Bengali cuisine

i'm a huge fan of Bengali cuisine, one of the lesser known and undiscovered gems of all the various Indian cuisines. It reminds me a lot of French cuisines due to its perfection and method.

Here's an email my Bengali friend Amrita sent me sometime ago. Her mother has fed me several great meals at their home in Baroda (Gujarat, India), our hometown. i was fortunate enough, thanks to her great cooking, to be able experience what has become one of my favorite Indian cuisines! Read Amrita's perspective on Bengali cuisine & also some of the family recipes she shares:

...comparing bengali food to french cuisine is a tongue tickling way of looking at things. but you could have a point. other than the fact that bongs like the french are quite pompous, the food is subtle in taste and appearance. no loud red gravy screaming for attention. i would also go as far and say that you would have to develop a taste for bengali cuisine as it does not pander to the regular taste buds.

a typical bengali meal starts with something bitter and ends with dessert thus going through the complete range of the taste palette. As most meals are predominantly rice oriented i am giving you a typical menu which includes a starter (which is bitter), dal, fries, a veggie, fish, chutney and sweets. As far as the sweets go it can be sandesh, rosogolla, chamcham, rajbhog, kheer kadam, mishti doi or the rice kheer which is made on special occasions like birthdays, annivs, weddings, baby showers etc. the other stuff is all got from outside since it is so good fresh and tasty. not to forget cheap.

mustard oil holds a special position in bengali cooking. its pungent flavour adds a piquant taste that is usually not palatable to the less adventurous. its most commonly used in cooking fish and in tempering certain dishes. the other speciality is the paanch phoren - a mix of 5 condiments that include jeera, kaala jeera, methi, saunf, mustard. but a lot of times all of them are not used together depending on the recipe and part of bengal you are from.

the meal starts with neem begun
ingredients fresh and young neem leaves and brinjal cut in cubes. heat oil fry the leaves to get rid of excess bitterness then add the brinjal. add salt and haldi and cook till soft. the neem can be substituted with karela.

you can also have only karela fries. cut karela in roundlets and deep fry in oil. add salt. at the time of eating ghee is added to the rice and mixed with the above dish. for more elaborate start there is shukto which is very much like avial but without the coconut.

dal is a must 'coz you mix the major portion of your rice with dal and eat with some veggies or fries.

this is the recipe for masoor dal. boil dal with salt and haldi powder. heat mustard oil and temper with red chillies, methi, saunf and kaala jeera. add onions and fry till soft. add dal. bring to a boil.the onions can also be optional.

aloo posto (diced potatoes with poppy seed paste) is a perennial bengali favourite. here again onions are optional. fry diced potatoes on slow fire till soft. add salt, haldi powder, chilli powder. add paste of poppy seeds. cook till done. this can be made dry or with gravy. cooked in mustard oil makes it extra tasty.