Food of Bangladesh

Bengali meals                                                                                                                                                                                                            
A traditional fish meal called, Macher Jhol (Literally translated to Fish in Gravy). The Bengalis are great food lovers and take pride in their cuisine. In fact so obsessed are they about food, that the man of the house goes to the market daily to buy a fresh supply of fish which is a must in their daily menu. The most common variety of fish that the Bengalis eat are the Hilsa, Bekti, Rohu and among the shell fish the Prawns. The medium of cooking is mustard oil which adds on its own pungency. Another very important item of Bengali cuisine is the variety of sweets or mishti as they call them. Most of them are milk based and are prepared from chaana (paneer as it is popularly known). The most popular among the Bengali sweets are the Rosogolla, Sandesh, Pantua and Mishti Doi and these four sweets are a must at every wedding besides some other sweets, which may vary as per individual choice. A meal, for the Bengali, is a ritual in itself even if it only boiled rice and lentils (dal bhat), with of course a little fish. Bengalis, like the French, spend not only the great deal of time thinking about the food but also on its preparation and eating. Quips like “Bengalis live to eat” and “Bengalis spend most of their income on food” are not exactly exaggerated. The early morning shopping for fresh vegetables, fish etc. is the prerogative of the head of the family, even in affluent household, because he feels that he alone can pick up the best at a bargain price. The Bengalis are very particular about the way and the order in which the food should be served. Each dish is to be eaten separately with a little rice so that the individual flavors can be enjoyed. The first item served may be a little ghee which is poured over a small portion of rice and eaten with a pinch of salt. Then come the bitter preparation, shukto, followed by lentils or dals, together with roasted or fried vegetables (bhaja or bharta). Next come the vegetable dishes, the lightly spiced vegetables, chenchki, chokka, followed by the most heavily spiced dalna, ghonto and those cooked with fish. Finally the chicken or mutton,  if this being served at all. Chaatni comes to clear the palate together with crisp savory wafers, papor. Dessert is usually sweet yogurt (mishti doi). The meal is finally concluded with the handing out of betel leaf (paan), which is considered to be an aid to digestion and an astringent. Traditionally the people here eat seated on the floor, where individual pieces of carpet, called asans, are spread for each person to sit on and the meal is served on a large gun-metal or silver plate (thala) and the various items of food are placed in bowls (batis) around the top of the thala, running from right to left. Rice is mounded and placed on the middle of the thala, with a little salt, chilies and lime placed on the upper right hand corner. They eat with the fingers of the right hand and strict etiquette is observed with regard to this. The typical Bengali fare includes a certain sequence of food - somewhat like the courses of Western dining. Two sequences are commonly followed, one for ceremonial dinners such as a wedding and the day-to-day sequence. Both sequences have regional variations, and sometimes there are significant differences in a particular course between West Bengal and Bangladesh. At home, Bengalis traditionally ate without silverware: kaţa (forks), chamoch (spoons), and chhuri (knives) gradually finding use on Bengali tables in urban areas. Most Bengalis eat with their right hand, mashing small portions of meat and vegetable dishes with rice and in some cases, lentils. In rural areas, Bengalis traditionally eat, sitting on the floor with a large banana or plantain leaf serving as the plate or plates made from sal leaves sown together and dried. The elaborate dining habits of the Bengalis were a reflection of the attention the Bengali housewife paid to the kitchen. In modern times, thanks to Western influence, this is rarely followed anymore. Courses are frequently skipped or combined with everyday meals. Meals were usually served course by course to the diners by the youngest housewives, but increasing influence of nuclear families and urbanization has replaced this. It is now common to place everything on platters in the centre of the table, and each diner serves him/herself. Ceremonial occasions such as weddings used to have elaborate serving rituals, but professional catering and buffet-style dining is now commonplace. The traditions are far from dead, though; large family occasions and the more lavish ceremonial feasts still make sure that these rituals are observed.

