and paneer roll.

Best places to get it:

Kusum Rolls (Park Street); Hot Kati Rolls (Park Street); Anamika Roll Centre (New Alipore); Saima Restaurant (Chowringhee Road).

Approximate cost:

Rs 25-30 (Plain egg roll); (double egg roll, egg chicken roll would cost more)

Phuchka – Fried Flatbread Balls with Potato Stuffing

Phuchka Bengali Panipuri Street Foods of Kolkata
A Bengali variant of the famous panipuri, known by several names like golgappa and gupchup in other states, phuchka is the perfect snack for vegetarians and vegans. These round, light, crispy balls are stuffed with potato, making them different from golgappa mostly having fillings of chickpeas. Having it with a large group of friends is always fun, where you stand circling the vendor, who would dip the phuchka in tamarind water and serve you in leaf plates. Having a dry phuchka, sprinkled with pepper and a dash of lemon juice completes the experience.

Varieties: Dahi phuchka (dipped in curd), alu dam phucka (filling of cooked potato), chocolate phuchka (dipped in chocolate sauce) and schezwan phuchka to name a few. You can even opt for churmur (crunchy platter made from crushed phuchka, mashed potatoes, spices and tamarind pulp).

Best places to get it:

Pravesh Panipuri (near New Alipore State Bank) specializing in 17 types of phuchkas; Dilip Shaw’s stall at Vivekananda Park, South Kolkata (also selling chicken and mutton phuchkas), as well as stalls at New Market, in front of Vardhan Market (Camac Street) and Gariahat.

Approximate cost:

4 pieces for Rs 10 (6 for Rs 20 in some places)

Jhal Muri –Puffed Rice Fusion

Jhalmuri Popular Street Foods in Kolkata
A spicy treat prepared by tossing puffed rice (muri) along with peanuts, chopped onions, chilies, tomatoes, nuts, and chanachur. Not requiring much effort, a packet of this snack can be ready in a minute. Bhel puri, a typical snack of Mumbai, made from puffed rice, potatoes, vegetables, sev (fried snack like noodles), onions and a tangy sauce, deserves a mention here, as it is also quite popular in Kolkata.

Best places to get it:

Maidan area, Vardhan Market (near Camac Street), Jawaharlal Nehru Road; Triangular Park area.

Approximate cost:

Sold in small paper bags, a packet of muri cost Rs 10 on an average, and may be as high as Rs 20.

Ghoti Gorom – A Spicy Snack

Ghoti Gorom Kolkata Street Food
Hot chanachur (Indian snack), topped with chilies, carrots, peanuts, spices, onions and a dash of lemon juice, served in newspaper cones or packets.

Best places to get it:

Princep Ghat, Maidan, Esplanade.

Approximate cost:

Rs 5 (minimum)


Ghugni Chat – A Platter of Yellow Peas

Ghugni Kolkata Chat Street Food
Another famous grab-and-go snack of Kolkata, ghugni is prepared with boiled yellow peas that are tossed and cooked with chopped onions, tomato, and chilly,  and garnished with coriander and tamarind dip. Its greatest USP lies in the way it is served – piping hot, on a leaf plate with a slender wooden spoon, beautifully decorated with add-ons like coconut slices, tomato pieces, and chopped onions.

Varieties: Chicken or mutton ghugni

Best places to get it:

Chitto Babur shop at Dacres Lane Kolkata; New Market area opposite Bombay Dyeing shop; Gariahat.

Approximate cost:

Rs 10-12 per plate

Telebhaja- Deep Fried Snacks

Telebhaja Famous Street Food in Kolkata
Telebhaja (literally meaning fried in oil) is prepared by dipping a particular vegetable (potato, onion, eggplant, pointed gourd, pumpkin, or banana blossom) in a batter of gram flour and deep frying it. Often coupled with a bowl of puffed rice and a steaming cup of tea, it is a favorite evening snack in most Bengali households.

Varieties: Beguni (eggplant fry); alur chop (fried potato balls), phuluri (gram flour and lentil paste fry); potoler chop (pointed gourd fry); vegetable chop (mixed vegetables fry) kumror chop (pumpkin fry), chingri chop (prawn fry), and the list continues.

