TRAVEL TALES of ranaruby

CALCUTTA CAFES   -  Oh Calcutta! Addas with Great Tastes About twenty years back Calcutta boasted of some famous ‘adda’ joints like Coffee Houses on College Street and Central Avenue, Basanta Cabin in Basusree Cinema, Sangu Valley at Bhowanipur, Dhaba at Ballygunge Phari to name a few alongwith a few renowned Tea stalls where people from all walks of life would congregate and spend hours over cups of tea and snacks debating  literally on all topics under the sun. The city earned a name for such ‘adda’ scenario which used to be mostly intellectual in nature. Lyrically depicted in Manna De’s popular rendering of Bengali song ‘ Coffee houser  sei  Adda …’.But over the years this character dwindled with emergence of modern foodscape. Like old wine in new bottle, more costlier versions sprang up – CCD, KFC, McDonalds, Haldiram, Barista to name a few. Returning to Calcutta after many years the one joint that caught my fancy as a foodie and a great admir...

IN SEARCH OF TASTE - A TALE OF FOUR CITIES A food aficionado’s mouthwatering journey over the years in cities he lived. Read  Rana's memoir with food. Cooking has been regarded as one of the greatest arts right from the time of Julius Caesar. Although elements of the art of cooking are easy to define, I have discovered over the years that the tastes which still linger on my tongue are the tastes that mattered. In that respect, my nanny still remains unbeatable as the greatest cook in my life. We called her ‘nannabhai’ derived from the Bengali word ‘ranna’ for cooking. Be it a simple Hilsa egg fry or peas pulao or stuffed chicken or quail (bater) roast, mutton, or chicken stew the food always used to be a gastronomical delight. My mother inherited some of her skills and tickled our senses with dishes like Tomato fish, Mutton kofta curry, and Pudding. Now it's my wife who has mastered the art of tickling my senses. Her talent for improvisation has created a...