6 Ballygunj Place, Ballygunj Place, Kolkata

6 Ballygunj place is part of a relatively recent trend that is being seen in Kolkata of traditional Bengali eateries. The evolution of Bengali eateries being seen in Kolkata is rather interesting as the Bengali usually tends to have a certain disdain on authentic Bengali style fish, and other dishes being cooked outside of his, or his aunt’s home. I believe it is due to the increasing cosmopolitanisation of the city and the increased nuclearisation of the Bengali family that is leading to the increase and demand of such restaurant due to the paucity of time that is essential in the cooking of these Bengali delicacies. I guess modernization does have its drawbacks, the women of the Bengali household are increasingly spending time at office rather than in the kitchen and a new niche of restaurants has been created. “6 Ballygunj place” is among the finer options of authentic Bengali cuisine in Kolkata.

The last time I was at 6 Ballygunj place we ordered quite a spread, given the choice available, keeping the order down to just four dishes was an exercise in restraint. We ordered the Gondhoraj Chicken for starters, and for main course we had the Bengali “Mishti” or sweet pulao, Daab Chingri and Chitol Maachher Muittha.

The Gondhoraj Chicken is an innovation of the restaurant, it is essentially boneless chicken cooked with a strong essence of lemon rind and coriander leaves. It is an experiment that has worked very well. The taste was exceptional and left us almost hoping for an extra stomach. The Sweet Pulao is one of Bengals favorites, essentially a fried rice with cashew and kishmish (a dried sweet raisin), the rice was slightly grubby than ideal but then, the pulao went excellently with the other dishes that we sampled. The other slight downer was a little bit extra salt than ideal on the pulao.

The Daab Chingri and the Chitol Maachher Muittha were the two highlights of the meal. The Daab Chingri is one of the most visibly alluring dishes you can order. The presentation is one of the highlights with the prawn cooked with mustard and coconut presented inside a cut coconut (daab) and served from it. I believe that the dish is steamed in the coconut shell which imparts the flavor for the dish. The Daab Chingri at 6 Ballygunj Place was very tasty without making the mistake of erring in being sweeter than essential.

The chitol maachher muittha which is basically a fish goshtaba and is easily a highlight of the restaurant as well as in all Bengali cuisine. The dish is also incredibly difficulty to cook at home and is highly recommended for Bengalis and non-Bengalis alike. It is also an excellent way to enter into the delicious world of fresh water fish for people who are not used to the taste or have problems with the texture. The fish tastes almost line a meat kofta and serves as a great way to break the ice with fish. The gravy was also mildly spicy and contrasted excellently with the sweetness of the pulao.

A Bengali Meal is incomplete without something sweet and the restaurant excelled in that department also. It combined modern cooking techniques and Bengal food by creating the Notun Gurer Ice Cream, Notun Gur is a particular delicacy of Bengal and is essentially the raw material from which rasagullas and Sandesh are made in the winters. The notun gur is easily one of the most wondrous ice creams I have had in my life. They also add a bit of melted Gur to add an even greater flavour to the ice cream. The Ice Cream is so good that it merits visiting the restaurant on its own. An absolutely brilliant meal and highly recommended.

A meal for two at 6 Ballygunj Place without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 800/-

How to get there: 6 BallyGunj place is located at Ballygunj place in Kolkata, the address is actually 6 Ballygunj Place. If you are driving from Park Circus towards Gariahat, you have to take the left past Kwality restaurant in Ballygunj Phari. The road is narrow and will emerge after crossing Blue Chip guest house. You have to take the right after the guest house hits a T junction. The restaurant will fall immediately on your left after taking the right at the T junction.