Bangladeshi cuisine

Bangladeshi cuisine refers to the food and culinary traditions prevalent in Bangladesh. Bangladeshis have strong preferences for certain tastes and flavours, and practise of culinary processes that date far back in history. Bangladeshi foods contain staples like varieties of rice and flat breads. Regional variations are prevalent generally due to historical phenomena and geographic circumstances.

In general, the varieties and grades of rice are immense. Flat breads include Puri, Mughlai Paratha, Bakarkhani, Chapati Roti, Naan Roti, Chitai Pitha, and many more. Dishes from chicken, beef, fish or mutton, dal and vegetables are common accompaniments. Items with jhol (gravy) can be considered to be in curry form. These dishes can be in 'drier' form such as mach dopiaza (fish), gosht bhuna and tandoori gosht (chicken/beef/mutton), or with gravy such as Nihari (beef/mutton shank) and murgi rezala (chicken). Fresh vegetables are used and generally vary with season. Vegetables are used for light curries, bara, salads or stir-fries. Dal is like a spicy lentil soup. Dal and chhola or boot (chickpeas) are also used as ingredients in some snacks and desserts.

Regional cuisines

Bangladeshi curry with beresta (onion garnish)

In Bangladeshi Cuisine, we can see greater influence of some food over others across regions, which provides general differences by administrative division.

Rajshahi & Rangpur: There is a propensity to use more freshwater fish. Rajshahi mangoes are considered top varieties across the country. Sweet dishes are also well-esteemed.

Sylhet: A citrus fruit called satkora is sometimes used in meat dishes. Freshwater fish is more available than saltwater ones.

Chittagong: The cuisine in Chittagong city and other small urban centers of greater Noakhali and Comilla are similar to Dhakai cuisine. Sweet dishes of Comilla are highly regarded. Tehari is a specialty of the region. Ziafat or Mezbaan feasts are held across the division where characteristic ‘heavy’ dishes are featured. Saltwater fish and seafood, and Shutki (dried fish) are more available here than in other parts of the country.

Barisal and Khulna: Saltwater fish and seafood is quite prevalent.

Dhaka- Much of the rural districts in the outskirts have food customs similar to the north or central part of the country. Much of the city’s cuisine is essentially Mughlai Cuisine that is considered to have shaped the cuisine of surrounding areas as well. The most prominent are different varieties of roti, kabab, bakarkhani, biryani, and faluda.

These exclude foreign-cuisine restaurants, especially Chinese- or western fast food-style ones. They have become more visible in the urban centers of Dhaka and Chittagong, and increasingly, in Sylhet.

Staple ingredients

Bangladeshi Biryani

• The staples of Bangladeshi cuisine are rice and roti
• Atta (a unique type of whole ground wheat flour), atta used for making Puri; Paratha; Pitha etc.
• Lentils/Pulses at least five dozen varieties, the most important of which are chana (bengal gram), tur (pigeon pea or red gram), urod (black gram), and mung (green gram). Pulses are used almost exclusively in the form of dal, except chana, which is often cooked whole for breakfast and is processed into flour (beshon).

• The variety of vegetables and herbs that Bangladesh has to offer is incredible. A host of gourds, roots and tubers, leafy greens, succulent stalks, lemons and limes, green and purple eggplants, red onions, plantain, broad beans, okra, banana tree stems and flowers, green jackfruit and red pumpkins are to be found in the vegetable markets or kancha bazaar. Bitter vegetables like karola satisfy the love for bitter vegetables but palatable flavours. Bangladeshi's are also fond of "Kochu" and various kinds of "sak" like- palong (spinach), pui, lal sak, kolmi sak, dheki sak, lau sak, kumro sak (pumpking leaves) etc. which are often cooked with fish or vegetables as a compatible.

• Chicken, beef, fish and mutton dishes are favourites across Bangladesh. In rural areas and small towns, free range chicken and duck are common. Koel and pigeon also have some popularity.

