Bengal (West Bengal), an eastern state of India, has over 91 million residents. The state is a culturally rich piece of land enveloped by the Bay of Bengal and the Himalayan range. It’s home to numerous lush green forests, the world’s largest mangroves, picturesque mountain ranges, valleys covered with beautiful tea plantations, and golden beaches. Kolkata, Bengal’s largest city, is the birthplace of Indian Nationalism and was the former capital of India. Culturally, Kolkata is a literary & artistic heritage site as home to many influential authors including R.K. Narayan, Amitav Ghosh, and Nobel Prize winning author Rabindranath Tagore.
Bengal has successfully preserved a lot of its traditions. Starting from its architecture to its classic transportation systems. The Presidency College, formerly known as Hindu college, also resides in Kolkata and is the oldest college in all of Asia. According to 2011 Census, Bengal has a literacy rate of 76.26%.
Food from Bengal – a Brief History
The first item that has to be mentioned when mentioning Bengali food is Fish. The humungous and inexhaustible fish cultivation from its rivers, lakes and Bay of Bengal allows fish preparation in abundance. Each and every fish can be cooked in many permutations and combinations. Additionally, Bengal is traditionally renowned for its fertile agricultural paddy field. Mustard and garlic are one of the most dominant ingredients of Bengali dishes.
The culinary culture of Bengali food has been very distinguishable from the rest of the country since pre-colonial Bengal. Traditionally, Bengali food is divided in four types: charbya (food that has to be chewed), choshya (food that has to be sucked), lehya (food which can be licked) and peya (liquids). Between the 12th to 18th century, Bengal advanced towards Islamic rule and with that emerged new additions in the conventional Bengali food menu. With this new establishment, places started having kebabs, kofta, biryani, pulao, kaliya, etc. as well.
The 15th century opened different sea routes from the West towards various foreign lands. The Portuguese were the first to arrive India. It was followed by the Dutch, French, Danes and finally – British. During the 18th century, the British colonialism expanded to Bengal. This brought a tangent in Bengali’s eating habit yet again. Some new additions included cheese, okra, bread, jam, cauliflower, chili pepper, biscuits, and more. The British became the administrative power and promoted these food items and initiated mass production 0f these items.
Let us now walk through the very diverse Bengali dishes and all the ingredients required to make them.
Bengali Cuisine
Here is a list of some of the most vibrant and flavorful Bengali dishes.
Bengali Hindu Cuisine
The traditional Bengali Hindu cuisine is vastly cooked in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian preparations. Mostly all non-vegetarian dishes are prepared in mustard oil and garlic. Cardamom, bay leaves, mustard, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, cumin are some of the most important and dominating spices required to cook Bengali dishes. Rice is the staple source of calories for almost all Bengalis. Kosha Mangsho, Murgir Jhol, Ilish Bhapa, Aloo Posto, Lau Ghonto, are just a few examples.
Murgir Jhol
Murgir Jhol is a refreshing, light flavored chicken stew. It is an easy preparation and is widely consumed by Bengalis on a daily basis alongside boiled rice. It can be cooked and served quickly without having to compromise on taste.
Indian Groceries needed for Murgir Jhol:
- Chicken
- Carrots
- Potato
- Onions
- Beans
- Green papaya
- White pepper
- Turmeric
- Black pepper
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Butter
- Salt
Bhetki Paturi
Bhetki Paturi is a celebrated Bengali dish. It tastes delicious and can be accompanied by steaming boiled rice or a flavorful pulao. The dominating ingredient in this preparation is mustard. A Bhetki fish fillet is marinated in mustard oil and seeds, green chili paste, and poppy seed paste. This serves a bold, pungent and smoky taste. The name – Paturi itself means leaf. Therefore, after marinating, the fish fillet is wrapped with a seasoned banana leaf and gets ready to be baked.
Indian Groceries needed for Bhetki Paturi:
- Fish fillet
- Mustard oil
- Mustard seeds
- Green chillies
- Turmeric powder
- Salt
Payesh
Payesh is a simple Bengali dessert. It is very popular in Bengali kitchens and is served in special occasions as well. Serving a bowl of Payesh to someone on their birthday is considered auspicious. Here, boiled rice is finely crushed and is put in a boiling pot of warm milk with sugar or jaggery. For extra flavor, cardamom is often used. Its consistency is conventionally thick and tastes great.
