Maach, Mishti & More- A Traditional Meal From The City Of Joy (Calcutta Cuisine- Part III)

Cosmopolitan and diverse, the food scene in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is rooted in Bengali cuisine and influenced by foods and flavours from around India and the world. Not only can visitors try some of the best Bengali food in the world, but they can also experience lip smacking streetside foods and various other oriental dishes that are steeped in the region’s history. well demarcated as the cultural capital of India Bengal has never failed to surprise visitors with the variety of dishes stimulating every tastebud.

Most people are pretty much aware of Indian food. And this awareness stops at Biriyani or a Chicken Tandoori or a Butter Chicken. Or perhaps the Dosas and the Idlies which are diametrically opposite to the North Indian food category and originate in the Southern states of India. Bengal is situated to the East of India and borders Bangladesh. And traditional Bengali cuisine is elaborate and vast.

But how and why did this food fetish start? For a Bengali this food fetish begins quite early – almost at infancy . The first ceremony or celebration that a Bengali child witnesses is Annaprashan or the ‘First Rice’. This Bengali tradition initiates an infant of barely 5 months or more to his/her first intake of food other than milk.

Payesh or the traditional Bengali Rice Pudding… The only other way to explain the importance of a traditional Payesh/Rice Pudding is to compare it with Champagne. If you can understand the importance of Champagne to bring in a family celebration then you can probably understand the importance of Payesh. Or say, cutting a cake on a birthday. For a Bengali, a spoonful of Payesh is a must on a special occasion. Also, the first spoon of non-solid food that goes into a Bengali child during Annaprashan or the First Rice is Payesh.

So, Payesh is a celebrity dish that cuts the ribbon in an opening ceremony!

What follows there after is a royal initiation into food. The first vision of ‘solid food’ comes in the shape and size and form

What Comprises a Traditional Bengali meal?

What follows below is an elaborate and a very traditional Bengali meal – a thing that can be conjured up only in one's dreams.

1. Rice

Plain white rice is the main accompaniment to all dishes. Firstly, Rice is eaten with starters (mainly vegetables) with Ghee or Daal. Then Rice is eaten in the Main Course too, either with fish, meat or chicken. Traditionally, Bengali dishes, specially the fish, are cooked in Mustard Oil. Bengalis forget to eat their Rice only when Mishti or sweets come in!

However, different types of Rice dish are made for different occasions. Polao, the Bengali version of Pilaf is traditionally cooked in occasions and compliments splendidly with Kasha Mangsho or Mutton/Lamb cooked on slow fire, in the Bengali way.

Khichuri – a combination of Rice and Lentils cooked together and is an absolute must on a typical rainy day. Unlike Khichuri cooked in other parts of India, the Bengali Khichuri is not a comfort food during illness but is an absolute delicacy when accompanied by various types of vegetable fritters .

Not a traditional Bengali dish, but if ever a Bengali craves for Biriyani (and a majority of Bengalis do crave for Biriyani quite often than it is required to maintain a good cholesterol level) then it is mostly Mutton/Lamb Biriyani and must be essentially cooked in the Awadhi/Lucknowi style!

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 Bengali Lunches. These limes have their own aroma and something which cannot be found beyond the shores of Bengal. the aroma of Gondhoraj Lebu can be replaced with leaves of the 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!

2. Starters

a. Bhaja or Fries

Crispy vegetables deep fried in oil. Examples – Aloo bhaja/Potato fries, Potol bhaja/Parwal fries, Kumro bhaja/Pumpkin fries, Begun bhaja/fried Eggplant, Uuche bhaja/Bitter-gourd fries. Sometimes fried fish may also accompany the white Rice.

b. Bhaaté or mashed steamed vegetables

c. Shukto

A bitter vegetable preparation using Korolla or Uuche/ Bitter-gourd

d. Shaak

Steamed or lightly cooked leafy vegetables. Examples – Palong shaak/Spinach, Methi shaak/Fenugreek, Lal shaak/Red Leafy Vegetables

3. Main Course

a. Fish

Fish is still cooked daily for main course in most traditional Bengali households. Bengali cuisine is famous for it’s Maacher Jhol or Maacher Jhaal. Maacher Jhol is where the gravy of the dish is made with ginger, turmeric, cumin powder, green chillis (the ingredients may vary from one region of Bengal to another) and Jhaal is where the gravy is hot and spicy and made with mustard paste, turmeric, chilli. Shorshe Maach/Mustard Fish is a very popular fish dish. Chitol Maacher Muitha/Chitol Fish Dumpling Curry, Pabda Maacher Jhaal/Pabda Fish Spicy Curry, Tel Koi/Koi Fish in Oil, Rui Maacher Kalia/Rohu Fish Kalia. There are obviously many many more types of fish preparation – Doi Maach/Fish cooked in yoghurt, Bhapa Maach/Steamed Fish, Maacher Paturi/Fish marinated in different spices and wrapped in Banana leaves and then steamed.

