lunching at Arsalan

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A trip to Kolkata would not be complete without a visit to Arsalan Restaurant, which serves Mughlai cuisine. Mughlai cuisine was developed when India was a Mughal empire (from the 1500s).  The cuisine had strong elements borrowed from Central Asia fused with Indian ingredients. 


Such fusion of cultures and flavours led to dishes such as chicken biryani. Previously, I've eaten this dish in Bahar Multicuisine Restaurant in Hyderabad and I found the Hyderabadi version to have a strong personality, intimidating almost, because of the combination of strong flavours. Naturally, I was very curious about the Bengali version; after all, the introduction made by Arindam and Matty before the dish arrived made the biryani sound delicious.

And indeed it was so yummy! I have to admit, though, that I still prefer the Hyderabadi chicken biryani. Having said that, I could say that the Arsalan version is the mellower cousin that still packs a good punch; not overwhelming but still memorable. It is definitely not a pushover to the Bahar version. Plus, I particularly liked the idea that I had to dig through all that yummy basmati rice to get to the chicken in Arsalan... but wait, there's more down there... a potato! 


As we wound down our lunch entrée, in came this delicious dessert called Firni. It was sweet and milky, with a touch of some spice, and served in earthenware. I couldn't get enough of this dessert because it reminded me of ice cream. Good luck, dear stomach... my lactose intolerance would surely act up after eating a serving of this.


So there I was, worried about my stomach after eating firni. Good thing that Arsalan provided a digestive called Mukhwas. It's composed of some aromatic seeds and sugar cubes. It had a fresh, almost minty taste. And it helped calm my stomach too. 


Wow! The food at Arsalan was great! I'd love to go back and eat there again someday. Find a reason to immerse more in Mughlai cuisine, right? Why not?

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