101 BENGALI RECIPES TRADITIONAL FARE FOR THE MODERN COOK

BABLI MUKERJI

Dedicated to Abhijit Gupta and Sunita Mehrotra without whom this book would not have seen the light of day.

ISBN: 9781685386122

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 BASIC PREPARATIONS 7 DAL OR LENTILS 9 MASOOR DAL PANCH PHORON DIYE 9 MASOOR DAL CHARCHARI 11 MASOOR DAL METHI PHORON DIYE 13 TOKER DAL 14 DALER SHUKTO 15 BHAJA MOOGER DAL, NARKOL DIYE 17 MACHER MATHA DIYE BHAJA MOOGER DAL 18 KALAIER DAL 20 HING DIYE KALAIER DAL 22 DHOKAR DALNA 24 GHOOGHNI 28

TARKARI OR VEGETABLES 30 ANILER BANDHA KOPI BHATE 30 ANILER NARKOL MAKHA 32 BORI MAKHA 33 ALUR DOM 34 ALU CHANUMA 36 ALU POSTO 37 PISHIMAR GOLMARICH CHAKKA 39

KANCHA AAM DIYE ALUR DOM 40 TIL DIYE ALUR DOM 42 ROSHUN DIYE BEGUN BHAJA 44 KHAGINA 46 BEGUN BASANTI 48 TOK MISHTI BEGUN 50 KANCH KOLAR CUTLET CURRY 52 SHUKTO 54 PUI SHAK CHARCHARI 56 KUMROR CHOKKA 58 JHINGAY POSTO 60 PAALAK GHANTO 62 LAU GHANTO BORI DIYE 64 SHEEM SARSHAY 65 BANDHA KOPI GHANTO CHAL DIYA 67 MOCHAR GHANTO 69 ECHORER DALNA 71 ALU POTOL DALNA 73 PALANG SHAKER KOFTA 75 KANCH KOLAR KOFTA 77 DAAB JHINGAY 79 NIRAMISH PATURI 81 SHEEM AAR DHONEY PATAR CHATNI 83 PHOOLKOPI MOTERER SAADA TARKARI 85 CHANAR MALAI CURRY 87

MACH AAR CHINGRI OR FISH AND PRAWNS 89 MACHER JHOL BORI DIYE 89 SAT MOSHLAR MACH 91 DOI PUDINAR GOTA MACH 93 DOI MACH 95

MACHER KALIA 97 JHAL HOLUD 99 MACHER MOULI 101 CHITOL MACHER MUITHA 103 MAURALA MACHER BATI CHARCHARI 105 DAAB CHINGRI 107 CHINGRI MACH BHATEY 109 MANI’S PRAWN CUTLET CURRY 110 BANSHER KOR DIYE CHINGRI 112 JAMAAI BABU’S CHINGRI MALAI CURRY 114 NARKOLER DUDH DIYE KAKRAR JHAL 116 POMFRET JHAL 118 PARSHEY MACH SHORSHEY BATA 120 PARSHEY MACH DHONEY PATA 122 DOI EELISH 124 ANAROSH DIYE EELISH 126 KANCHA AAM DIYE EELISH ROSHA 128 EELISH POSTO 130 ADHUNIK EELISH SHORSHEY 132 AACHARI EELISH 134 PATURI 136 TOPSAY FRY 138 TETUL DIYE EELISH MACH BHAJA 140 BHEKTI MACHER DOM 142 TRADITIONAL MACHER MURI GHANTO 144 ARUNA’S KADHAI PATURI 146

MANGSHO OR MEAT 148 MOYNAMA’S CUT MASALLA MEAT CURRY 148 MUTTON KOSHA 150 MANGSHO TOMATO DIYE 152

DOLMA 154 POTOL DOLMA 156 MANGSHER CHOP 158 KEEMA MOTURSHUTI 160 HOSSAINI CURRY 162 MA’S PATHAR JHOL 165 KALIGHATER PANTHAR JHOL 167

BHAAT OR RICE 169 STEAMED RICE 169 GHEE BHAT 170 BENGALI BASANTI PULAO 172 BAHU KHUDA 173 DOI BHAT 175 KHICHURI 177 EELISH PULAO 179

ROTI OR BREADS 182 LUCHI 182 PARATHA 184 RADHABALLAVI 186

CHATNI OR CHUTNEYS 189 AAMER JHOL 189 JALPAI MAKHA 191 AAMER CHATNI 192 PAYPER CHATNI 194 TOMATO CHATNI 196 KOOLER CHATNI 198

MISHTI OR SWEETS 199 NATUN GURER PAYESH 199 KOMLA LEBUR PAYESH 201 AAM ROSH AAR DOI 202 NARKOLER NARU 203 BHAPA SANDESH 204 BHAPA DOI 205 PATISAPTA 206 MALPOA 208