Indian Groceries needed for Payesh:
- Rice
- Milk
- Sugar/Jaggery
- Cardamom
- Ghee
- Almond, raisins and pistachios (optional)
Bengali Christian Dishes
Many Bengal dishes have Christian influence. It is a blend of some authentic Bengali dishes with colonial tastes. Kolkata as a colonial epicenter, also serves some heavily Portuguese and Dutch inspired dishes.
Amago Bhaja Curry
Here, prawn is cooked with some traditional Indian spices. The bhaja curry for this dish is made using diced or sliced eggplant.
Indian Groceries needed for Amago Bhaja Curry:
- Prawn
- Eggplant
- Chili powder
- Turmeric
- Coriander powder
- Cumin powder
- Mustard oil
- Salt and Sugar
- Green chillies
Pish Pash
Pish Pash is compared to Khichdi but they are not the same. A lot of people might think that this is meat porridge, but the spices, preparation and taste is completely different. Pish Pash is very nutritious while still being considered tasty.
Indian Groceries needed for Pish Pash:
- Rice
- Carrots
- Onions
- Ginger
- Peas
- Bay leaf
- Red lentils
- Pepper
- Salt
Kolkata/Calcutta Style Vegetable Chop
The famous Calcutta or Kolkata style Vegetable Chop is a favorite snack throughout Bengal. The red moist filling is a celebration of many different tastes, while the coating is crispy. Vegetables are mashed together as the filing. This mash is both sweet and salty. Served hot with ketchup or kasundi (mustard sauce), this chop is simple to prepare and serve.
Indian Groceries needed for Kolkata style Vegetable Chop:
For the filling-
- Beetroot
- Carrot
- Potato
- Peanuts
- Coconut
- Panch Phoron – cumin, fenugreek, brown mustard, fennel, nigella
- Ghee
- Salt
- Sugar
- Ginger paste
- Green chillies
For the coating:
- Bread crumbs
- Vegetable Oil
Bengali Muslim Cuisine
The Islamic influence on Bengal Food dates back to the 12th century. These dishes are very rich and vivid to taste. Its predominantly red meat based. All the foreign and authentic Bengali flavors were infused and it served a distinct taste.
Bengali Gosht Korma
Mutton in rich, red, tomato and onion based gravy is what Gosht Korma actually is. The meat is tender, juicy and extremely flavorful in this dish. Gosht Korma gives a smoky, spicy, sweet and salty flavor. Preparing this dish might be an elaborate process for first time makers. This dish is very similar to the authentic Bengali Kosha Mangsho.
Indian Groceries needed for Gosht Korma:
- Mutton or lamb
- Tomato
- Onion
- Mustard oil
- Yogurt
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Bay Leaves
- Turmeric
- Red chili powder
- Kashmiri red chili powder
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Green cardamoms
- Cumin seeds/powder
Kolkata Style Biryani
Authentic Kolkata style biryani uses Basmati rice which brings out the long and beautiful rice texture. The meat (mutton, beef or chicken) is cooked separately in a flavorful gravy and then put in between layers of ghee and rice. It is then sealed and set in a “dum” for the meat and rice to get cooked.
Indian Groceries needed for Kolkata style Biryani:
For the fried onions to garnish -
- Onions
- Vegetable oil
For Biryani Masala -
- Green cardamoms
- Black cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
- Mace
- Fennel seeds
- Cubeb (Tailed Pepper)
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Caraway seeds
For the meat –
- Yogurt
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Prepared biryani masala
- Barista
- Kevda essence/ kewra water
- Red chili powder
- Ground pepper
- Salt
Sutli kebab
Its origin dates back to a pre-partitioned Bengal. This kebab looks very similar to Seekh kebab, but it is not made of chopped or minced beef or mutton. The term sutli means thread. This preparation requires very slim and long pieces of the meat. These slices are tied to seekers with thread to prevent it from falling down. Spices and ghee are brushed on the surface of the meat which is then cooked.
Indian Groceries needed for Sutli kebab:
- Beef or mutton (boneless)
- Minced beef or mutton
- Onion
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Pease flour
- Mustard
- Poppy seeds
- Green papaya
- Cubeb (Tailed Pepper)
- Eggs
- Red chili powder
- Black pepper
- Green chilli
- Coriander powder
- Salt
This brings our list to an end. To get these grocery items or any other Indian groceries please visit www.getjaldi.com.