Kolkata: As the LPG crisis deepens across the country, several famous restaurants in Kolkata are feeling the impact. With Ramzan underway and Eid approaching, many Mughlai restaurants have started cutting down their menus and shifting to alternative cooking methods due to the shortage of commercial LPG. Items such as rumali roti, gravy-based dishes and certain types of biryani, which take longer to cook, are being removed or limited on the menu as restaurants struggle to manage with reduced gas supply.
The supply disruption comes as global energy routes face uncertainty during the ongoing tensions in Strait of Hormuz and the wider conflict involving Iran, Israel and United States. The shortage is currently being felt most strongly in the commercial LPG segment. Restaurants, hotels and food vendors depend on large commercial cylinders for daily cooking, making them among the first to face disruptions.
Kolkata’s famous Aminia Mughlai biryani chain at Kolkata’s Chinar Park and other outlets, is also facing the impact of the LPG crisis. Speaking to Times Now, Aminia director Kabir Azhar (26) said the restaurant group has started making alternative arrangements to keep its kitchens running.
“We have 12 branches. We have bought heavy-duty induction cooktops and have started cooking on coal stoves to continue preparing biryani. We are also cutting down our menu. We have stopped making rumali rotis and some of our special biryani dishes,” he said.
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Azhar added that the restaurant earlier received around 50 LPG cylinders a day, but the supply has now dropped sharply.
“We were getting about 50 cylinders per day, but now we are receiving only 10 to 12 cylinders daily,” he said. “Earlier, I thought this situation would be resolved in a few weeks, but now we are preparing more coal stoves to manage the situation,” he added.
Another well-known eatery in Kolkata, Zam Zam, which had served biryani to Pakistan Cricket team during the 2023 ODI match in the city, is struggling to get even 1 commercial cylinder a day.
Zam Zam director, Shaadman said that the shortage has severely affected their daily kitchen operations.
” The recent LPG crisis has affected in a very bad way, we had a consumption of three units of commercial cylinder per day right now. We are not getting even one or two daily, so we have limited our production, we are short in the menu.”
He added that the dishes that take longer time to prepare are being temporarily removed from the menus.
“Indian items which take time to be made like gravy, deserts we have reduced those items from menu.”
As the crisis deepens many restaurants owners remains in dark when this situation will return to normal while their business continue to suffer. Several Restaurants have started to shifting to alternative of LPG in order to keep their kitchen running.
Read More: Kolkata LPG Crisis: Restaurants Switch to Wood-Fried Ovens, Menu Shrink As Cylinder Shortage Bites
Shaadman further added, ” I have no idea when this will be over, we are just hoping for best. We are looking for alternatives which are most feasible, either coal or inductions.”
This comes as large share of India’s LPG imports passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and delays in shipments through the Gulf region have started affecting supply inside the country.
India depends heavily on fuel imports, and more than 85 per cent of LPG shipments used in the country travel through this narrow waterway before reaching Indian ports. With tensions in the region affecting shipping routes and energy infrastructure, deliveries have slowed, creating shortages in several cities.