Cooking medium and spices

Typical spices used in a Bangladeshi household. Clockwise from top left, dried red chili and bay leaves, cumin powder, cumin, red chili powder, turmeric powder, panch phoran, coriander powder and mustard.

Sharisha tel (mustard oil) and vegetable oil are the primary cooking medium in Bangladeshi cuisine, although Badam tel (groundnut oil) is also used, because of its high smoke point. Of late, the use of sunflower oil, canola oil and refined vegetable oil, which is a mixture of soybean, and other edible vegetable oils, is gaining prominence. This latter group is popularly known as "shada tel", meaning white oil, bringing out the contrast in colour between the lightly coloured groundnut and the somewhat darker mustard oil and the other white oils. However, depending on type of food, ghee (clarified butter) is often used, e.g., for making the dough or for frying bread.

Bangladeshi food varies between very 'sweet' and mild-to extremely spicy, many tourists even from other South East Asian and Subcontinental countries find the food spicy. It resembles food in other parts of southern Asia, especially North India and Pakistan. There are also slight similarities with South East Asian and North East Indian food customs. The most common condiments, herbs and spices in Bangladeshi cuisine are garlic, onion, ginger, tamarind, lime, saffron, ghee, coriander, jeera (cumin), pudina leaves, bay leaves, turmeric and chili. In sweet dishes, cardamom and cinnamon are among st the natural flavours.

mustard paste, holud (turmeric), poshto poppyseed), ada (ginger), dhonia (coriander, seeds and leaves) and narikel (ripe coconut usually desiccated) are other common ingredients. 'The pãch poron is a general purpose spice mixture composed of radhuni (Carum roxburghianum seeds), jeera (cumin), kalo jira (black cumin, also known as nigella), methi (fenugreek) and mouri (anis). This mixture is more convenient for vegetarian dishes and fish preparations. The use of spices for both meat and vegetable dishes is quite extensive and includes many combinations. Examples are the onion-flavored kalonji (nigella or black onion seeds), radhuni (wild celery seeds), and five-spice or paanch phoron (a mixture of cumin, fennel, fenugreek, kalonji, and black mustard seeds). This provides combination of whole spices, fried and added at the start or finish of cooking as a flavouring special to each dish. Whole black mustard seeds and freshly ground mustard paste are also a typical combination. A pungent mustard sauce called Kasundi is sauce in snacks or, sometimes makes a base ingredients for fish dishes & vegetable dishes popular in Bangladesh.

Common Bangladeshi recipe styles

The following are a list of characteristic Bangladeshi recipe styles. You can note the influence in the food here. Each entry here is actually a class of recipes, producing different dishes depending on the choice of ingredients. There are different tastes to which the Bangladeshi palate cater to.

