New Aliah - Kolkata (Calcutta)

This is the most underrated Mughlai restaurant in Calcutta. I have had biryani from all kinds of places in the city, from the most popular and iconic eateries across town.. but I come back to Aliah. The biryani, be it the mutton or the chicken, is the best. Period. Personally, I love to order a plate of chicken liver curry and a plate of mutton biryani with extra salad and a ThumsUp on the side. I finish it with a firni. And I am done! The kebabs are nice. But the biryani is to die for.

Had biriyani here and it was really delicious. The mutton was very tender and full of flavours. The firni was really delicious too.

Aliah is one of the hidden gems of Mughlai food in Kolkata. It is one of the unsung heroes like Rahul Dravid in Eden Test against Australia (2001). Located in Esplanade, just beside Paradise Cinema Hall and Amber hotel, this place is must for all food lovers. Don't expect GlamSham decor, but you will surely get awesome food. If any of you are new to Kolkata, for their convenience, apart from Ola/Uber you use the Kolkata Metrorail network and get down in Esplanade Metro station. From there a short walk. The second floor of the restaurant is airconditioned. The staff were courteous and always ready to help. We had : <br/ (1) Chicken Reshmi Kabab The six pieces of succulent kabab was beautifully infused with the flavour of spices, it was really soft melt in mouth, served with salad and green chutney. <br/ (2) Tandoori Roti We took roti as a starter with the kebabs. it was really thick and soft. It was a perfect match with the kebabs. <br/ (3) Mutton Special Biriyani This was one of the best biriyanis in Kolkata in my opinion. It comes with one mandatory egg, potato and two pieces of mutton. The biriyanis is so aromatic with soft pieces of mutton, pillow soft potato. The flavour of the biriyani is perfect, not too mild not too severe. After we finished biriyani the plate was not full of oil, which indicated its not too much oily. <br/ (4) Chicken Kosha This is chicken in gravy. We had this with Biriyani. The flavour of the gravy was a mindblowing match with biriyani. Chicken pieces were good, with lots of meat on it. <br/ (5) Firni The Firni was exotic, this is the best Firni I had in Kolkata. Its a pudding from the Indian subcontinent. The sweetness is subtle. Light in the stomach and serves as a perfect closure after the biriyani. <br/ <br/ Food 9/10<br/ Ambience 7/10<br/ Service 9/10<br/ Value for Money 9/10

Whenever I feel lonely or depressed the only thing which comes to my mind is Alia's biryani....It has been in my favourite biryani houses since my childhood.

Such a dry biriyani(because I never like oily biriyani), accompanied by mutton stew, murg musallam and Firni at the end makes a perfect deal and a must try for all!!!