The Kebab-e-Ishq festival at the three Kareem’s outlets in Kolkata will leave you wanting more

The Mumbai based culinary chain Kareem’s has carved its niche in Kolkata, especially when it comes to Mughlai and North Indian cuisines. Undoubtedly, it is one of the very first names that pop up in our minds when we think of biryani and kebabs. The chain with a strong pan-India base has three outlets in Kolkata, namely in Park Street, Sector V and Chinar Park. Kareem’s has now added ten more reasons for you to head out to either of them, as they are hosting an exclusive Kebab festival named Kebab-e-Ishq up till next week. We bring a glimpse to you from our experience.

A total of ten kebab items including both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options grace the special bill of fare, and we definitely were spoilt for choice as to what we should settle for. We were suggested to try out small portions of each and hence began the innovative gastronomic adventure. Most of the kebabs on this list are exclusively curated by Chef Ramzan Siddiqui who says “All the masalas for this festival was made from scratch following traditional methods and that truly enhanced the flavour of our kebabs. The menu has a mix of boneless kebabs, indulgent ones which are high on rich ingredients as well as soft and chewy ones.’

While vegetarian options include Vegetarian Sheekh Kebab and Cheese Paneer Tikka, the non- vegetarian counterparts go beyond just chicken and mutton to experiment with fish and prawns with dishes like Tandoori Grilled Fish and Peeli Mirch Prawn Tikka. If we have to talk about our favourites, we just couldn’t help but order double portions of the melt-in-mouth Chicken Cheese Kebab and the Mutton Basil Tikka. While the first one is subtler on the spice palette oozing out molten cheese, the latter is a fresh, green take on the mutton tikka recipe. For a filling portion, we suggest you order the unique bundles of Chicken Moroccan Kebab that come in portions of two. It may look intimidating to dig through, but will actually fill your tummies to the brim. Minced meat mixed with grated dry fruits are cupped in tender layers of chicken, topped with a delectable kesar-cheese crust. This dish tastes like they’re straight out of the royal kitchens.

You may as well settle for Chicken Tangdi Mumtaz, Mutton Sunehra Kebab and Mutton Mughlai Sheekh Kebab.

The festival is on till March 15

Price for two: Rs. 1000++

Pictures by Anindya Saha