Suta Kebab from Adam's Kebab Shop, Chitpur

I had heard of Chitpur’s “suta kebab” more than a decade ago. Kebab that is so tender that the meat has to be tied to the skewer with a string. It is only recently, thanks, to Iftekhar Ahsan of Calcutta Walks, that I have had the pleasure of tasting it, and after countless sessions over a period of a year or more, I can tell you with great confidence, this is the best kebab you will ever taste in Calcutta.

Adam's Kebab Shop

Chitpur is located in the heart of Calcutta, near the central business district of Burrabazar, and the shop that you want to go to, to taste suta kebab is Adam’s Kebab Shop, in Phears Lane. It should actually be called Phear Lane or Phear’s Lane, since it is named after John Budd Phear, a British judge who was sympathetic to the Indian cause. Getting there is simple. From Dharmatalla crossing, take the road to the right of Victoria House, the big art deco building with a globe on top. This is Central Avenue. Continue down Central Avenue, and you will find the first traffic stop to be the crossing with Ganesh Chandra Avenue. Further down, the second traffic stop is B.B. Ganguly Street crossing. A little ahead, to your left, will be the exit of Central Metro station, and a large black statue of Maharana Pratap on a horse. The road to the right of the statue is San Yat Sen Street. Enter this road, and you find the first right turn to be a dead end lane. The second right is Phears Lane. Walk almost to the end of the lane, and to your left you will see the neon sign for Liyaqat Sweets. Just before you get to the shop, on your left will be the little hole in the wall kebab shop. Every evening the enticing aroma from this shop fills the entire neighbourhood.

Adam’s Kebab Shop began its journey some 45 years ago, under a Md. Adam. After his death, the business was taken over by his brother, Md. Salauddin. Adam’s son, Md. Abbas currently runs the shop, assisted by a young boy. The meat used for suta kebab is beef. Same goes for the boti kebab made in this shop. So if you're not a beef-eater, tough luck. But if you are, stick around and observe how the kebab is made before you place your order. I have attempted to capture the four main steps.

1. Meat is wrapped on a skewer

2. The meat is tied to the skewer with string

3. The kebab is roasted over a coal fire

4. The string is removed prior to serving

Served with lemon, green chillies and chopped onions, suta kebab is delicious, and easy on the pocket. While the shop can pack it for you if you request, my advice would be to stand there and have it. You could always bring it home and heat it up before having it, but somehow it never tastes the same. And that taste is something that sets Adam's apart from some of the biggest restaurants in the city. I am yet to encounter a restaurant that has this kind of consistency in taste. Adam's never has a bad hair day. You could walk a little further down the road and try the kheeri kebab, and round off your evening with some aflatoon from Haji Alauddin, but those are stories for another post.

- by Deepanjan Ghosh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to Iftekhar Ahsan for introducing me to Adam's Kebab Shop. Iftekhar is the man behind Calcutta Walks. Check out his website here.

SOURCES

A History of Calcutta's Streets - P. Thankappan Nair