Bengalis are made of fish , rice & sweetmeats. They are obsessed with mutton & chicken. They hold vegetable in high regard. They never shy away from trying out exotic cuisine. They cannot spend the evenings without gorging on junk food. In a word, Bengalis are passionate about food. They love to cook, eat & feed.
There are only three categories of Bengali women : good cook, better cook & best cook. They are never below 'good'. Cooking is in their genes & they excel with fish, meat, vegetable,sweets, maybe everything on earth. Bengali women's another passion is feeding their near & dear ones. Even in a financially backward family a homemaker serves a beautiful spread before everyone ,everyday. How can she manage to do so is ... a magic!
In Bengali cuisine vegetable is paired off with fish so impeccably that these two become an integrity. begun diye ilish machh ( hilsa with brinjal), kochu shak diye ilisher matha (head of hilsa with Alocasia), mulo diye shol (fish with radish), lau diye chingri ( shrimp with gourd) fulkopi diye koi machh ( fish with cauliflower) are some of the fish-veggie combinations to die for.
Bengali cuisine reveals the creative & adventurous nature of Bengalis.
There are only three categories of Bengali women : good cook, better cook & best cook. They are never below 'good'. Cooking is in their genes & they excel with fish, meat, vegetable,sweets, maybe everything on earth. Bengali women's another passion is feeding their near & dear ones. Even in a financially backward family a homemaker serves a beautiful spread before everyone ,everyday. How can she manage to do so is ... a magic!
FISH
Freshwater,marine ; bony,cartilaginous ; scaly,without scale ; big,small; Benaglis love all types of fish. Their passion for ilish (hilsa) is ' you-have-to-see-to-believe' kind of. In monsoon they forget about water logging, getting marooned, late marks in office,dampened floor, leaking roof etc. if there is abundant hilsa in the market. Bengali men returning home from work with an ilish machh (hilsa) in his bag is a common sight in the rain-washed evenings.
Fish is part of our life. To rest of the country Bengalis are known as 'fish loving community'. They wonder how do Bengali women remove the stubborn smell of fish ! This aquatic crop has found its place in Bengali literature,music & cinema. Even in Bengal it is offered to God also. This is unbelievable in other parts of India.
Sorshe ilish, bhapa ilish, chitol machher muitha, tel koi, chingrir malaikari ( Bengalis consider chingri/prwan as fish) are some of the preparations which are no less than artworks. Even ordinary fish curry with vegetable is surprisingly delicious.
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| ILISH BHAJA (FRIED HILSA) |
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| BHAPA ILISH ( STEAMED HILSA) |
SWEETMEAT (MISHTI)
Bengalis are famous for their sweet tooth. It's true they eat sweets on all occasion. It's also true they need no occasion for eating sweets. Just check out the fridge of any Bengali household anytime, you'll find some sweets there!
Expertise of Bengali confectioners is unparalleled. They have invented some items which are out-of-the-world. Others have tried to create the same magic but failed. Rasogolla tops the list. These are white,medium-sized spheres of cottage cheese with a hollow core. Rasogolla is the darling of the nation. Visit to West Bengal remains incomplete if Rasogolla is not experienced. Bongaon & Basirhat are two places famous for rasogolla.
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| RASOGOLLA |
Bengal's another gift is Mishti doi (sweet curd). Milk is fermented & sweetened to produce this wonderful substance of firm consistency. Doi is usually white in colour. In Nabadwip, a special type of mishti doi is prepared which is reddish. This is known as Chandrachur doi / lal doi & a must-have in Nabadwip.
There's jol-bhora-sandesh. It's core is filled with syrup while the outer surface is completely dry. How the leakage is prevented is a mystery!
There're so many preparations which made Bengal stand out. Mihidana-sitabhog of Burdwan, Moa from Joynagar, Lyangcha of Shaktigarh, Kacha golla of Bongaon are some of them.
In West Bengal, sweetmeats are of two categories. Those mentioned above are sold in the market. There are some which are prepared in the household kitchen & usually not found in the shops. Bengali women give the confectioners tough competition. They use ingredients like rice,milk,coconut etc. to prepare desserts. Payes, pitha, naru are some of out-of-the-world delicacies which are Bengali women's forte.
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| NARU |
VEGETABLE
Bengalis are graceful omnivores. They eat all parts of plant body. mocha (flower of banana), echor (young jackfruit), mankochu (Alocasia), kochur mukhi (Colocasia), thor (stem of banana), alu bhaja (fried potato), begun bhaja (fried brinjal), posto (poppy seed),shak (edible herbs) etc. are what Bengalis can't live without. kumro ful (flower of pumpkin) & bok ful (Sesbania) are used to make chops which even the most health-conscious people love to gorge on.
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| BOK FUL |
In Bengali cuisine vegetable is paired off with fish so impeccably that these two become an integrity. begun diye ilish machh ( hilsa with brinjal), kochu shak diye ilisher matha (head of hilsa with Alocasia), mulo diye shol (fish with radish), lau diye chingri ( shrimp with gourd) fulkopi diye koi machh ( fish with cauliflower) are some of the fish-veggie combinations to die for.
Bengali cuisine reveals the creative & adventurous nature of Bengalis.