NOTE....... The English translation of the Bengali names of the above dishes are available with the Title of each recipe within the book. Thank you!!! Enjoy

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INTRODUCTION The Bengalis are perhaps the greatest food lovers in the Indian subcontinent. History, geography and social conditions of ancient times, all contribute to the infinite variety prevalent in Bengali cuisine. The Mughal presence introduced us to the famous kosha mangsho(slow-cooked mutton curry), hossaini curry (skewered meat in a thick gravy), cheeney kababs (exotic lobster kababs) and parathas (pan-fried flaky bread). After the Mughals, came the British, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the French. Baghdadi Jews made their appearance on the shores of Bengal followed by the Chinese. Hence from the culinary point of view, Bengali food is the amalgamation of many foreign and pan-Indian influences. The British introduced the ritual of drinking tea accompanied by baked confectioneries. Today, every railway station in the state serves tea along with sweet or savoury baked snacks. The art of baking was practically unknown till the British came along and popularised it. The Baghdadi Jews also lent their flavour to the bakeries in Bengal and set up famous shops such as “Nahoums” which exists even today. As time passed and the British intermarried with the locals, the AngloIndian community came into being. They imbibed many of the British culinary styles and devised a unique style of their own all of which got incorporated into the web of Bengali cuisine. Simple dishes like ‘chops, ‘cutlets’, ‘fish fry’ and ‘omelettes’ (known in Bengal as mamlet) which originated from the British, passed on to the Anglo-Indians, became a part of Bengali culinary repertoire. The presence of the Chinese in Bengal

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added another facet to the Bengali cuisine. ‘Bengali Chinese’ came into being. The food historians do not indicate significant influence of the French on Bengali cuisine. However, it is surmised that the Bengali system of eating one course at a time derived from the French ‘Service a` la russe` style of serving dishes one at a time instead of all at once. If you ask a Bengali to describe Bengali food…. Fish and rice would be the most obvious answer. The rivers and rice fields of Bengal made the cuisine distinctly fishy and rice oriented. Bengali society has always been agrarian. Hunting for game was really uncommon as the abundant ponds, lakes and rivers of Bengal ensured a rich variety of fish such as rohu and katla (carp family), pabday, parshe (mullet), koi (climbing perch ), magur and shingi (eel or catfish), maurala (white bait) and the king of all Bengal’s fish, the eelish (hilsa). All became favourites and essential part of every Bengali meal. The macher jhol could be a bland yet delicate fish stew or a fiery dish with chillies and mustard paste. Fish is cooked with seasonal vegetables or yoghurt, or coconut milk, or mustard or poppy seed pastes. Eelish (shad), bhekti (sea bass) or prawns are wrapped in banana leaves and grilled on heavy-bottomed griddle to produce the delectable smoky paturi. It would be entirely correct to say the icon of Bengali food is fish. Rice is the staple diet of Bengal and it is a much loved food. It is also transformed into snacks such as cheerey bhaja (roasted flattened rice) and cheerer pulao (spiced flattened rice). Rice is also used to cook fish heads to make the famous Bengali muri ghonto (flattened rice with fish heads). A variety of

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sweets and desserts are made with rice namely payesh (rice in thickened milk) and pithe (pancake with coconut filling). The best vegetarian meals come from the kitchens of Bengali widows. Sadly, in Bengal, as in the rest of India, the treatment of women and especially widows was woefully insensitive. Stripped of their material possessions, property and wealth, with no means of supporting themselves, they became dependent members of the households. Their only contribution to the activities would be in the kitchen. They were denied all forms of non vegetarian food, hence, as acts of self preservation, gradually, over the years, Bengali widows evolved the exquisite Bengali vegetarian cuisine. The flavours range from refined and subtle to fiery and rich. The vegetables are all cut specifically with artistic precision for every individual dish. No Bengali vegetable dish is acceptable unless the vegetables are cut according to the norms laid down by these ancient ladies nor were leftovers ignored. For example, the famous charchari is a mixture of bits and pieces of all odd shaped vegetables including spinach roots remaining after the main dishes were catered for. Potato and white gourd’s skin were transformed with poppy seeds into crisp and tasty accompaniment with rice and dal. The most unique combination of spices used in Bengali cooking is panch phoron which is a mixture of spices (cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel and nigella seeds) that not only gives a fragrant aroma and flavour to Bengali cooking but also has medicinal uses. Mustard seeds are used all over India in cooking, but in Bengal, the primary cooking medium is mustard oil. It has a very distinctive flavour which is unique to Bengali food. Coconut in every form is used in Bengal.

