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Bangladeshi cuisine
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Bangladeshi cuisine refers to the Bengali cuisine prevalent in Bangladesh. Before the Partition of British India, Bangladesh was situated in the eastern part of the then-province of Bengal. This is a culinary style originating in Bengal, [a region in the eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Bangladesh and the West Bengal. Other regions, such as Tripura, and Barak Valley region of Assam also have large native Bengali populations and share this similar cuisine. With an emphasis on sweet water fish, vegetables and lentils served with rice as a staple diet. Bengali cuisine is known for its subtle (yet sometimes different) flavours, and its huge spread of confectioneries and desserts. It also has perhaps the only traditionally fully developed multi-course tradition from South Asia that is analogous in structure to the modern style of formed cuisine (in three course meal), with food served course-wise rather than all at once like other Asian food culture.
Regional cuisines
In Bangladeshi Cuisine style we can see different it in various region, which we also can say the regional influence in the Bangladeshi cuisine:
Northern Bengali cuisine- Rajshahi & Shylet; which is influenced by Assam,Tripura & the regional tribal group of Surma.
South-Eastern Bengali Cuisine- Chittagong & Khagrachori; which are influenced by Arakani cuisine from Burma.
Mid & Western Bengali Cuisine- Natore, Pabna,Khulna & Jessore Sundarban area, part of Dhaka; which describe the main regional food habit of Bangladesh & known as authentic Bengali cuisine.
Dhakaiya Cuisine- originated in Dhaka influenced by Awadhi cuisine. First introduced by Nawab Wajed Ali Shah.
Staple ingredients and spices
The staples of Bangladeshi cuisine are rice,
Atta (a unique type of whole ground wheat flour),
Lentils/Pulses at least five dozen varieties, the most important of which are chana (bengal gram), tur (pigeon pea or red gram), urod (black gram), and mung (green gram). Pulses are used almost exclusively in the form of dal, except chana, which is often cooked whole for breakfast and is processed into flour (beshon).
However, unlike neighbouring Indian food that includes types of rice and bread, the main source of carbohydrates in a "regular" Bangladeshi meal is plain white rice or bhat. Different kinds of fried rice, in the forms of polao and biriyani are eaten mainly on special occasions and at parties.
Bangladeshi food varies between very 'sweet' and mild-to extremely spicy, many tourists even from other South East Asian and Subcontinental countries find the food spicy. It resembles North East Indian and South East Asian food more closely than that of any other part of the Subcontinent, most likely due to geographic and cultural proximity. The most important flavours in Bangladeshi cuisine are garlic, ginger, lime, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili. In sweet dishes, cardamom and cinnamon are amongst the natural flavours.
Fresh sweet water fish is one of its most distinctive features; Bengal's countless rivers, ponds and lakes teem with innumerable varieties of fish such as rohu, hilsa, koi or pabda. Almost every village and Bengal have ponds used for pisciculture, and at least one meal a day is certain to have a fish course.
Not only that, in the southern region there is a huge resource of various sea fishes & crabs. People of southern region not only sell the fresh sea fish but also preserve the fishes by sun dried them after process them with sea salt. These fishes are here called as "Shutki". Shutki are very popular among the southern people & tribal people, who cooked their food mainly influenced by Arakani cuisine.
Vegetables
The variety of fruits and vegetables that Bengal has to offer is incredible. A host of gourds, roots and tubers, leafy greens, succulent stalks, lemons and limes, green and purple eggplants, red onions, plantain, broad beans, okra, banana tree stems and flowers, green jackfruit and red pumpkins are to be found in the vegetable markets or sobji bazaar. Bitter vegetables like korola/ Usche satisfy the love for bitters. Bengalis are particularly good at using leftover bits of vegetables. Peels, roots, stems and other bits that usually get thrown out often find themselves in starring roles in Bengal.
Bangladeshi's are also fond of "Kochu" and various kinds of "sak" like- palong (spinach), pui, lal sak, kolmi sak, dheki sak, lau sak, kumro sak (pumpking leaves) etc. which are often cooked with fish or vegetables as a compatible.
