It was my second-last evening in London, and Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had helped set up the evening with an unbroken 71-run stand. Kohli played some majestic shots, and it was only fair that I celebrate with family and some delectable Calcutta cuisine. I am consciously making a distinction between Calcutta cuisine and Bangla cuisine here, for, in London, much of what passes off as Indian food is actually not really Indian.
Chourangi, very close to Marble Arch, is as authentic and as close to Calcutta cuisine as you will get. It is much like the Kohli cover-drive. On a rather hot London evening, the Nimbu Soda with jeera was the perfect start. And then we tried the Calcutta Fish Fry, the Tangra Chilli Chicken, and the Biriyani, before wrapping up with Bhapa Doi and mangoes.
Most of the staff are from Kolkata, and I have known some of them for years. Their recommendations were spot on, and it was one of the best meals I have had during this trip.
Sport and food always go hand in hand. Strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, Pimm’s and a glass of champagne at the Coronation Gardens at Lord’s, a chocolate pastry at the Lord’s Tavern or a glass of beer for lunch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground – every sports fan who has had the privilege of watching sports at these iconic venues must have enjoyed the dazzling array of food and drinks typical of these stadia. In fact, for journalists covering sports competitions, the food served in media boxes is often a subject of intense discussion and debate.
Take the Edgbaston press box for example: It’s lunch time during the rain-affected India-Pakistan encounter on June 15, 2013. News travelled quick and fast that there was salmon tandoori and karahi chicken (read plain and simple chicken curry) with rice on offer, and within minutes, one round table with eight chairs was occupied by Indians. Most of them were senior journalists from back home. In the group was also one Sourav Ganguly, on commentary duty for the host broadcaster. The chatter, in no time, went back to food in Kolkata, and how, with bland continental food and even worse weather, the only thing the Brits could do was to go out and conquer the world!
That’s when someone asked what the players of the past did when it came to food. Did they have food of their choice, or was it difficult adjusting to local cuisine in alien conditions?
Current Indian teams have great choice thanks to places like Chourangi, but in the past, teams from the subcontinent have often had serious issues with food.
During India’s first official tour of the UK in 1932, this is what the Evening Standard of April 13, 1932 had to say about the touring team and their food habits: “Caste demands that the Hindus do not eat beef or veal, and that the Mohammedans avoid pork, bacon and ham. So to prevent any difficulties at meal times the order has gone forth that these things must not appear on any menu during the tour. Instead the men will eat mutton, chicken and fish.
“The team contains six Hindus, five Mohammedans, four Parsees and two Sikhs. The Mohammedans forswear alcohol by religion and most of the others do so by choice. The Sikhs, who will play cricket in turbans, are similarly denied smoking. There are no training regulations but when serious cricket comes along there is a voluntary rule of 9 o’ clock bed…”
To help with these difficulties, with time the practice of organizing formal dinners and lunches for touring teams became a routine. On most occasions, the Indian tourists would look forward to these meals because, more often than not, chicken curry would be on the menu. Meant to suit Indian taste buds, these lunches turned into high points for many in the touring party.
Back to Chourangi, which was indeed a high point after a long and hard work day. To have fish fry where the fish literally melts into the mouth is a Bengali fantasy, and that’s what happened at dinner. It was satisfaction of a very different sort. The only thing that can match it is a gritty Indian fight on Day 5, a Kohli classic and a Rahane masterclass. And if that happens, I could well go back to Chourangi one final time before I board the flight back home!