| West Bengal Food |
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Bengali cuisine is known for its delicacy, subtelty and complexity of flavours. Bengali food has inherited a large number of influences, both foreign and South Asian, arising from a turbulent history and strong trade links with many parts of the world. The traditional society of Bengal has always been heavily agrarian. Hunting, except by some local clans men, was uncommon. However, cattle rearing has been common as reflected in use of milk primarily for sweets and desserts. In medieval Bengal the treatment of Brahmin widows was much more restrictive than was common elsewhere in India. They led very monastic lives within the household and lived under rigid dietary restrictions. They were usually not allowed any interests but religion and housework. Their food habits, ingenuity and skill eventually had an impact on the cuisine style. Widows did not use onions and garlic for the food that they ate, and instead used ginger. Hence, gradually ginger has found a place in Bengali curries, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Food evolved to be anything but crude and limited - its deceptively simple preparations were often elaborate to the point of fussiness. It is served with equal elaboration and refinement, multiple courses and elaborate formality about what goes with what and in which sequence. The Christian influence came to Bengal a few hundred years after its arrival on the Western borders of India. The key culinary influence of the Christian community was the ritual of tea (introduced by the British and now central to Bengali identity), and in Bengal's snack food traditions. Baking, which was pretty much unknown until the British came along, became widespread. The popularity of baked confectionaries was a direct result of the British popularising the celebration of Christmas. Fish Rice and fish are traditional favorite foods, leading to a saying in Bengali ¨machhe bhate bangali¨, that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali". Fish are cultivated in ponds and fished with nets in the fresh-water rivers of the Ganges delta. Almost every part of the fish (except fins and innards) is eaten. The head and other parts are used to flavor curries. The head is often cooked with dal or with cabbage. More than forty types of mostly freshwater fish are common. The salt water fish (not from the sea) hilsa is very popular among Bengalis and can be called an icon of Bengali cuisine. Hilsa fish, which migrates upstream to breed, is a delicacy. The varied salt content at different stages of the journey is of particular interest to the connoisseur, as is the river from which the fish comes. There are numerous ways of cooking fish depending on the texture, size, fat content and the bones. It could be fried, roasted in a simple spicy tomato based gravy or mustard based with green chillies, with posto, with seasonal vegetables, steamed inside of plantain leaves, cooked with doi (curd), with sour sauce, with sweet sauce or even the fish made to taste sweet on one side, and savory on the other. Hilsa fish can apparently be cooked in 108 distinct ways. Cereals Bengali people are primarily rice eaters, and the rainfall and soil in Bengal lends itself to rice production well. Many varieties of rice are produced from the long grain fragrant varieties to small grain thick ones. Rice is semi-prepared in some cases when it is sold as par-boiled, or in some cases as un-polished as well, still retaining the color of the husk. Rice is eaten in various forms as well - puffed, beaten, boiled and fried depending on the meal. Lightly fermented rice is also used as breakfast in rural and agrarian communities. |
| Luchi (circular deep fried un-leavened bread) or Parothha (usually triangular, multi-layered pan fried un-leavened bread) are also used as the primary food item on the table. It is considered that wheat based food came in from the north and is relatively new in advent. Both Luchi and Parothha could have stuffed versions as well, and the stuffing could vary from dal, peas etc. Cooking Medium and Spices Mustard oil is the primary cooking medium in Bengali cuisine. However, depending on need ghee (clarified butter) is often used. e.g. for making dough or frying bread. Mustard paste, turmeric, poppyseed and narkel (ripe coconut usually dessicated) are other common ingredients. 'The pãch phoron is a general purpose spice mixture comprising of mustard seeds, cumin, black cumin, methi and corriander. Bengal is also the land of aam (mangoes), which are used extensively in chutneys and pickles. Preparation Another characteristic of Bengali food is the use of a unique cutting instrument, the bothi. It is a long curved blade on a platform held down by the foot. Both hands are used to hold whatever is being cut and move it against the blade. The method gives excellent control over the cutting process and can be used to cut anything from tiny shrimp to large pumpkins. Knives are rare in a traditional Bengali kitchen. Bengali cuisine is rather particular in the way vegetables and meat (or fish) are prepared before cooking. In many cases the main ingredients are lightly marinated with salt and turmeric (also an anti-bacterial and anti-septic). Vegetables are to be cut in different ways for different preparations. Dicing, Julienne, strips, scoops, slices, shreds are common and one type of cut vegetables can not replace another style of cutting for a particular preparation. Any aberration is frowned upon. |