• Achar: Pickles. Generally flavored with Mustard oil, Mustard Seeds, Aniseed, Caraway Seed and Asafoetida, or hing.
• Bawra - Anything that has been mashed and then formed into rough roundish shape and fried, generally in mustard oil. Generally served with rice as a starter, or served with puffed rice crisps as a snack. The baora actually has quite a few different kinds. When potatoes are fried in a light chickpea flour batter, they are called Fuluri (giving rise to the Trinidadian pholourie)
• Bhaja : Anything fried, either just after it has been salted or dipped in any kind of water-based batter. Does not include croquettes, or crumb coated items.
• Bhapa : Fish or vegetables steamed with spices.
• Bhate : A vegetable, that has been put inside the pot in which rice is cooking, and it has been cooked along with the rice. Generally, you get potatoes, butternut squash, raw papayas, bitter gourd, snake gourd and okra in the rice. Some often eat it with a tinge of mustard oil and salt. For this, generally "atap chawl" rice, which is a short-grained, glutinous rice that cooks quickly is used, and is preferred to the long grained rice, because of its creamy quality, and ability to become ever so sticky. That aids the dish when it comes to mashing. During the serve, some fresh Ghee or Butter, and salt to taste, to be mixed and mashed by hand into the right consistency, and then eaten. A raw green chili, and a boiled and shelled egg sometimes accompanies this dish.
• Bharta : Any vegetable, such as potatoes, beans, sour mangoes, papaya, pumpkins or even dal, first boiled whole and then mashed and seasoned with red shallot, fresh chile, mustard oil/ghee and spices.
• Chap: Croquettes, usually coated with crushed biscuit or breadcrumbs.
• Chutney: Generally Bengal is one of the pioneers for this particular dish, making it with everything including preserved mango sheets, called amshotto.
• Dum: Vegetables, especially potatoes, or meat, cooked over a covered pot containing water, slowly over a low heat, slightly steaming. The word is derived from the Dum technique popular in Mughlai food.
• Ghonto: Different complementary vegetables (e.g., cabbage, green peas, potatoes or banana blossom, coconut, chickpeas) are chopped or finely grated and cooked with both a pouron and ground spices. Dried pellets of dal are often added to the ghonto. Ghee is commonly added at the end. Non-vegetarian ghontos are also made, with fish or fish heads added to vegetables. The famous murighonto is made with fish heads cooked in a fine variety of rice. Some ghontos are very dry while others a thick and juicy.
• Kalia: A very rich preparation of meat using a lot of oil or ghee with a spice sauce usually based on ground ginger and fresh shallots pasted or fried along with a tempering of gorom moshla.
• Kofta: Ground meat croquettes bound together by spices and/or eggs served alone or in savory gravy.
• Korma: It involves meat cooked in a mild yogurt based sauce with ghee instead of oil, and often poppy seed paste is added to it. People of Southern Bangladesh are known to add coconut milk to many of their dishes and Korma is no exception.
• Paturi: Generally oily fish is sliced evenly, and then wrapped in a banana leaf, after the fish has been hit by a basting of freshly pasted mustard with a hint of mustard oil, chili, turmeric and salt.
• Poshto: anything cooked with poppy seed paste as the main flavoring agent. Often poppy seed paste with some mustard oil is eaten mixed with rice all by itself as a mild beginner in a meal.
• Torkari: A general term often used in Bengal the way `curry' is used in English. The word first meant uncooked garden vegetables. From this it was a natural extension to mean cooked vegetables or even fish and vegetables cooked together.
• Shak: Any kind of green leafy vegetable, like spinach and mustard greens, often cooked till just wilted in a touch of oil and tempering of nigela seeds.

Bangladeshi meals

Chatpati

Mutton Rezala

Bhapa Pitha, often sweetened with molasses, is a popular Bangladeshi style rice cake.

Each dish is to be eaten separately with a little rice or roti so that the individual flavours can be enjoyed. The typical Bangladesh fare includes certain sequences of food. Two sequences are commonly followed, one for ceremonial dinners such as a wedding and the day-to-day sequence. Both sequences have regional variations, and sometimes there are significant differences in a particular course in Bangladesh.

Ceremonial occasions such as weddings used to have elaborate serving rituals, but professional catering and buffet-style dining can sometimes be seen now. The traditions are far from dead, though; large family occasions and the more lavish ceremonial feasts still make sure that these rituals are observed.

Chutney

Pickles called achar or murabba are made usually with sharp-tasting fruits such as raw green mango, tamarind, plum, bilimbi or Bangladeshi olive. Mustard oil is used extensively for pickling.

Desserts

The last item before the sweets is Dahi or yogurt.It is generally of two varieties, either natural flavour and taste or Mitha Dahi (sweet yogurt), typically sweetened with charred sugar. This brings about a brown colour and a distinct flavour.

Sweets and desserts

Gur', made from Palmera Palm extracts

Bangladeshi cuisine has a rich tradition of sweets. The most common sweets and desserts include:

• Rasgolla - A sweet made with channa (posset/curdled milk) and sugar syrup.
• Chhanar Mithai- A sweet made of channa and sugar/jaggery/molasses. Now there are various types of Chhanar Mithai available made by mithaiwalas all across Bangladesh.
• Pitha - There are more than 200 types pitha made with rice flour, jaggery, coconut & kheer
• Mitha Doi - sweetened homemade creamy yogurt.
• Naru- It is usually home-made and used as offerings in Hindu rituals of praying to their Gods.
• Rash-malai - small rashgollas in a sweetened milk base; Comilla is famous for its Rash-malai.
• Khaja - Deep fried sweets made with wheat flour and ghee, with sugar and sesame seeds coating.
• Mua - cooked with rice flakes with jaggery.
• Hawai Mithai - made with sugar & given various forms.
• Rasgolla is one of the most widely consumed sweets. The basic version has many regional variations.
• Phirni or Kheer is a common Bangladeshi sweet dish. Phirni, together with Zarda, is also typical during Shab-e-Barat and Eid. It is cooked with dense milk, sugar/Jaggery, & scented rice (kalajira rice). Though it takes a lot of time to cook it is one of the main features of Bangladeshi desserts. A thicker version of kheer is used as filling in pitha.
• Zarda is a dish of rice that is prepared by sweetening and natural colouring. It is garnished with small gulab jaam and thick kheer.
• Chômchôm – Chômchôm, (চমচম) (originally from Porabari, Tangail District in Bangladesh) goes back centuries. The modern version of this oval-shaped sweet is reddish brown in colour and has a denser texture than the rôshogolla. It can also be preserved longer. Granules of maoa or dried milk can also be sprinkled over chômchôm.
• Semai is vermicelli prepared with ghee or vegetable oil. It is sometimes an ingredient in faluda.
• Piţha have many varieties (Pakan, Pati Shapta etc.) In Bangladesh, the tradition of making different kinds of pan-fried, steamed or boiled sweets, lovingly known as piţhe or the "pitha", still flourishes. These little balls of heaven symbolizes the coming of winter, and the arrival of a season where rich food can be included. The richness lie in the creamy silkiness of the milk which is mixed often with molasses, or jaggery made of either date palm or sugarcane, and sometimes sugar. They are mostly divided into different categories based on the way they are created. Generally rice flour goes into making the pithe.

Piţhas are usually fried or steamed; the most common forms of these cakes include bhapa piţha (steamed), pakan piţha (fried), and puli piţha (dumplings), among others. The other common pithas are chandrapuli, gokul, pati shapta, chitai piţha, aski pithe, muger puli and dudh puli. The Pati Shapta variety is basically a thin-layered rice-flour crepes with thick kheer filling.

Beverages

• Akher gur Sorbot – sugarcane liquid jaggery's juice
• Akher Rosh – Sugarcane juice
• Borhani – spicy drink usually in gatherings, banquets and weddings
• Ghol – whisked salted milk
• Khejur Rosh – local date juice
• Tea

See also

• Paan
• Panta bhat

References

• Bangladesh - Mariam Whyte, Yong Jui Lin - Google Books
• World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia - Marshall Cavendish Corporation - Google Books
• Bangladesh - Stuart Butler - Google Books
• Bangladeshi Cuisine - Shawkat Osman - Google Boeken
• Multicultural Handbook of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics - Google Books

Bibliography

• Bangladeshi Restaurant Curries, Piatkus, London — ISBN 0-7499-1618-4 (1996)
• Curries - Masterchef Series, Orion, London — ISBN 0-297-83642-0 (1996)
• Curry, Human & Rousseau, South Africa — ISBN 0-7981-3193-4 (1993)
• Kerrie, in Afrikaans, Human & Rousseau, South Africa — ISBN 0-7981-2814-3 (1993)
• Petit Plats Curry, French edition, Hachette Marabout, Paris — ISBN 2-501-03308-6 (2000)
• 2009 Cobra Good Curry Guide, John Blake Publishing, London — ISBN 1-84454-311-0

External links

• Bangladeshi Food and Recipes
• Bengali Recipes Collection
• The largest Bangladeshi recipes Online
• Bengali Recipes from BonGong.com