10/16/2020
Bengalis world-wide are at this moment caught up in a festive frenzy. Every autumn a festive mood hits Kolkata as if Goddess Durga, comes to life. Thousands of Pujo Mandaps are built all over the city and there are thousands of ‘themes’ on which these Mandaps are built. The lightings, the structures, the extravaganza… the atmosphere is electrifying, almost carnival-like. The Durga Pujo or Durgotsav, as it is called, continues for 5 days. Goddess Durga with her two sons (Ganesha & Karthika) and two daughters (Lakshmi & Saraswati), is believed to come down to earth from her heavenly abode in Mount Kailash. On the last day of the worship, the married women wear their traditional white saris with red borders and perform the Sindoor Khela where the married women smear each other with sindoor or vermillion. Well, this year this season is going to be very different for Bengalis. The only way we can be happy is by eating elaborate meals. What comprises a traditional Bengali meal?
Rice – plain white rice is the main accompaniment to all dishes, unless it’s made into a Mishti Polao. Firstly, Rice is eaten with starters (mainly vegetables) with Ghee or Daal. Rice is eaten in the Main Course too, either with fish, mutton or chicken. Traditionally, Bengali dishes, specially the fish, are cooked in Mustard Oil. Rice is also the main ingredient in the preparation of some Mishti or desserts – for example, the Payesh – the rice pudding, or the Pati Shapta – rice crepe with a filling of kheer. Squeezing a bit of Gondhoraj Lebu or the Bengali Lime in Dal/Lentils, specially Mushurir Dal/Masoor Dal or Bhaja Moonger Dal/Fried Moong Dal is very unique to lunches at Bengali homes. These limes have their own aroma and something that I haven’t been able to find beyond the shores of Bengal, although we have found substitutes for many things that we miss from Bengal as we continue to lead our Bengali lives in non-Bengali/non-Indian shores. The closest I’ve come to the aroma of Gondhoraj Lebu is the leaves of Thai Kaffir Lime! Kancha Lanka/Green Chillis, Gondhoraj Lebu/Bengali Lime and a pinch of Salt in the corner of plate is a trademark of traditional Bengali food serving!
Sweets are a necessary sign-off for a traditional Bengali meal. You end your meal with Chutney, only to move onto the more formal session of dessert tasting. Chutney is a sweet, tangy paste and can be made with every conceivable fruit and even vegetables! For example – Aam/mangoes, Jalpai/Olives, tomatoes, Pepe/papaya and various other type of fruits. Dry fruits like Khejur/dates, Kishmish/raisins may also be added to it. Chutney which is also splashed with Phoron/Mustard seeds cooked slightly in oil or Paanch-Phoron/5 seeds cooked in oil. The Bengali Chutney slightly differs from the other Indian Chutneys in the sense that hey are not eaten as dips with snacks and savouries but as a mini sweet sign-off before the actual desserts. After the Chutney comes the formal dessert tasting! The choice in Mishti/Sweets is absolutely endless. This is a category that has catapulted Bengal into a different quotient of sweetness. Mishti Doi/Sweet yogurt, Bhapa Doi/Steamed Yogurt, Payesh/ Sweet dessert made with rice-milk-sugar, Rosogolla/Rasgulla, Rasamalai, Pantua, Lyancha, Chamcham, Chitrakoot, Chanar Jilipi, Kalakaand, Mihidana & Sh*tabhog, Rajbhog, Rasakadambo, Shondesh… the list is endless!
When it comes to Durga Puja, mention of Bhog is mandatory. Bhog, the food dedicated to the idol during Pujo is very special – it feels divinely aromatic and traditionally served in banana leaves. Bhog is basically an elaborate and a very traditional Bengali meal – a thing that can be conjured up only in my dreams – only because in reality how many of us are being able to cook up such elaborate and traditional meals on a daily basis? But, we are Bengalis- when it comes to food, each one of us are super hardworking 😊
