Cuisine of West Bengal

The cuisine of West Bengal is such that it appeals not just to the casual traveller, but also to the food connoisseur. It would be interesting to note that Bengal is the only state in India which has customarily developed the multi-course tradition of serving food. A contemporary day-to-day meal etiquette involves serving the food in a particular fashion that starts from a little ghee poured over a small portion of rice, followed by a bitter preparation called shukto, and then the lentils or dals, served together with roasted & fried vegetable called bhaja, some chutney and papor. Next comes the spiced vegetable curry, followed by fish, and lastly chicken or mutton. Dessert is quintessential to any Bengali meal, and is served at the end followed by a paan (betel leaf) to aid digestion.

Now, talking about the popular delicacies of West Bengal, first and foremost comes the non-vegetarian curries. Bengalis love their fish, and it’s a fact which is universally known and accepted. The famous Bengali dish, ‘Macher Jhol’, is a simple yet flavourful fish curry in a thin gravy and counts for an everyday staple served with steamed rice. Bengalis use a lot of mustard in their recipes, and the ‘Shorshe Maach’ is a good example of such a preparation. There are other interesting varieties including Doi Maach, Machher Kalia and Macher Paturi. There are plenty of choices for mutton and chicken lovers, with some of the popular dishes bring Doi Murgi, Murgir Jhol and ‘Kosha Mangsho.

Bengali cuisine also consist of delicious vegetable dishes with unique flavours that are obtained with the use of certain spices. In fact, it is a must to have at least two vegetarian preparations in a typical Bengali meal, one a bhaja or a fried snack and second, a torkari or curry. Shukto is one of the famous Bengali vegetarian delicacies. A bittersweet broth, it is commonly made of an assortment of vegetables like potatoes, eggplants, drumsticks, carrots and hyacinth beans. Another equally famous vegetable is the flavourful ‘Aloo Posto’, which is a simple curry made of potatoes, dunked in an aromatic paste of poppy seeds. If you are in Kolkata during summers, it is quite a possibility, you might end up being served ‘Lau Ghonto’ on your Bengali thali. It’s an interesting preparation made of bottle gourd and fried lentil dumplings with subtle flavours of coconut to add a touch of sweetness.