Meat
Chicken & mutton are always the favorite meat items among Bengali's & all across Bangladesh. Now beef is also even more popular & often cooked in nawabi style influenced by Awadhi cuisine. Not only this, pork is also eaten here in Bangladesh mostly by Anglo-Christian community & tribal people. One can also find lamb in the south eastern territory but very rarely cooked in the Bengali cuisine. Other than that Duck, Koel, other migratory birds are also popular which are mostly cooked in the winter season here.
Cooking medium and spices
Different spices used in a Bengali household. Clockwise from top left, dried red chili and bay leaves, cumin powder, cumin, red chili powder, turmeric powder, panch phoran, coriander powder and mustard.
Shorsher tel (mustard oil) is the primary cooking medium in Bengali cuisine although Badam tel (groundnut oil) is also used, because of its high smoke point. Of late, the use of sunflower oil, soybean oil and refined vegetable oil, which is a mixture of soybean, kardi, and other edible vegetable oils, is gaining prominence. This later group is popularly known as "shada tel", meaning white oil, bringing out the contrast in color between the lightly colored groundnut and the somewhat darker mustard oil and the other white oils. However, depending on type of food, ghee (clarified butter) is often used, e.g., for making the dough or for frying bread.
mustard paste, holud (turmeric), poshto poppyseed), ada (ginger), dhonia (coriander, seeds and leaves) and narikel (ripe coconut usually desiccated) are other common ingredients. 'The pãch poron is a general purpose spice mixture composed of radhuni (Carum roxburghianum seeds), jira (cumin), kalo jira (black cumin, also known as nigella), methi (fenugreek) and mouri (anis). This mixture is more convenient for vegetarian dishes and fish preparations. The use of spices for both fish and vegetable dishes is quite extensive and includes many combinations not found in other parts of India. Examples are the onion-flavored kalonji (nigella or black onion seeds), radhuni (wild celery seeds), and five-spice or paanch phoron (a mixture of cumin, fennel, fenugreek, kalonji, and black mustard seeds). The trump card of Bengali cooking probably is the addition of this phoron, a combination of whole spices, fried and added at the start or finish of cooking as a flavouring special to each dish. Bengalis share their love of whole black mustard seeds with South Indians, but unique to Bengal is the extensive use of freshly ground mustard paste. A pungent mustard sauce called Kasundi is an dipping sauce popular in Bengal.
Common Bangladeshi recipe styles
Foods from a street vendor in Dhaka
The following are a list of characteristic Bangladeshi recipe styles. You can note the influence in the food here. Each entry here is actually a class of recipes, producing different dishes depending on the choice of ingredients. There are six different tastes to which the Bengali palate cater to, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, hot and "kosha".
Achar: Pickles. Generally flavored with Mustard oil, Mustard Seeds, Aniseed, Caraway Seed and Asafoetida, or hing.
Bawra - Anything that has been mashed and then formed into rough roundish shape and fried, generally in mustard oil. Generally served with rice as a starter, or served with puffed rice crisps as a snack. The baora actually has quite a few different kinds. When potatoes are fried in a light chickpea flour batter, they are called Fuluri (giving rise to the Trinidadian pholourie)
Bhaja : Anything fried, either just after it has been salted or dipped in any kind of water-based batter. Does not include croquettes, or crumb coated items.
Bhapa : Fish or vegetables steamed with spices.
Bhate : A vegetable, that has been put inside the pot in which rice is cooking, and it has been cooked along with the rice. Generally, you get potatoes, butternut squash, raw papayas, bitter gourd, snake gourd and okra in the rice. Bengalis often eat it with a tinge of mustard oil and salt. However, a very popular one-dish Bengali meal is Alu Bhate Bhat, which is Potatoes boiled along with rice, and then served along with the rice. For this, generally "gobindobhog atop" rice, which is a short-grained, glutinous rice that cooks quickly is used, and is preferred to the long grained rice, because of its creamy quality, and ability to become ever so sticky, which aids the dish when it comes to mashing. During the serve, some fresh Ghee or Butter, and salt to taste, to be mixed and mashed by hand into the right consistency, and then eaten. A raw green chili, and a boiled and shelled egg sometimes accompanies this dish.
