About Bengal and Bengali eating habits

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The Bengalis are perhaps the greatest food lovers in the Indian subcontinent. An elaborate meal of many items being cooked in a Bengali kitchen is a very common sight. Dishes are carefully prepared according to the recipes handed down from generation to generations.
Though Modern Bengali cooking is being influenced globally still our tongue will always yearn for the taste of Muro Ghonto - an exotic dish prepared with fish heads and rice together, Aloo Posto - potatoes cooked in Poppy seed paste andSorshe Ilish - Hilsa Fish cooked with Mustard seed paste.

The staple food of the Bengalis are Rice and Fish. The Bengali culinary tradition is mainly based on the ingredients available locally. Bengal's geographical features is also responsible for their food habit. The vast river network, its climate and its fertile soil help to grow Rice, Mustard and other crops. Fruits like coconuts, mangoes, bananas are also grown plentifully. The rivers, ponds and lakes provide fishes for the fish lovers.
The cooking medium is Mustard oil which adds to the aroma and flavour of the Bengali food.

According to the traditional Bengali way of serving food it should be served on the floor. An Asan- an individual piece of carpet is placed on the floor for the person to sit on it. In front of this Asan the food platter- Thala is placed which is usually made of Bell Metal.The plate is often surrounded by an array of Bell Metal bowls- Bati , containing various items.The Bengalis eat their food with their fingers-what else could be much better to pick out the bones from Koi (Climbing Perch) and Ilish (Hilsa Fish- sort of like American Shad).

Bengali food is not ladled onto the plate all at once, but served course by course.

First you start by mixing a part of the rice with ghee, a little bit of Lebur rosh - lemon juice and a pinch of salt and having it. Then something bitter to clear the palate for the good food to come. This might be Shukto/ bitter vegetable curry, served only for lunch or just Uchchey Bhaja/ fried bitter gourd. Next comes the rice served with Dal and something Bhaja/fried (could be aubergine, potato, pumpkin, or other seasonal veggies), after which you move on to a Tarkari /dry or gravied vegetable dish. The fish course follows, and, if two kinds of fish are to be served, you eat the lighter one before the richer. Rice is very important, so the rice is always offered around. If there is Mangsho/meat on the menu it follows the fish. Then comes the Chutney or Ambal. Lastly the dessert which could be Mishti Doi/ sweet yoghurt, Sondesh, or the famous rossogolla. And finally, a Paan/ Beetle leaf.

This is a common menu for a Bengali LUNCH or DINNER.

Nowadays some people prefer Roti -Indian bread similar to Mexican tortillas instead of rice. Rainy days mean Khichudi - a mixture of rice, lentils and vegetables, begun bhaja -fried brinjal slices and dim bhaja - fried eggs .

A leisurely BREAKFAST on the special day will be usually Luchi - puri in the rest of India or Parotas - flour rotis seasoned in oil or ghee and Aloor Dom - curried potatoes.

SNACKS like Singara, Kachuri , Nimki, Mochar Chop, Alur Chop are also very popular.

The typical spices the Bengalis use to cook their dishes are hard to find in any other part of India.
The Bengali's use a special type of spice called Kalonji / Kalo jirey - this is black in colour and is onion flavoured. Another authentic Bengali spice is Panch Foran-Five Spices- a proportionate mixture of Fennel, Fenugreek, Kalonji and Black Mustard. ThePanch Foran is usually tossed in hot oil and then added either at the start or at the end of cooking.
Bengalis also use Mustard paste - Sorshey Banta and Poppy paste - Posto Banta in some of their dishes. They use ginger, garlic and onion paste in most of their meat and fish preparations.
They love to garnish their food with Coriander Leaves-Dhoney Pata. Some of their vegetable dishes like Shak Chochori are often garnished withBori Bhaja ( made from the batter of Urid dal. It is sun dried and then fried and sprinkled over the food).

Even though Fish and Meat is very popular among the Bengalis many people do not eat fish and meat at all due to religious issues, some of the vegetarians are so strict that they omit onion and garlic from their diet.
In an orthodox(or should I say in olen days) Bengali Kitchen Ranna Ghar fish and vegetable were cooked in different vessels and over seperate fires.Most of the Bengali widows eat completely vegeterian food without any onions and garlic in it.

The bengalis even use their own type of cooking vessels. The Karai (round bottomed vessel)

is used for most of cooking and frying. Rotis and Parathas are cooked on Tawa

(griddle). Rice is cooked in Hari (a special large pot )

. the handle less, rimmed, deep flatbottomed Dekchi

is the hallmark of Bengali kitchens. Also found are the Hatha (ladle), the Khunti (metal spatula), the Jharni (perforated spoon), the sarashi (pincers used to remove pots from fire), the Ghunti (wooden hand blender) for pureeing dal, the old wooden Chali Belun

(the round pastry board and the rolling pin), the Shil Nora

(grinding stone to grind the spices on) and the Bonti

(a unique cutting tool).

Bengali food will not be complete without mentioning the famous Bengali sweets. In a Bengali house visitors are always offered sweets - its almost like an unwritten rule. Bengali sweets are available all over the wolrd. The Rasogolla, Sandesh, Mishti Doi - sweet yogurt, Payesh - ricepudding and Pitha are Bengal's specialties. Sohanpapdi (a flaky sweet), Jilipi - Jalebi , Pantua - similar to Gulab Jamun, Sita Bhogh and Mihidana are other popular sweets.

Bengali food has come a long way. Now Bengali food is prepared and eaten with much enthusiasm all over the world. There are many Cook Books specialising on Bengali Culinary Art.

Please forgive my Bengali + English = Benglish spellings.