Welcome to the World of Welcome to the World of Bengali CuisineBengali Cuisine

Bengalis are an infectiously passionate lot & few things unite them more than their passion for food – especially fish.

So lets try to explore the richness of Bengali Cuisine

LOCATIONLOCATIONSituated in eastern Part of IndiaSurrounded by states like –Bihar,

Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam & neighboring country of Bangladesh ( which was once a part of West Bengal & is also referred as East Bengal sometimes)

HISTORYHISTORY Capital city – Kolkatta ( previously

called Calcutta ) of all Indian cities has been under foreign rule.

Foreigners include - Moguls ,Portuguese & British.

BENGALI BREAKFASTBENGALI BREAKFAST 19th Century- Preparation of a little butter, two or

three green chilies ,a pyramid of boiled rice, a ditto egg, & around of dried fish, with salt & cayenne at discretion .

Today – A big bowl containing Moorri (puffed rice), thick creamy milk & healthy dollops of freshly mashed fruit such as sweet, ripe mangoes or jackfruit .

OR moorri in its savory form just tossed with mustard oil & chopped green chilies .

Contd.Contd.Breakfast may also include a lump

of date palm jaggery to balance the savories of one with sweetness of the other.

( five different types of jaggery can be made alone from date palm )

MID-MORNING SNACKMID-MORNING SNACK (Jhalkhabar) (Jhalkhabar)

It may include rossogolla, sandesh & singhara. Singhara is a Bengali samosa consisting of

vegetables such as cauliflower or potatoes, all nicely spiced, wrapped in a triangular pastry & deep fried.

Sandesh is most classical & oldest of all chhana sweets.Chhana is simply mixed with thick sugar syrup & cooked over low flame till the moisture evaporates.It is then pressed into pretty wooden moulds.

Contd.Contd.Rossogolla is the most famous among

all Bengali sweets.To prepare it first milk is curdled& the curds separated from the whey. Moisture is squeezed out of the curds through muslin. Now dough is formed into small balls & drop them in boiling syrup where they are allowed to puff up.

LUNCHLUNCHSukto is a lunch time favorite & a

starter of the meal.It is followed by rice, dhal &

accompanied by a fried tidbit or Baja .

It may also include ‘rui macher jhol’ ,‘aam jhol’ , ‘misti doi’ & they can finish off with a sandesh.

Evening SnacksEvening Snacks It may include ‘jhal moori’, a spicy

combination of moori ,potatoes & cucumber. People might also prefer to have

phuchka.First fry a small, very crisp ball shaped poori.Then poke a hole on top & stuff in some spicy potatoes. Then fill to the top with tart, cumin& red chilli flavored tamarind water & stuff it in your mouth before the water drips.

DINNERDINNER It starts with an elegant pilaf of rice ,the

dhal,flavored with fish head (macher matha diye mooger dal & the bhaja ,delicate pumpkin flowers dipped in chickpea flour batter & deep fried.

Next would come fish –perhaps prawns simmered in coconut milk ( chingri malai ) -&vegetables such as pungent sorse dharush ( okra cooked with a paste of mustard seeds ) & kopir dantar dalna chingri maccher diye (Cauliflower stems cooked with tiny shrimp).

Contd..Contd.. Meat would follow – perhaps mangsho jhol,

nicely marinated lamb cooked in mustard oil with potatoes & onions.

Chutney course would be next – this could be made with tomatoes, nicely studded with bits of preserved sweet mango-accompanied by soft loochis( breads )

Then would come the sweet yogurt , steamed yogurt (bhapa doi ( steamed yoghurt )

Contd…Contd… Finally, would come the sweets – Rasmalai- a chhana sweet floating in

cardamom flavored cream Kala Jamun- dark round balls made out of

fried chhana Lady Kennys- fried chhana balls stuffed with

raisins (last named after a foreign woman, Lady Canning ,the wife of a Governor General.

THE HEART OF BENGALI THE HEART OF BENGALI CUISINE ------- FISHCUISINE ------- FISH

Fish is treated very auspicious in Bengali’ s life.

Bengali people prefer to have only fresh water fish

No meal is treated complete without fish.Most famous varieties of fish among

Bengalis- Elish , Hilsa, Rui, Perch, Mullet, Crab, Carp, Prawn, Crayfish & lobster.

RECIPES FROM BENGALRECIPES FROM BENGALMAACHHER JHOL Portion- 04Ingredients QtyCarp steaks 800gGround turmeric

2.5mlSalt

2.5mlMustard oil 150mlGround corriander seeds

15ml

Contd…Contd…

Red chilli pwd. 2.5mlGround cumin seeds 5mlFinely grated ,peeled fresh ginger 7.5mlNigella seeds

1/4tspWhole, dried,hot, red chillies 4Bay leaves 2Onion ,peeled & finely chopped 100g

ContdContd…… Green chillies

METHOD Rub the fish well with the turmeric & salt &

set aside. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a

medium flame.Let it get smokingly hot. Put the fish pieces & brown lightly on all

sides without cooking them through.

ContdContd…… Remove & put it on a plate.Combine coriander

seeds ,cumin,ginger, 1 tsp turmeric, chilli powder & salt in a small bowl.

Add 3 tbs of water& mix. Heat oil ,add nigella seeds, bay leaves & red chillies. Allow it to crackle.

Add onion &sauté till golden brown in colour. Now add the fish in single layer & 250ml water.Lay the green chillies over the fish. Cover & cook for 10-15 mins.

Note: the whole chilli should be eaten by those who know what they are doing.