Best places to get it:

Kalika (Surya Sen Street); Lakshmi Narayan Shaw and Sons (Hatibagan); Mukhoruchi (Beliaghata Main Road)

Approximate cost:

Rs 5-15

Momo – Steamed Dumpling with Veg/Non Veg Filling

Momo Kolkata Street Food
Though popular in Tibet and Nepal, as well as in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, Kolkata is not left behind when it comes to selling its own version of momos (steamed, fried or pan-fried) stuffed with cabbage, and minced meat. The spicy red dip and the complementary steaming soup are worthy additions.

Varieties: Veg, chicken, and mutton that can be steamed, fried and pan fried.

Best places to get it:

Shyambazar Five—Point crossing; Exide (adjacent to Rabindra Sadan Metro Station); near Park Street Metro Station; near Simpark Mall, New Market; near Reserve Bank of India, Dalhousie; Terreti Bazaar near Lal Bazaar headquarters of police (also nicknamed Little China Town of Kolkata) (large chains like Momo Plaza and Wow Momo are also there)

Approximate cost:

Rs 30-35 (Veg steamed); Rs 35-40 (Chicken steamed); Rs 50 (Mutton steamed); Pan-fried and fried varieties may cost a little more

Hing Kochuri – A Deep-Fried Flatbread Stuffed with Asafetida

Hing Kochuri Kolkata Street Veg Food
Hing kochuri is a puffed flatbread, stuffed with a spicy chickpea filling flavored with asafetida. Mostly teamed with a steaming platter of potato curry, it is one of the most sought-after Kolkata street foods.

Varieties: Koraishuti/ peas kochuri (fried flatbread with peas filling, mostly eaten in winters); radhaballabi (fried flatbread stuffed with Bengal gram); luchi (fried flatbread made with wheat flour);

Best places to get it:

Maharani (Deshapriya Park); Tasty Corner (Gariahat); Arun Tea Stall (Park Street); Sharma Tea Stall (Bhawanipur); Putiram (College Street); Sri Hari (Hazra)

Approximate cost:

Rs 15-20 per plate (4 pieces) at roadside stalls; Rs 30-40 per plate in renowned sweet shops

Chowmein – Old Kolkata’s Popular ‘Chinese’ Street Food

Chowmein Chinese Street Food in Kolkata
When you crave for stir-fried noodles, yet do not want to spend a lot, the roadside chowmein vendors could certainly come to your rescue. The tasty salad (tomato and onion) alongside a spicy fusion of sauces (tomato and chilly) serves as a perfect accompaniment to the steaming plate of chowmein. You can even eat it with a hot side dish of chili chicken, chicken Manchurian or chili paneer (cottage cheese).

Varieties: Vegetable chowmein, chicken chowmein, egg chowmein

Best places to get it:

Near Dalhousie; New Market; Park Street

Approximate cost:

Rs 30-25 (Veg chowmein); Rs 35-40 (Egg chowmein); Rs 45-50 (Chicken chowmein)

Biryani- An Indo-Mughlai Fusion

Biryani Famous Kolkata Street Food
Biryani may be more popular in North and South India, but Kolkata is no less in the delicious patter it offers, with the bomb-sized potato, and big chunks of chicken or mutton, making it even more unique. Prominent outlets in the city, like Shiraz, Aminia, Zeeshan, and Arsalan, do specialize in biryani, but the roadside vendors with their reasonable prices and equally delicious items are perfect for a quick meal without burning a hole in your pocket.

Varieties: Alu (Potato) biryani; egg biryani; chicken biryani; mutton biryani

Best places to get it:

Vendor near R.N Mukherjee Road Lalbazar

Approximate cost:

Rs 50 (Alu/ Potato biryani); Rs 70 (Egg biryani); Rs 100 (Chicken biryani); Rs 120 (Mutton biryani) for a full plate (The vendor near R.N. Mukherjee Road offers chicken biryani for just Rs 70 and mutton biryani for Rs 90)

If you think the streets of Kolkata has only these many delicacies to offer, you are entirely mistaken. A filling vegetarian or non-vegetarian meal for barely Rs 30-40, a plate of dim pauruti (bread and egg) for just Rs 10-15, a hot cup of tea in the traditional earthen cup (bhar) for only Rs 5, a plate of singara (a fried dish with potato stuffings), varieties of sweets, South Indian dishes – the list never ends.

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