Cooking styles 

In East Bengal, the culinary style developed rather independently; it was not greatly influenced by the rest of India and Southeast Asia because of the difficult geography of the Ganges delta. Some characteristics stand out: fresh-water fish, beef (only for Muslims), the extensive use of parboiled rice, and much spicier food (some of the hottest dishes in the world). Floods are common in the region, so there is an extensive use of root vegetables and dried fish (shuţki). Milk and dairy products, so widely used in the neighboring India, are not as common here; the geography prevents large-scale dairy farming, thus making dairy products an expensive indulgence. Although, some food  calls for curd/yogurt or ghee. However, sweets do contain milk and dairy products as well as jaggery and rice paste. As you move eastwards, anthropologically the people become more and more different, and the language takes a different tone and flavour all together. The far eastern parts are closer culturally to Burma than to India. In western parts of Bengal, more connected with the rest of India and dominated by the megacity of Kolkata since the late eighteenth century, the culinary style evolved to become different. The delta is thinner there, with fewer rivers and more open plains. There is significant commerce with the rest of India, leading to a flow of spices, ingredients and techniques and more importantly culture. The presentations are more elaborate and a significant feature of the cuisine is a vast array of sweets based on milk and sugar as part of tradition. While fresh-water fish is still common, mutton is more common among the Muslim population than beef and dried fish. Wheat makes its appearance alongside rice, in different types of breads such as luchi, kochuri and pôroţa. For the former however, flour, not wheat is used. Mustard paste is extensively used, and so is mustard oil. There's a greater use of coconut, both in cooking and in desserts. Prosperity and urbanization also led to the widespread use of professional cooks who introduced complex spice mixtures and more elaborate sauces, along with techniques such as roasting or braising. Also introduced around this time, probably as a consequence of increased urbanization, was a whole new class of snack foods. These snack foods are most often consumed with evening tea. The tea-time ritual was probably inspired by the British, but the snacks most popular are Kolkata - chaţ, kachori,beguni,mochaar chop, samosa, phuluri and the ever-popular jhal-muri also referred to as bhelpuri . Puchka is the ever-popular street food.

Common Bengali Cooking Styles                                                                                                                                                                              
Aum-bol: A sour dish made either with several vegetables or with fish, the sourness being produced by the addition of tamarind pulp.

Bhapa: Fish or vegetables steamed spices. A classic steaming technique is to wrap the fish in banana leaf to give it a faint musky, smoky scent.

Bhorta: Any vegetable, such as potatoes, beans, sour mangoes, papaya, pumpkins or even dal, first boiled whole and then mashed and seasoned with red shallot, fresh chilli, mustard oil/ghee and spices.

Bhuna: Meaning fried for a long time with ground and whole spices over high heat until shallot/garlic/ginger have dissolved into a thick paste. Usually applied to meat  and some shellfish.

Chachchari: Usually a vegetable dish with one or more varieties of vegetables cut into longish strips, sometimes with the stalks of leafy greens added, all lightly seasoned with spices like mustard or poppy seeds and flavoured with a pouron. The skin and bone of large fish like bhetki (Red snapper (fish) or chitol can be made into a chachchari called kata-chachchari, kata, meaning fish-bone.

Chhyonchra: A combination dish made with different vegetables, portions of fish head and fish oil (entrails).

Dalna: Mixed vegetables or eggs, cooked in a medium thick gravy seasoned with ground spices, especially gorom moshla and a touch of ghee.

Dhom: Vegetables, especially potatoes, or meat, cooked over a covered pot containing water, slowly over a low heat, slightly steaming.

Dolma: A vegetable, 'patol', stuffed with fish boiled, de-boned, then prepared with garam masala, ginger and onions (alternately coconut-vegetable stuffing is used)

Ghonto: Different complementary vegetables, are chopped or finely grated and cooked with both a pouron and ground spices. Dried pellets of dal are often added to the ghonto. Ghee is commonly added at the end. Non-vegetarian ghontos are also made, with fish or fish heads added to vegetables. The famous murighonto is made with fish heads cooked in a fine variety of rice. Some ghantos are very dry while others a thick and juicy.

Jhal: Literally, hot. A great favorite in West Bengali households, this is made with fish or shrimp or crab, first lightly fried and then cooked in a light sauce of ground red chilli or ground mustard and a flavoring of pach-pouron or kalo jira. Being dryish, it is often eaten with a little bit of dal pored over the rice.

Jhoul: A light fish or vegetable stew seasoned with ground spices like ginger, cumin, coriander, chilli, and turmeric with pieces of fish and longitudinal slices of vegetables floating in it. The gravy is thin yet extremely flavorful. Whole green chillies are usually added at the end and green coriander leaves are used to season for extra taste.

Kalia: A very rich preparation of fish, meat or vegetables using a lot of oil and ghee with a sauce usually based on ground ginger and shallot paste and gorom moshla.

Korma: A term of Mughali origin, meaning meat or chicken cooked in a mild yoghurt based sauce with ghee instead of oil. People of Southern Bangladesh are known to add coconut milk to many of their dishes and Korma is no exception.

Poura: Literally, burnt. Vegetables are wrapped in leaves and roasted over a wood or charcoal fire. Some, like aubergines (eggplants), are put directly over the flames. Before eating the roasted vegetable is mixed with oil and spices.                                               

Torkari: A general term often used in Bengal the way `curry' is used in English. The word first meant uncooked garden vegetables. From this it was a natural extension to mean cooked vegetables or even fish and vegetables cooked together.