Bangla Rannar Pala O Parbon - Popular Kolkata Cuisine and Authentic Bengali Recipes
This site is about Indian food and authentic Bengali recipes and some simple ideas on how one can convert a traditional recipe to an exotic modern presentation, a thoughtful discussion about food history in relation to Ayurveda, culture and food science, the Vedic sutras and folklore, which ascribed why we should eat seasonally and stay fit with healthy food. Seasonal foods like vegetable, fruit, and fish are cost effective and consumers demand of foods are always reflecting crop production and market economy, which can save the food biodiversity and extinct species of flora and fauna.
[Bhatiyali Folk Song is a traditional boat song of eastern Bengal. It is sung by boatmen during the journey across down streams of the river. 'Bhatiyali' means the downstream or ebb. Beginning with an endearing address, the voice of the song takes a loud flight of top notes. Gradually, the tune slides down to lower notes.]
Purpose, outline, and reliability
The purpose is to distinguish the various dimensions of food culture of Bengal associated with basic task of rediscovering history considering advancement in modern acquisition. My plutolatry for traditional and cultural food forced me to make this journey through ages and to pursue expansive treasure towards the future.
For Kolkata-Bangalees, there is no particular kind of BENGALI food habits now. Through the decades, Bengali cuisine has been influenced by many foreign entities such as the Mughals, Persians, Burmese, Portuguese, British, Chinese and other different countries and so as now in this cosmopolitan society after partition and migration to India, Bengalees can easily adopt foods of others. The food practice thoroughly supplemented from other provinces “like idly dosa from south, chole batura, singara, tikia, rolls from north, from west pao bhaji, golgappa, chaat, easily available pizzas, ready to make pastas, cosmopolitan items like cakes, burgers, pastries, sandwiches etc in every lane, no doubt benefited in many ways", but now pure Bengali meals or tiffin have become fussy and fancy according to our conception, which is not suitable for fast life. The elaborate meals are truly expensive, practically it is, and no time to compare too.
When we talk about "authentic" cuisines as in Bengali food, it somehow determines the authenticity through some ethnic traditions maintained by Bengali communities, some collected from family and friends, some from old scriptures, books, food-talk shows. Authenticity identified through traditional food knowledge maintained through the family as a guideline of amish (non vegetarian) and niramish (vegetarian), seasonal choices of ingredients and particular way of making that expressed in scriptures and also through generation by generation in different communities. I am trying to maintain the basic information without changes to make a good recipe collection. As I found my parents a locavore, they never implemented any idea of modernity in their food habits and have a great knowledge of traditions; I personally preferred their guidelines to identify the authenticity of ethnic Bengali food. I adopted Bengali cuisine as it is as well as I have learnt Indian cuisines from different regions with a judgment of authenticity through the perspective of basic knowledge and history.
Traditional full course Bengali meal
Due to the economy and unavailability of ingredients it has now became impossible to stick on the basic old-fashioned way and the taste is hardly the same, profoundly different with mix and matches.
A Bengali food will actually taste different. It will hit the taste buds. The uniqueness of food as a cultural phenomena “sensorial food” aesthetically tastes differently. The real gourmet meal to be served to any distinguished guest would be an assortment of food that is described of many things to “eat, chew, lick and drink” as “Chobbo, chossho, lejjho, peyo" teasing the taste buds drooling throughout the meal, which will confuse taste-buds with sukto; a vegetarian curry that blurs to a savory delight.
One elaborated Bengali menu course will have a sequence in the presentation according to taste bitter to sweet. Starter such as traditional starters with a dish of Teto (bitter) as well as fry and fritters (bhaja bhuji), shaak or shuktodaal (lentils), tori torkari (curry) dim (egg) or paneer preparations can be introduced in between, then lightly cooked to richer ones; maachh (fish), mansho (meat or chicken items), all of these are eaten with rice, After the main course for lunch a dish will come called tok or chutney (sour), misti (sweets), and paan (betel leaf) shorbot (drinks) . Bengali tea-time (jal-khabar) table spread too has a distinct delicacies as well.
10 Must Try Bengali Recipes on Poila Baishakh