The 31 Essential Kolkata Restaurants

"At the turn of the 20th century, Ahmed Hussain migrated to Calcutta from Lucknow and set up a small eatery with only three items on the menu: khuska (a light dish of turmeric-tinged rice), lightly spiced qaliya made with chunks of goat meat, and mutton chaap (slices of goat meat braised with a rich blend of alliums and spices and pan-roasted in clarified butter). More than a century later, Royal is one of the luminaries of Kolkata’s fabled Mughlai cuisine. The menu has expanded over time, but the place is still synonymous with chaap (now also made with whole chicken legs). The signature, crowd-favorite biryani doesn’t include potatoes, in keeping with the tradition of Hussain’s native Lucknow; instead, big chunks of meat and a few tiny meatballs nestle in a bed of fragrant, fluffy grains of long-grain rice. Note: A few years ago, the restaurant opened a glitzy outlet in Park Circus where it serves Kolkata-style biryani, complete with a glistening orange potato." - Priyadarshini Chatterjee