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User:BengaliHindu/Bengali Hindu cuisine

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Bengali Hindu cuisine refers to the traditional ingredients, culinary style, recipes and food of the Bengali Hindu people. It is a distinctive style of cooking within the Bengali cuisine. The cuisine is marked by less use of onions and garlic as opposed to the Bangladeshi Muslim style of cooking and generous use of mustard sauce as opposed to the Mughal style. The cuisine is distinguished from the Bengali Christian cuisine by the generous use panchphoron, a traditional mix of five spices.[1] It is the only Indian cuisine where the food is served multiple courses.[2]

Traditionally, the Bengali Hindu diet was largely vegetarian but also included fish. Dairy products were an essential supplement to the diet. However, cheese was not known because it was forbidden to put acid or salt to milk. Poultry was forbidden and taboo till the middle of the 20th century. Mutton was consumed only on festive occasions as prasad for the worship of Kali which mandates sacrifice of goats. Beef is strictly forbidden according to Hindu customs. Chicken and mutton from animals killed in any method other than jhatka is forbidden. In multicultural urban context of Kolkata, fish is the marker of Bengali Hindu identity. The cuisine is prevalent among the worldwide Bengali Hindu diaspora. It is one of the popular cuisines of Kolkata.

History and influences

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Based on the ethnic traditions, shaped by the religious dietary laws and influenced by foreign cuisines, the Bengali Hindu cuisine has evolved over centuries. The staple food of the Bengali Hindus consisted of rice, fish, milk and vegetables from the earliest times. The eighth century text Charyapada mention the use of fishing nets. Naishadhacharita describes a marriage ceremony where steaming hot rice is served with ghee. It also mentions a dish cooked with rice and milk.

Brihaddharma Purana mentions that scaled fishes rohu, puti and shol were allowed from the Bengali Hindu Brahmins. Jimutavahana proscribed certain kinds of fishes for the Brahmins. They include fishes that does not have scales, that live in mud, that resembles snakes or that are ugly. Bhavadeva Bhatta was a 12th century Smarta philosopher who served as the Minister of War and Peace in the court of Harivarmana. He authored several texts which were considered authoritative of the later Smartas and the Bengali Hindus for centuries. In Prayaschitta Prakarana, he proscribed the drinking of certain kinds of milk purely for health reasons. Raghunandana, a 16th century law maker and a commentator of the Smritis formulated the modern Bengali Hindu dietary laws.

The Mughal rule left a lasting influence in northern India and among the Muslims of Bengal. The Bengali Hindu cuisine however, mostly retained its original characteristics with the exception that use of onion and garlic increased.

Ingredients

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Spices

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The Bengali Hindu cuisine is characterized by the usage of a unique set of spices that sets it apart from the other cuisines. The use of a five spice mix called panch phoron, generous use of mustard sauce and ginger paste, poppy seeds, radhuni, asafoetida among others renders a distinctive characteristic to the cuisine.

Apart of the individual spices listed above, the Bengali Hindu cuisine used four unique spice mixes. The most popular among them is panch phoron, which is a mix of five whole spices namely cumin seed, black cumin seed, fenugreek seed, fennel seed and Trachyspermum roxburghianum seed called radhuni. