I love Bengali-style pickles and chutneys. Bengali spice blends used for making pickles have a distinct flavour and are highly aromatic, yet not overpowering. This unique vegetarian and vegan salad is one of my signature recipes using traditional Bengali pickling ingredients. Each bite of this salad offers freshness, tartness, sweetness and spice… all […]
Making the best out of waste is actually a very common thing in Bengali households since generations. Bengalis have been cooking with a variety of peels and dishing up the traditional and humble “Baata” or “paste” as a first course with rice. Bengal has seen famine and struggle in its history. So, using every […]
A few weeks ago, I got a chance to buy fresh Kaagji Lemons from a local vegetable vendor. These lemons are quite green on the outside and are extremely juicy. These are not as aromatic as the “Gondhoraaj Lebu” variety found in Kolkata. But these are beautiful in themselves and flavourful enough to give them […]
After coming back from a long European vacation recently, I am craving for a lot for Bengali dishes in Mumbai, my home. I had delicious continental food in Europe and loads of it. Back home, it is homely Bengali comfort food, though. I eat aromatic rice topped with Macher Jhol, Paalong Shaaker Ghonto, Hing Chorchori […]
Daal Shukno or Dal Shukhono is a simple, yet delicious Bengali dish made with red lentils, which can be served as a first or second course with rice during lunch or dinner. Better still, it can also be served as the only course in a Bengali meal. As a Bengali commoner would do in Gram […]
There are a few sure-shot ways to please a Bengali: one of them is food. Talking about food, you will find some kind of Bora or fritters in a traditional Bengali thali. Although we don’t indulge in deep-fried food often, but when it is raining and the weather gets cold or it’s a festive […]
Today is 1st February 2017, and this year, the Indian festival of Saraswati Pujo or Basant Panchami falls on this day! As a Bengali who studied in Raisina, New Delhi, Saraswati Pujo is nostalgia. It reminds me of the preparations done by the “senior students” in the school, days in advance. It reminds me […]
In a traditional Bengali household, Shojne Phool is one of those edible flowers that is usually eaten during the winters. Shojne Phool or the drumstick blossoms are the flowers of the Moringa tree. It is popular in Bengali Cuisine not only because of its flavour and texture, but because of its medicinal properties. In […]
Chorchori, Chochchori or Charchari is an extremely flexible Bengali vegetarian dish that can be cooked in a jiffy. Chorchori comes handy when you have a little of each vegetable and don’t know what to cook! You just throw-in everything together in a kadhai, with minimal or no addition of water, and what you get […]
“I never heard of it in my entire life. What on earth is Chilli Jam?” my Maharashtrian cook asked surprisingly, as I passed her a very small amount of my creation. She touched the jam to her tongue with a frown. And that was the end of her frown, actually. Her facial expressions […]