Chaat Party at ITC Sonar

October 13, 2012: Yesterday night I went to attend a personal dinner inviation at the Lord Sinha Road. Prior to that, I hosted a Chaat Party at the ITC Sonar Bangla Sheraton and Towers from 3 pm till 7:30 pm.

Actually on October 10 evening while I was flying from Delhi to Kolkata, Chef Mayank, who is the Executive Chef of ITC Sonar, was with me and he mentioned that ITC had recently tied up with Agra-based famous Suresh Chat Wala and he also told me that a team from the Chat Wala would be in Kolkata for a number of days.

Instantly, I decided to call a few friends who are also foodies and I requested the team of T2 and their columnists with a couple of friends to come and enjoy chaat. I was really surprised and touched by the fact that despite such short notice, 99 per cent of the invitees turned up.

Needless-to-say, the chaat, and an assortment of savoury snacks, were amazing and the guests freaked out on the paranthas which was cooked on a tawa weighing 19 kilos. Like music and dance, Chaat, which originated in Uttar Pradesh and preferred across the Indian sub-continent, also has its own gharanas (tradition of specialization) like the Agra or Mathura. It was after a long time I had an event at the ITC Sonar.

Not in the very distant past, I used to have events every week. Before the Chaat Party in the morning, I went to Lal Bazar to meet the Commissioner of Police regarding Pronam, a joint project between Kolkata Police and The Bengal, for the senior citizens.
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