Butter Fried Cheesy Egg Toast – an affair to remember

If you want me to name my 3 loves in life, it would probably come like this ….. my takia/ pashbalish (the pillow which I love and make love), wife (whom off course  I love) and eggs. Like almost any bong middle-aged men, very few love affairs still exist in our life and those which do, we tend to fight like bengal tigers to protect it. So, this post is dedicated to my lust-story with egg and just to be more precise, egg-toast.

For some strange reason, during our childhood, at home, we were served something called french toast. And, surprisingly, it was nowhere near to what I now understand by the name. So, it was sliced bread, dipped in whisked egg (off course with a generous dose of chopped onion and green chilly, shallow fried in mustard oil (off course in those black, burnt frying pans), a little love was added along with those tomato ketchup and we were happy bustards. But, as we grew up, those sliced breads transformed into thick quarter breads and breakfast made by mom transformed into the friendly neighborhood egg-sellers. I finally understood that biting into those thick quartered bread was far more enjoyable than those zero-sized rickety sliced breads- egg or no egg …. Now, this egg sellers can be found in every nook and corner of the city and until and unless somebody does something really different, it’s no use talking about it. So, there is a marketplace named VIP market (just opposite to the Pantaloons near Phoolbagan, CIT Road beliaghata) and at the backside of it, sits this gentleman humbly preparing one of the best egg-toasts I’ve ever eaten here. He, sadly, is not on Google map. But, look for a restaurant called Onam or the Haringhata counter (in the pics below) and you can have a fair idea about his stall’s coordinates.

Well, Patil ji is a gujrati businessman, hailing from Bhagalpur, Bihar and now settled fully in Kolkata, and while I’m writing this, is on a month-long holiday in his ancestral village (lucky man, I must say …). And, like all gujrati businessman, he has analyzed the market properly and was quick enough to figure out that we Kolkattans, love cheese in bloody anything. And, thus came out the result, his costliest and highest selling item … (behold your breath) Butter Fried Cheese Egg Toast. Well, I know you’re laughing your heart out, but just think for a second. Wouldn’t you love to love your wife and somebody else’s wife at the same time ? Egg and cheese are just like that, for a Kolkattan. This gentleman does a pretty simple thing. He charges 60/- a piece (with 2 eggs) and 50/- (with single egg) and puts one whole Amul cheese cube into his egg-toast. And, strangely, my usual theory of “more the merrier” hardly applies here. I always prefer 2 egg toasts with single egg each and trust me, that takes care of my lunch.

So, let’s have a look at the simple cooking process (and those black, burnt frying pans adding more taste to it)

So, the first bite …. and the hot cheese starts melting inside your mouth and gets blended with the Indian spicy green chilly and coriander combo and trust me, the impact is magical. During the evening times, I’ve seen cars getting parked with AC blowing with full force and this being used as a chakhna inside the car with chilled beer. And, it’s definitely worth.

This may not be your everyday egg-toast, but it’s definitely worth a visit. He sells normal egg toast, buttered toast and boiled egg also, but I’d suggest, visit him for this only and I can vouch for the quality. Also, don;t forget to give me a call while visiting, I might just drop in.

Bon apetit !!!

Comments and critics welcome.

I can be reached at 9903528225 / indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com