My Kolkata will take you on the city’s culinary exploration of OG sweets, which was served in the royal kitchens to streets.

All photos taken by Ashim PaulThe luscious Kulfi has been named no.18, and kulfi-falooda is no. 36 in the list of the top street food available by the renowned web-based travel site TasteAtlas. My Kolkata explored the history of the sweet treat and explored Kolkata’s streets to find the best selections.

Kulfi is a word used to describe an emotion.

Kulfi and “kulfi falooda” are popular desserts that span generations in India.

The desi cold dessert has captured the hearts of many generations and continues to keep it that way. Just the mention of Kulfi can take people back in time. In the past, in my youth, Durga Puja shopping at New Market almost always ended with a visit to Ralli’s or the Indra Mahal for a Falooda kulfi. I can still recall how thrilled we, as my sisters and myself would get by the creamy Kulfi dish topped with rose syrup and falooda. This was served in a stainless steel bowl with a spoon, and sometimes, the spoon would slip from our hands while trying to cut the Kulfi.

esplanade area -Esplanade area – Lindsay Street, the area surrounding New Market, and more -is one of Kolkata’s most sought-after spots for Kulfi.

Even though these visits in the direction of New Market were an annual event, you didn’t necessarily need to travel to an entirely different area of the city to get the dessert. Every neighborhood and para was home to a kulfiwala. They would ride around in the largest vessel (usually called a handi) covered in red cloth. The ship was filled with crushed ice and kulfis within their molds. The sweets were then removed from the molds and served in shalpata cups, a sort of plate made from leaves stitched together.

Origin story

Kulfi has its roots in Mughal times, dating back to the sixteenth century. Like other culinary influences from the Mughals that have impacted Indian cuisine, Kulfi has found its own space and evolved to meet the local taste using local ingredients. The word”kulfi” is derived from the Persian word qulfi, which means covered cup. In a predominantly tropical country such as India, saltpeter was traditionally used to store Himalayan Ice. Today, as everything comes from cold storage, this refrigerant process seems fascinating, especially because many street-side kulfiwalas continue to make and keep their kulfis using the same method.

 The traditional method to keep food frozen or cold by mixing saltpeter and ice remains utilized by “kulfiwalas.”

The condensed milk or rabri method has been used in India for long periods. This mix of rabri is stored in a freezer in a kulfi recipe. Traditionally, the molds were conical metal containers with lids inserted into matkas that were insulated and filled with salt and ice. Nowadays, they come in different shapes and are constructed of various items like food-grade silicone or plastic. It was initially thought to be a delicacy for the royals. Kulfi gradually became available to the masses, and with its accessibility, it became a popular street food.

“Falooda” is a product that originated in Persia and was brought into India via Persian merchants during the Mughal period.

Falooda is a dessert with its roots in Persia (modern-day Iran). It was introduced across India through Persian merchants during the Mughal period. Falooda is derived from the Persian word ‘faloodeh’, or “paloodeh,” which originated from the Persian verb paloodan, which means “to refine. The most well-known Iranian cold dessert is made up of vermicelli-like noodles made of starch and served with semi-frozen syrup containing rosewater and sugar. As it traveled through India, the Persian faloodeh was changed to falooda and was reformulated using local ingredients such as Sabja (basil) seeds and milk, sweet syrups, and served with a variety of items like Kulfi, custard, ice cream, and so on.

Royal “bawarchi Khana” to the deep swathes of Kolkata

Makhan Sarkar’s Kulfi stands close to the Globe Cinema.

The Kulfi and the falooda dishes were free from royal kitchens for too long. As time passed, they gained recognition with the masses and eventually moved to carts and stalls in the streets. They became a well-loved street food. Its popularity is still growing to this day.

In Kolkata, the city of Kulfi is readily accessible in all corners. The most popular spots include the Esplanade area and Camac Street, especially the stretch in front of Vardaan Market. The lane around Globe cinema on Lindsay Street has a few kulfiwalas who cook delicious curries and kulfi faloodas. Makhan Sarkar is a seller of Kulfi Falooda that starts at $35. Sandip Kumar, another kulfiwala in the area, has many flavors, like orange, Cetaphil mango, and kesar pista. Santosh Kulfiwala, situated just across from Hogg Market, sells different varieties of kulfis. In contrast, the Kesar Pista kulfi is priced at $40; the mango and orange kulfis are priced at just Rs 100.