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 chile, mustard oil/ghee and spices.
Chorchori: 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. Sometimes a chochchori may have small shrimp. The skin and bone of large fish like bhetki or chitol can be made into a chochchori called kata-chochchori (kata meaning fish-bone). The stir frying process and the lightness of a Chochhori is not unlike that of chop suey, which is a term for assorted pieces, and this shows the influence of the Chinese in Bengali household cooking. The chochhori would be generally an assortment of vegetable and fish bones and other things that would have been rather thrown away, fried in a korai,(a slightly rounded wok), over high heat at first, and then simmered to let the vegetables cook down to being just done, and then taken off the flame immediately to stop cooking. The cooking procedure adds to the confirmation of the entrance of Chinese style of cooking into Kolkata during the mid-1800s, prior to which this particular dish was not very popular in Bengali cuisine.
Chop: Croquettes, usually coated with crushed biscuit or breadcrumbs.
Chhyanchra: A combination dish made with different vegetables, portions of fish head and fish oil (entrails).
Chhenchki: Tiny pieces of one or more vegetable, generally a dice of vegetables along with general odds and ends, often even the peels (of potatoes, squash, gourd, pumpkin, bitter gourd, or potol for example) - usually flavored with pach-pouron, whole mustard seeds or kalo jira. Chopped shallot and garlic can also be used, but hardly any ground spices.
Chutney: Generally Bengal is one of the pioneers for this particular dish, making it with everything including preserved mango sheets, called amshotto.
Dalna: Mixed vegetables or eggs, cooked in a medium thick gravy seasoned with ground spices, especially gorom moshla and a touch of ghee.
Dom: Vegetables, especially potatoes, or meat, cooked over a covered pot containing water, slowly over a low heat, slightly steaming. The word is derived from the Dum technique popular in Mughlai food.
Dolma: A vegetable, 'potol', stuffed with fish boiled, de-boned, then prepared with Bengali five spice powder, ginger and onions (alternately coconut-vegetable stuffing is used). A misconception once arose that this was a take on the Greek Dolmathes or Dolmades, but has not been proven so.[citation needed]
Ghonto: Different complementary vegetables (e.g., cabbage, green peas, potatoes or banana blossom, coconut, chickpeas) 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 ghontos 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 poured over the rice.
Jhol: 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. It is the closest to a "Curry", yet it is more of a jus than a sauce.
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 fresh shallots pasted or fried along with a tempering of gorom moshla.
Kofta (or Boras): Ground meat or vegetable croquettes bound together by spices and/or eggs served alone or in savory gravy. Koftas are usually softer than boras which are mainly made of ground lentils, sometimes with added chopped vegetables - Telebhaja is different.
Korma: A term that can also be called "Qurma" of Mughali origin, meaning meat or chicken cooked in a mild yoghurt based sauce with ghee instead of oil, and often poppy seed paste is added to it. People of Southern Bangladesh are known to add coconut milk to many of their dishes and Korma is no exception.
Kosha: 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.
Paturi: Generally oily fish is sliced evenly, and then wrapped in a banana leaf, after the fish has been hit by a basting of freshly pasted mustard with a hint of mustard oil, chili, turmeric and salt.
Pora: Literally, burnt. Vegetables are wrapped in leaves and roasted over a wood or charcoal fire. Some, like aubergine, are put directly over the flames. Before eating the roasted vegetable is mixed with oil and spices.
Poshto: anything cooked with poppy seed paste as the main flavoring agent. Often poppy seed paste with some mustard oil is eaten mixed with rice all by itself as a mild beginner for any Bengali meal.
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.
Shukto: A favorite Bengali palate cleanser, made with a lot of different vegetables including at least one bitter veg, simmered with a hint of sugar and milk to bring out the bitterness of the fresh vegetables.
Shak: Any kind of green leafy vegetable, like spinach and mustard greens, often cooked till just wilted in a touch of oil and tempering of nigela seeds.