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It is a delicious snack eaten raw and provides the body with a quick energy boost. Grated coconut is used to embellish lentils and vegetable dishes. Coconut milk is the foundation of the famous Bengali dish malai curry. Desserts and sweets made of coconut are also extremely popular. I recall the meals we enjoyed particularly at family special events during my childhood. The array of delicacies was unending. Luncheon would always start with fragrant golap soru rice and a dollop of pure ghee. After that, any form of bitter vegetables would be served be it shukto (mixed vegetables), neem begun (aubergines cooked with bitter neem leaves) or any preparation of karela (bitter gourd). This was meant to clear the palate and tone the liver in preparation for the excesses to follow. The next course would be dal or lentils. There would be golden moong dal (skinned yellow gram) either with coconut or with cauliflower and peas and sometimes even with fish head!! Occasionally the dals were tempered with asafoetida and sometimes with assorted seasonal vegetables. There would be dals with tomatoes, dals with fresh coriander leaves, dals with pumpkin leaves and in summer, dals with green mangoes thrown in. As a contrast to the smooth, buttery texture of the dals, one was served with crisply fried vegetables (bhaja) or steamed and mashed vegetables (bhate) as accompaniment. The next course again would be vegetables embellished with all kinds of herbs, spices, other vegetables, or even fish heads or shrimps. Fish dishes would follow swimming in rich aromatic gravy. Next, depending on personal taste, chicken or mutton would follow. A chutney or tok may be added, but no Bengali menu is complete without a sweet such as sandesh. This is one of the most startling confirmation of the European influence in Bengali cuisine. Apparently, the

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sweetmeat makers of those times found the cottage cheese brought in by the Dutch and the Portuguese, an inspiration to make a mixture of sugar and chena (Indian cottage cheese), knead into various shapes, embellish with raisins, nuts and jaggery and produce the famous and unique Bengali sweet known as sandesh. Another famous Bengali innovation from chena is the rosogolla which is a light fluffy ball of chena swimming in sugar syrup. There was also a deep fried version of chena rounds called pantuas. The elongated version of pantua is a sweet known as lady keni which was the Bengali pronunciation of the name of the wife of the first Viceroy of India, Lady Canning! No description of Bengali sweets would be complete without the mention of pithe and patisapta. These, however, are usually prepared at home and are a speciality during the winter harvest festival known as Poush Shankranti. Finally, the king of Bengali sweets is misti doi. This is yoghurt prepared with a mixture of browned caramelised sugar to give it a nutty pink colour and the most amazing rich yet subtle flavour. I will end with a short anecdote of how much Bengali food is loved and appreciated worldwide. I was a guest at the home of a Bengali friend who is one of Stockholm’s more successful hoteliers. One day, when some other guests were expected for dinner, he asked me whether I would like to cook a Bengali meal. I gladly accepted. When the table was laid with an array of desi delicacies, this gentleman, who had access to the most sophisticated cuisine in the world, stood gazing at the platter of fluffy luchies with a distinct hint of moisture in his eyes. Needless to say, the love for Bengali cuisine is deep rooted in every Bengali. You may take a Bengali out of Bengal but you cannot take the love of Bengali ranna (Bengali cooking) out of the Bengali heart.

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BASIC PREPARATIONS MUSTARD PASTE: You can use the readymade mustard paste available in the market but just in case you wish to make your own… first soak ½ a cup of white and black mustard seeds in water for 30 minutes. Drain and add ½ tsp salt and 2 green chillies and whiz it through the grinder. Use as required.

PANCH PHORAN: is a seasoning widely used in Bengali cooking. It is a mix of five spices; cumin (jeera), fenugreek seeds (methi dana), nigella seeds (kalonji), aniseed (saunf) and mustard seeds (rai). Mix equal quantities of the spices and store in an airtight jar and use as and when required.

COCONUT MILK: Grate the coconut and press through a muslin cloth to obtain the first (thick) extract. Boil thegrated coconut with equal quantity of water to obtain the second (thin) extract. If refrigerated, this can stay for up to 3-4 days.

BENGALI GARAM MASALA: Take 2 cloves (laung), 2 cardamoms (elaichi), 1 cinnamon (dalchini) stick, 1 bay leaf (tej patta) and 5 black peppercorns (sabut kali mirch). Grind these spices together to a fine powder. Serve and store in an airtight jar. Use as required.

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POPPY SEED PASTE: Wash the poppy seeds. Heat an equal quantity of water and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and allow the poppy seeds to soak in this water for a few minutes. Drain the water and then grind the seeds to a paste, using minimum quantity of water. Use as required.

All the quantities given in the ingredients of each recipe are approximately 4-6 servings.