There are moments in our life where a chance encounter changes things forever. I am sure you must have experienced this. Just as I have.
One such moment for me happened one evening in Calcutta. In ‘92 or ‘93. The day I had my first roll at Nizam’s.
This was not my first time at Nizam’s. I’d gone there with classmates in high school when we’d gone to see Pretty Woman. We had lunch there. Biriyani of course. Who has rolls for lunch?
This time I’d gone with a friend to watch one of those high adrenalin sci-fi action movies which were the precursor of today’s Justice League stuff. He suggested we pop into Nizam’s for a bite before the movie. Or was it after?
We went in and ordered rolls. We felt adventurous and went for the beef roll. The first time I’d had one. The roll, when prepared, looked a bit smaller than what I was used to. I took my first bite and went, ‘whoa! What was that!’
The paratha had me in its spell. It was so petite. Muslin-like compared to the chubbier parathas of the rolls of the corner stall back home which I’d grown up on. Or to the big and moch moche (crunchy) paratha, that the new roll shop in our locality, which had a ‘Hindustani’ (Bihari/ UPite) kaarigar who earlier worked in a roll shop at Park Street where the parathas are crunchier and bigger and the rolls more expensive, made their egg rolls with.
The paratha at Nizam’s made my heart go chaiya chaiya … or as the song went ..
Woh Yaar Hai Jo Khusbhu Ki Tarah�Jiski Zubaan Urdu Ki Tarah�Meri Shamo-raat Meri Kaynaat Woh Yaar Mera Saiyyan Saiyyan.
The paratha had a slight inherent sweetness. It was crisp and offered textural contrast to the small & juicy boti kebabs that it lovingly enveloped, made on a skewer and hence the term ‘kaathi’ kebab. Unlike in our parar shop, there was no sauce in this roll. Just a drizzle of lime juice, sliced raw onions, chaat masala and finely chopped green chillies. The point was to showcase the kebabs. Not shroud it.
A masterpiece which made me relook at the way I had looked at rolls till then. And hence the world.
I went to Nizam often after this. Even after I left Calcutta, as New Market nostalgia jaunts would always feature on trips back home. Primarily for the beef roll. Including the time when they sold it only out of one of the two outlets, keeping the other ‘no beef’ affair. Mutton at times. Never chicken. AND NEVER egg chicken/ mutton. It’s all about finesse when it comes to rolls. Excess has no place in paradise. If the alu is the hero of the Calcutta mutton biryani, for me the hero of the Nizam’s roll was its ghazal of a paratha.
‘Nizam’s is not the same’, old timers would say. Quoting the glory days of the 60s and 70s. To be honest, I was quite happy with my visits there. I’d take K at times too. We would go and sit and have a roll each and then she looked at the wall (‘so that I wouldn’t see the bones on the floor’) while I chased my roll with a biryani! Bliss. Ghorer chhele ghore eshechhe. The prodigal was back.
I did get a whiff of what the old timers meant when I ordered a khiri roll at Nizam’s once on a trip home. A variety that I had on my first evening at Nizam’s and was wowed by. This time the khiri was undercooked and I felt that Haji Tikka at Bohri Mohalla, or the old nameless kebab wala of yore, who operated out of the pavement of Hill Road, in my adopted city of Mumbai did khiri way better.
A few years back I’d checked into my hotel at Esplanade after taking an afternoon flight to Kolkata. I’d come to give a talk at the Indo American society that evening. I went to Nizam’s first for a bite. The place looked seemed desolate and desultory. The elderly staff sat around listlessly. I later heard that had just had a change of management. I ordered a mutton roll , one of the ustaads got up and made me one. I took my rolls then stepped out and got me Instagram money shot and then took a bite. The meat was tough and inedible. I had to bin it.
I would love it if someone tells me that things have changed. That my experience was a blip. That the kebabchis of the place that claims to have invented the kathi roll have got their mojo back.
That I wouldn’t have to be an uncle who goes around saying, ‘Nizam’s in our time … tch tch.’
On my infrequent visits back to Kolkata, I've actually been frequenting "UP Bihar" more…its a couple of shops/stores from Nizam's ..in that same row…the khiri and beef rolls from UP Bihar are still pretty good…As a disclaimer I should add I have not been back since the pandemic started and I realize with the pandemic a lot of chefs/cooks might no longer be around anymore …Hygiene is a bit sketch so you have to do takeout but a good sign is that the patrons you see are locals -Jason