Bangladeshi cuisine

The cuisine of Bangladesh has considerable regional variations as would be expected.

A staple across the country however is rice and dhal (sometimes written as dal). As a large percentage of the land (over 80% on some occasions) can be under water, either intentionally because of farming practices or due to severe climatological, topographical or geographical conditions, not surprisingly fish features as the major source of protein in the Bangladeshi diet.

Regional cuisines

Bangladeshi cuisine is a generic terminology to refer to the cooking-style and trend now prevalent in Bangladesh. However, several regional variations, in terms of dishes, cooking style, serving style and nomenclature, exists. In general, for cooking purposes, the administrative divisions more or less correspond to regional divides as well.

The main differences are as follows:

• South - Barisal Division, Chittagong Division and Khulna Division, being close to sea, tend to have a larger use of sea fishes in their cuisines. Shutki, which is a especially treated dry fish, is extremely popular in these areas. Chittagong also exports shutki.

• Dhaka - As a cosmopolitan city that has historically been the capital under Persio-Arabic rulers, Dhaka has a very high level of Western influence in its cuisine. Dishes involving fried rice and a lot of meat are usually legacies of Dhaka's past as the capital of Bengali empires. Much of this is still visible in the old city, where dishes like birani, Mughlai porota and bakorkhani are made by speciality stores, many of which have existed for over a century.

• West and North-west - The West and North-west have, until recently, been untouched by the fashions and trends in the capital, Dhaka. As a result, the high level of Persio-Arabic influence in the cuisine in and around Dhaka area is absent, or less pervasive, here. Vegetable curries heavily occupy the main eating in these areas. Also, higher level of use of spices is common. River fishes (sweet water fishes) are common in the dishes.

• North-east - Large number of lakes around the Sylhet Division encourages greater use of lake fishes in the cuisine. Because of proximity to the hills in Assam, several fruits and pickles that are otherwise absent in rest of the country, such as satkorhai, are used in cooking and serving, producing a distinct nature to the dining menu here.

Staple ingredients and spices

The staples of Bangladeshi cuisine are rice, atta (a special type of whole wheat flour), and at least five dozen varieties of pulses, the most important of which are chana (bengal gram;and these are used in different forms, may be whole or after processing them in a mill that removes the skin,eg dhuli moong or dhuli urad.some times mixed with rice and excellent for digestion food called khichri similar to the chick pea but smaller and more flavorful), toor (pigeon pea or red gram), urad (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 (besan).

The most important spices in Bangladeshi cuisine are garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli. In sweet dishes, cardamom and cinnamon are amongst the natural flavours used.

Regional specialties

• Aloo Bhaji occurs across the region.
• Luchi
• Shujeer Halwa a sweet from across the region.

Other famous Bangladeshi dishes

• Torkari
• Biryani

There are several styles of Bangladeshi bread, including Luchi, chapati and paratha

Some sweets and desserts

• Peetha
• Gulab jamun
• Rasgulla
• Pheerni
• Kheer
• Halva

Bangladeshi food abroad

Britain has a particularly strong tradition of what the general population would term Indian cuisine which is in fact a misnomer as the restaurants in question are mainly created by people of Bangladeshi origin. In the second half of the 20th century there was a spurt in the development of so-called Anglo-Indian cuisine, as families from countries such as Bangladesh migrated to London to look for work. Some of the earliest such restaurants were opened in Brick Lane in the East End of London, a place that is still famous for this type of cuisine and now renamed as Bangla Town, with even the street signs bilingual.

In the 1960s, a number of inauthentic "Indian" foods were developed, including the widely popular "chicken tikka masala". This tendency has now been reversed, with subcontinental restaurants being more willing to serve authentic Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani food, and to show their regional variations.

Indian food is now a staple of the British diet: although ironically it can be argued that it is Bangladeshi cuisine that can be regarded as part of the core of the British national cuisine.

See also

• Bengali cuisine - for information on the cuisine of West Bengal, India.
• Indian cuisine
• Wikibook's Cuisine of India
• Cuisine
• Paan

External links

• Bangla Recipes - Bengali and Indian Recipes
• Overview of Indian food and some easy recipes
• Indian Cuisine & Culture Made Easy In The United States
• Everything about Indian cuisine, recipes and more
• Rewri & Gajjak
• The Myth of "Indian" Food