The Bengalis are great food lovers and take pride in their cuisine. 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 (posset). 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 in Bangladesh.
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.
The slightly elaborate daily meal
The foods of a daily meal are usually simpler, geared to balanced nutrition and makes extensive use of vegetables. The courses progress broadly from lighter to richer and heavier and goes through various tastes and taste cleansers. Rice remains common throughout the meal and is the main constituent of the meal, until the chaţni (chutney) course.
First course or starter
The starting course is made from bitter vegetables or herbs, often deep fried in oil or steamed with cubed potatoes. Portions are usually tiny - a spoonful or so to be had with rice - and this course is considered to be both a palate-cleanser and of great medicinal value. The ingredients used for this course change seasonally, but commonly used ones are kôrolla or uchhe(forms of bitter gourd) which are available nearly all year round, or tender nim leaves in spring.
In Bengal, a thick soupy mixture of vegetables in a ginger-mustard sauce called shukto usually follows the bitter starting course, but sometimes replaces it as a starter altogether. Earlier it was considered as a helpful medicine in hot summer days; also in fever & stomach ache.Thus it was eaten in much bigger portions, Shukto is usually eaten in summer. It is a complex dish, featuring a fine balance of many different tastes and textures and is often a critical measure of a Bengali housewife's abilities in the kitchen. However, it is not particularly popular in Bangladesh.
Sak
The first course is then followed by shak (leafy vegetables) such as spinach, palong chard, methi fenugreek, or amaranth. The shak can be steamed or cooked in oil with other vegetables such as begun (aubergine). Steamed shak is sometimes accompanied by a sharp paste of mustard and raw mango pulp called Kashundi.
Dal
Bangladeshi đal
The đal course is usually the most substantial course. It is eaten with a generous portion of rice and a number of accompaniments. Common accompaniments to đal are aaloo bhaate (potatoes mashed with mustard oil), and bhaja (fritters). Bhaja literally means 'deep-fried'; most vegetables are good candidates but begun (aubergines), kumro (pumpkins), or alu (potatoes) not like French fries, or shredded and fried, uchhe, potol pointed gourd are common. Machh bhaja (fried fish) is also common, especially rui (rohu) and ilish (hilsa) fishes. Bhaja is sometimes coated in a beshon (chickpea flour) and posto (poppyseed) batter. A close cousin of bhaja is bôra or deep-fried savoury balls usually made from posto (poppyseed) paste or coconut mince. Another variant is fried pointed gourd as potoler dorma with roe/prawn.
Another accompaniment is a vegetable preparation usually made of multiple vegetables stewed slowly together without any added water. Labra, chorchori, ghonto, or chanchra are all traditional cooking styles. There also are a host of other preparations that do not come under any of these categories and are simply called tôrkari - the word merely means 'vegetable' in Bengali. Sometimes these preparations may have spare pieces of fish such as bits of the head or gills, or spare portions of meat. A charchari is a vegetable dish that is cooked without stirring, just to the point of charring.
Pickles such as raw mangoes pickled in mustard oil and spices or sweet and tangy tamarind picckles are also served with the dal course.
Main course
The next course is the fish course. Generally you would have to go through one fish course a day, because Bengalis do tend to eat fish and generally derive the necessary protein intake from fish and dal. Meat till the 1990s was a once-a-week affair, but now with changing culture, meat is served more often in the household. Generally the most common fish dish is the Jhol, where a thin jus of fish is made with ginger, turmeric, chili and cumin (the basic group of spices), and fish and sometimes potato or other vegetable.
of course Bengalis fame in cooking fish, both dried fish called "Shutki" (more present in East Bengali households) as well as fresh fish. Prawn is also considered to be a kind of fish, and Crabs are also a favorite of the Bengalis. Apart from it, mutton and chicken feature big time in Non-vegetarian menu, while the vegetarian menu contains homemade paneer, gram flour "dhokla"
Generally one or two pieces of fish or meat is served during lunch, with rice, to balance out the meal.
