Kalika — Restaurant in Kolkata

Kalika is legendary old shop and famous for its telebhaja. From 10rs- 50rs they have different varieties of snacks like chop, cutlet and fries available in veg and non veg. You can get many varieties of deep-fried snacks/cutlets (tele bhajas in bengali) in Kalika. Here's a list of the available telebhajas. Some of the items are also seasonal/special.

Amer Chop (Mango flavored cutlet) Tomator chop (Tomato cutlet) Aaloor chop (Potato cutlet) Mochar chop (Banana Flower cutlet) Peyanji (Onion pakoda) Beguni (Fried slices of Brinjal dipped in gram flour batter) Koomri (Sweet Gourd Bhujia) Mutton chop (Mutton cutlet) Chicken chop (Chicken cutlet) Dimer chop (Egg cutlet) Chingrir chop (prawn cutlet) Fish Fry Fish Roll Fish Finger Bhetki Chop (Bhetki Fish Cutlet)

These Telebhajas are made with the best quality ingredients. Unlike most fast food outlets, they use only refined soya bean oil to fry these items and soya oil doesn’t induce acidity. Special bhetki fish is bought for the fish chops. And the vegetables are bought from Koley wholesale vegetable market that is nearby. I bet it is the best place to have lip-smacking deep fried snacks...

As a regular visitor to College Street, I’ve walked past this shop countless times, always noticing the buzz around it but never stopping by, despite being well aware of its popularity. Yesterday, I finally gave in to curiosity and decided to try their much-talked-about Chop. And honestly, it is worth all the hype.

They offer quite a variety of chops, we went for the Hans-er Dim-er Devil and Dim-er Chop. Both were spot on—the coating was crisp, the filling flavourful, and everything tasted freshly made. They served it with a splash of kasundi and a bit of salad. While the kasundi is a classic pairing, I personally felt it didn’t quite complement the Dim-er Chop.

So, if you're looking for a quick snack that’s pocket-friendly and comes with a dash of nostalgia and heritage, this place is definitely worth a stop.

Bonus tip: Watch out for the birds perched on the wires overhead! If you're not careful, you might end up with an unwanted condiment on...

Tried just one thing on my maiden visit ; Bhetki fry. The fish seemed real Bhetki , but all through I kept searching for the yumminess which most reviews have talked about. I just couldn't find anything special about the fry, which will make me rush there from the other end of the town. Yes , the right word is probably ' bland ' tasting . The Kasundi without a punch , didn't help either.

Many have talked about the Chingri and Mocha chops , and they will remain in my bucket list , till another day .

02nd visit : On my second visit after around a month , tried out Mocha chop and ' Hanser dimer ' devil . Much more satisfying than my earlier visit . At 10 Rs , the Mocha chop is great value for money ; while Hanser Dimer devil turned out to be the best thing I have tried out yet . The Hanser dim ( Duck egg ) and the itsy bitsy chunks of mutton played a nice little orchestra in my mouth as I was stood motionless on side of the...