Food And Drink

#FestiveSpecial Cloud Kitchens in Kolkata to Order Vegetarian Food From

In Kolkata and looking for a smorgasbord of topnotch vegetarian or vegan food for a festive get-together We've got you covered

OT Staff
Mizuki
Launched in October 2020 by 17-year-old Shivam Choraria, Mizuki does Asian-inspired food that has "a lot of foreign influence and fusion going on". Choraria says they took the idea of creating a vegan food brand doing Asian cuisine more as a challenge to experiment&nbspand explore with food and discover what could be done.
 
Every dish on the menu - from the entrees to the desserts - is 100% vegan.
 
We had Mizuki's barbeque mushroom sliders - the buns were made with with activated charcoal and soy milk, and came with a side of fried wedges.&nbspIf you haven&rsquot yet made the leap to being vegan, we'd say this is a pretty good way to start.
 
For starters, try the Korean kimchi dumplings. They have a filling of pickled kimchi, smoked tofu and homemade tahini, and come with dipping sauces.
 
If you want something a tad different (and more filling) than dumplings, may we suggest their black pepper broccoli and celery buns
 
For mains, we had an engaging plateful of jade noodles (with a coriander sauce) with carrot and cherry tomatoes. And the mushroom and truffled rice (very satisfying in its umami quotient), along with a plate of their tofu in a fragrant sauce.
 
Finish off the meal with a plate of chocolate rolls with chocolate and peanut ganache. We tried it with their Sriracha, Lime and Peanut sauce - it was an explosion of flavours.  
 
A word about the packaging here - Mizuki is all about aesthetics. Their packaging, design and logo stands out from the crowd (plus it's&nbspbiodegradable&nbspand eco-friendly). 
  
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Choraria says although the regular menu boasts of some of the bestselling dishes, they never stopped experimenting in the lab. Recently, they did a collaboration with popular Mumbai brand Naagin Hot Sauce. The result A take on the Indonesian Nasi Goreng with Naagin sauces.
 
While you are ordering, we suggest you also pick up something from their range of packaged sauces. We tried all six and while all were excellent, we particularly recommend the Shiitake and Truffle and the Sriracha, Lime and Peanut. We could do serious damage to those.
 
Very soon, Mizuki plans to step into beverages with Asian-inspired Cocktail Premixes.
Bestsellers Mushroom, Garlic & Spinach Dumplings, Black Pepper Broccoli & Celery Buns, Barbeque Mushroom Sliders, Jade Noodles with Carrots & Cherry Tomatoes, Wild Mushroom & Truffle Fried Rice.
Cost for two Rs700 to Rs1,200
Ordering&nbspVia their direct website, and through Swiggy and Zomato. 
Homely Zest

Homely Zest labels itself as 'a friendly neighbourhood meal service'. Started in July, 2020, they offer a wide variety of cuisines - including Indian (Bengali, Rajasthani, Punjabi etc), Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Thai, Arabic, Lebanese, and American.   

READ Mothers and Memories of the Food We Grew Up With

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We had a deeply flavoured and inviting plateful of edamame kebabs (laced with Indian spices) with mint mayo, and the kalmi vada chaat - with vadas made of chana dal, it was accompanied by dahi, green chutney, an amazing chat masala and a bowl of fried bhujia namkeen to sprinkle on top. These two are definitely going to be party crowd pleasers. 

(PS We literally ended up up drinking some of their chutneys.)

The main was like a deconstructed biryani in a glass - methi paneer biryan shots. The glass had layers of&nbspfragrant rice, paneer and fried onions on top.&nbspDessert was gulab jamun jar and the kesar pista jar. 

We love that owner and founder Sakshi Sureka&nbspuses glass utensils along with wooden trays as packaging.

Along with deliveries, they are open for catering services for small parties and gatherings starting from a minimum of five people. And they customise items based on their client&rsquos preference. 

Bestsellers Dahi Ke Kebab, Cheese Platter, Crostini Bar, Baked Fajitas, Ring Rice with Smoked Basil Curry,  Chocolate Monte Carlo, Sitaphal Chenna Pak.

Cost for two Rs1,200 (approx) 

Ordering Call/WhatsApp &ndash 6290795523 

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Paprika Gourmet 
This premium catering service&nbspbrand was started in 2011 by Vidisha Bathwal. It bills itself as an exotic artisan catering service. Vidisha has many accolades under her belt including the Aparajita Award in the field of Gourmet in 2012, Go Getter YFLO Kolkata Gourmand in 2018, Just Dial Paprika Take Away in 2018, and Sanjeev Kapoor Cooking Competition in 2019 by FICCI Ladies.

The menu highlights exotic platters like The Irani Special that consists of Parsi specialties like patrani, dhansak, Parsi potato stew and lagan nu custard. The Mad Mex platter includes Mexican rice bowl, quesadillas, sweet potato roast pepper tacos and Torta De Tres Leches. They also have a Punjab da Dhaba platter comprising Koyle Wali Sarson Ka Saag, Pindi Channa, Amritsari Kulcha and Kachumber, and and Alpine Indulgence platter containing Guyere 4 cheese fondue, grissini, smoked paprika mushroom and asparagus cheese baklava. Each of these platters includes a range of appetisers, mains and desserts,and serves 5 to 6 people.

To celebrate the 10-year milestone and spread more love, they&rsquove innovated and introduced new items such as gluten-free sourdough breads, za'atar sundried tomato focaccia with pesto and veggie filling, and charcoal sourdough bread. 

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For the festive season, they have taken iconic dishes and added a novel twist. So they picked the classics, the burrito bowl, chocolate cake, motichoor ladoos, and innovated from there. 

We had the Mexican Pull Me Up cake which had layers of rice, cheese sauce, cheese, peppers, corn, jalapenos, rajma, with a flower on top made with avocado slices. It comes with a white, cheesy sauce&nbspwhich you can pour with jubilant abandon, before pulling off the encasing.

Dessert was a Lotus Biscoff Pull Me Up Cake was made using Callebaut chocolates. Their box of laddoos&nbspin which the Gulab Gulkand Motichoor Ladoo stood out as did the delicate Rosepetal Beetroot and Choco ones (made with rose petals, beetroot powder, white chocolate, and almond marzipan).

Cost for two Rs1,500 taxes

Bestsellers Laksa, Clay Pot Rice, Turkish Pizza, Vietnamese Rolls, Parsi Dhansak and Chocolate baked Alaska. 

Ordering&nbspCall 9007022678/79/80 

READ Of Mid Autumn and Moon Cakes in Kolkata

For_kandknife
Another brand that started during the lockdown in April 2020, this is run by Pallavi Khaitan who grew up watching MasterChef Australia (George Calombaris was a favourite). "Once my Instagram page got famous, I started catering in October 2020," she say. She is also a part of social forums like FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) and Ladies Study Group (LSG).

We had the hummus with za'atar pizza (small round bases made with a mix of oregano, thyme, sumac powder and sesame seeds with virgin olive oil). The hummus was the big hitter with a satisfying touch of basil (secret ingredient ) and a garnish of za'atar and paprika.

They also do Asian dishes - we recommend the teriyaki noodles and Thai basil rice. The former had ramen noodles with&nbsppeanuts saut&eacuted with some spring onions and garlic with Mirin.&nbspThe teriyaki sauce is homemade. 

ALSO READ 9 GI-tagged Foods that Showcase the Culinary Diversity of India

Cost Rs950 for a dish serving 4 people

Bestsellers All their Lebanese dishes

Ordering DM on Instagram or WhatsApp or call on 9830024338

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