Additional main course
Then comes the meat course.Meat is readily consumed in urban parts of Bangladesh and some consider it the meal's main course. Beef is consumed in some of the feasts and banquets in all major occasions in Bangladesh but not in the Hindu community. Because the consumption of beef is prohibited among Bengali Hindu communities, Khashi mutton is traditionally the meat of choice of all Bengalis, but murgi chicken and đim eggs are also commonly consumed.
Chutney
Unripe mango chutney, Kolkata.
Next comes the chutney course, which is typically tangy and sweet; the chutney is usually made of am mangoes, tomatoes, anarôsh pineapple, tetul tamarind, pepe papaya, or just a combination of fruits and dry fruits called mixed fruit chutney served in biye badi (marriage). The chutney is also the move towards the sweeter part of the meal and acts also as a palate cleanser, similar to the practice of serving sorbet in some Western cuisines.
a type of wafer, thin and flaky, is often made of đal or potatoes or shagu (sago) and is a usual accompaniment to the chutneys.
In Bangladesh, chutney is usually eaten during the đal course, and no separate course is dedicated to chutney.
Desserts
The last item before the sweets is Doi or yoghurt.It is generally of two varieties, either natural flavour and taste or Mishti Doi - sweet yoghurt, typically sweetened with charred sugar. This brings about a brown colour and a distinct flavour. Like the fish or sweets mishti doi is typically identified with Bengali cuisine.
In a daily meal it is likely that some of the courses might get missed, for instance the 'Shak',the additional course, Chutney and Papor. In some cases, the dessert might be given a miss as well. The courses overall are the same at home or at a social function (e.g. marriage feast). Rice, which is the staple across the meal gets replaced by 'luchi' or luchi stuffed with dal or mashed green peas. Interesting thing to note is that the replacement is a relatively recent phenomenon and has been seen in practice only from about early 20th century.
Sweets and desserts
Kodma Gur', made from Palmera Palm extracts
Bangladeshi cuisine has a rich tradition of sweets. The most common sweets and desserts include:
Roshogolla- The most famous Bengali sweet in the whole world; made with channa (posset/curdled milk) sugar syrup.
Chhanar Sondesh - also known as kacha shondesh, is an unrefined form of shondesh made with sugar/jaggery. Now there are various types of sandesh available made by mithai walas all across Bangladesh & West Bengal (India).
Payesh- cooked with dense milk & scented rice.
Pitha - There are more than 200 types pitha made with rice flour, jaggery, coconut & kheer (dense milk)
Mishti Doi - sweetened homemade creamy yogurt.
Naru- one of the main sweets of Bengali cuisine. Totally home made item also used as offerings in Hindu rituals of praying to their God.
Rosh-malai - small roshogollas in a sweetened milk base; Commilla is famous for its Rosh-malai.
Khaja & Goja - Deep fried sweets made with wheat flour with sugar coating.
Mua & Murki- cooked with rice flakes with jaggery.
Batasha & Kodma- made with sugar & given various forms.
Rôshogolla – Rôshogolla is one of the most widely consumed sweets. The basic version has many regional variations. Rôshogolla is one of the three most prominent trademark of Bengali culture (along with Rabindranath Tagore and the festival of Durga Puja) and probably the face of Bengali cuisine to people outside Bengal (along with fish and stereotypical posto or poppyseed).
Sandesh – Made from sweetened, finely ground fresh chhena (cottage cheese), shôndesh in all its variants is among the most popular Bengali sweets. The basic shôndesh has been considerably enhanced by the many famous confectioners of Bengal, and now a few hundred different varieties exist, from the simple kachagolla to the complicated abar khabo, jôlbhôra or indrani. Another variant is the kôrapak or hard mixture, which blends rice flour with the paneer to form a shell-like dough that last much longer.
Payesh – Most popular authentic Bengali sweet item. Mostly used in auspicious day or to welcome guest. Cooked with dense milk, sugar/Jaggery, & scented rice (kalojira/govindabhog rice). Though it takes a lot of time to cook but one of the main feature of Bengali cuisine.