A reference has to be made to the Hilsa fish. The Hilsa is synonymous with Bengal and is considered the ‘queen’ of all Bengali fish. Hilsa is also of political importance. It is a serious bone of contention between India and it’s neighbouring country Bangladesh. Which Hilsa is better – the Hilsa that is found in the Padma river in Bangladesh or the Ganga river, the last phase of which flows through Bengal before it merges into the sea-waters of Bay of Bengal?

The entire month of July and August, that is during the Monsoons, Kolkata is gripped by Hilsa. Hilsa festivals and special Hilsa lunches are organised in different clubs and hotels. Each conversation revolves around Hilsa. This year had been hard-hitting for the Hilsas with the prices shooting upto as high as Rs 1,500/kg (Dhs 100/- approximately!). The fish markets in Kolkata are in itself a subject for immense discussion – perhaps better kept for another future post. The bony Hilsa is a delicacy and is prepared traditionally in many ways – the Shorshe Baata/Mustard Hilsa, Kalo Jeerar Jhol/Black Cumin Curry, Bhapa/Steamed etc.

b. Prawns and Crab

The discussion of Bengali fish can go on for ever. To cut it short we bring in the topic of Prawns. Bagda Chingri/Tiger Prawns and Golda Chingri/Indian Scampi go into making exquisite Bengali delicacies – Shorshe Chingri/Mustard Prawn , Prawn Polao , Narkel Chingri/Coconut Prawn and the famous Chingri Maacher Malaicurry/Prawn Curry where Coconut milk is used to make the gravy and is made on very special occasions.

Crab is one such special dish prepared by the Bengalis without fail. Kakra as called in the local dialect is prepared in a aromatic rich curry after being well fried in mustard oil . The entire year seems to be incomplete without the taste of Crab.substitutes fish occasionally. Generally, Rice accompanies the fish, meat or the chicken. On special occasions, Rice can be substitued by Polao/Bengali Fried Rice generally of a yellowish tinge due to the . ‘Luchi’ and Radhaballavi/Paratha stuffed with green Peas may also be served. Luchi is famously paired with Kasha Mangsho/Mutton cooked on slow fire.

c. Goat Meat

Sunday afternoons at some Bengali houses are still reserved for Kochi Pathar Jhol/tender Goat Meat Stew Bengali Style cooked likely in a Pressure Cooker. Equally important is the Mangsher Jhol/Mutton Gravy and Mangsher Aloo/Potatoes cooked in the Mutton Curry!

4. Sweets and Desserts

Sweets are a necessary sign-off for a traditional Bengali meal. You end your meal with Chutney. Chutney is a sweet, tangy paste and can be made with every conceivable fruit and even vegetables! For example – Aam/mangoes, Jalpai/Olives, tomatoes, Anarosh/pineapple, Tetul/tamarind, Pépé/papaya and various other type of fruits. Dry fruits like Khejur/dates, Kishmish/raisins may also be added to it the 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.

Papad/Big chips like flakes made up of Potatos or Dried Dal usually accompanies the Chutney.

After the Chutney comes the formal dessert tasting! After Fish, Bengali Sweets is a quintessential Bengali topic of discussion. 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, Rôshogolla/Rasgulla, Rasamalai, Pantua, Lyancha, Chamcham, Chitrakoot, Chanar Jilipi, Kalakaand, Mihidana & Shitabhog, Rajbhog, Rasakadambo, Shondesh… the list is endless!

Another unique Bengali sweet that is not very easily available in Bengali Sweet shops outside Bengal. Prepared with Chena/Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese along with a variety of garnishing is very quite easy to make at home. Shown below is the famous Shokho Shondesh resembling the shape of a Conch or a Shonkho.

Sweet meat shop in every alley and every lane in Kolkata – whether they are small locally known shops or big branded ones – a topic that will probably come revisit my blog again. Sweets like Mishti Doi/Sweet Yoghurt and ones dipped in Sugar syrup – for example Rasgulla, comes in a clay pot . Nikhuti, Komlabhog or a type of Rasgulla made with Orange rinds giving out strong aroma of oranges; Kalo Jaam and the Bengali Rabri. This famous version of the Rabri hailing from Kolkata is a bit different from the other Indian varieties. As the sweetened milk starts boiling, a layer of cream begins to form on the surface of the milk. That is taken off and kept aside. Repeated process of the same results in the Calcutta Rabri. Needless to say this is extremely rich and creamy and is bound to be heavy on the stomach and extremely

Gujias, a traditional festive sweet and the Jibe Goja (Jibe means tongue and these sweets are elongated tongue-shaped ones, hence the strange name!); Pantua which is not the same as the famous Indian sweet Gulab Jamuns and Jolbhora Shondesh which literally means ‘filled with water’!

The never-ending lists of sweets easily available in sweet shops, some Bengali Sweets are traditionally made at home. Or rather used to be made at home. Needless to say that there are many varieties of these as well and require elaborate skills . Pithas are primarily made from a batter of Rice flour shaped artistically with a Pur or sweet fillings. Then these Pithas are dipped in milk or other types of sweet preparation. These are specially made during the harvest season and has an incredible number of variations . Taaler Bora/Sweet Palm Fritters is another festive home-made traditional Bengali sweet made during Janmashthami, the day when Lord Krishna’s birthday is celebrated.