Pantua – Pantua is somewhat similar to the rôshogolla, except that the cottage cheese balls are fried in either ghee (clarified butter) or oil until golden or deep brown before being put in syrup. There are similar tasting, but differently shaped versions of the Pantua e.g. Langcha (cylindrical) or Ledikeni. Interestingly, the latter was created in honour of Countess Charlotte Canning (wife of the then Governor General to India Charles Canning) by Bhim Nag, a renowned sweets maker in Kolkata.
Chômchôm – Chômchôm, (চমচম) (originally from Porabari, Tangail District in Bangladesh) goes back about 150 years. The modern version of this oval-shaped sweet is reddish brown in colour and has a denser texture than the rôshogolla. It can also be preserved longer. Granules of maoa or dried milk can also be sprinkled over chômchôm.
Piţha – Varieties of pithas (Pakan, Pati Shapta etc.) In both Bangladesh and West Bengal, the tradition of making different kinds of pan-fried, steamed or boiled sweets, lovingly known as piţhe or the "pitha", still flourishes. These little balls of heaven symbolizes the coming of winter, and the arrival of a season where rich food can be included in the otherwise mild diet of the Bengalis... the richness lie in the creamy silkiness of the milk which is mixed often with molasses, or jaggery made of either date palm or sugarcane, and sometimes sugar. They are mostly divided into different categories based on the way they are created. Generally rice flour goes into making the pithe.
Piţhas are usually fried or steamed; the most common forms of these cakes include bhapa piţha (steamed), pakan piţha (fried), and puli piţha (dumplings), among others. The other common pithas are chandrapuli, gokul, pati shapta, chitai piţha, aski pithe, muger puli and dudh puli. The Pati Shapta variety is basically a thin-layered rice-flour crepes with a milk-custard creme-filling, very weirdly similar to the hoppers or appams of South India, or the French crepes.
In urban areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal most houses hold Pitha-festivals sometime during the winter months. The celebration of the Piţha as a traditional sweet is the time for the Winter Harvest festival in rural Bangladesh and West Bengal. The harvest is known as 'Nabanno' -- (literally 'new sustenance') and calls for not only rare luxuries celebrating food and sweets but also other popular and festive cultural activities like Public Dramas at night and Open Air Dance Performances. The entire culture of making these sweets at home during harvest and offering it to friends and neighbors is to induce wellness and make others happy, and deriving good karma through the mingled blessings.
[Beverages
Akher gurer Sorbot – sugarcane liquid jaggery's juice
Akher Rosh – Sugarcane juice
Ampanna – unripe boiled mango juice
Borhani – inspired by Awadhi cuisine; salted curd with mix spices juice
Ghol – whisked salted milk
Khejurer Rosh – local dates juice
Tea – inspired by Chinese and British culinary.
Alcohol
Bhang – a wild leaves mix with milk, fruits & jaggery
Gorgora – local Hukka mix with betel leaves & wild weeds.
Mohua – alcohol formed from wild flowers
Tari – alcohol formed from fermented rice
Food portal
Bengali cuisine
List of fish in Bangladesh
Paan
Panta bhat
References
Bangladesh - Mariam Whyte, Yong Jui Lin - Google Books
World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia - Marshall Cavendish Corporation - Google Books
Bangladesh - Stuart Butler - Google Books
Bangladeshi Cuisine - Shawkat Osman - Google Boeken
Multicultural Handbook of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics - Google Books
Bibliography
Bangladeshi Restaurant Curries, Piatkus, London — ISBN 0-7499-1618-4 (1996)
Curries - Masterchef Series, Orion, London — ISBN 0-297-83642-0 (1996)
Curry, Human & Rousseau, South Africa — ISBN 0-7981-3193-4 (1993)
Kerrie, in Afrikaans, Human & Rousseau, South Africa — ISBN 0-7981-2814-3 (1993)
Petit Plats Curry, French edition, Hachette Marabout, Paris — ISBN 2-501-03308-6 (2000)
2009 Cobra Good Curry Guide, John Blake Publishing, London — ISBN 1-84454-311-0
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on
Cuisine of India
Bangladeshi Food and Recipes
Bangladeshi Recipe Site
Bengali Recipes Collection
The largest Bangladeshi recipes Online
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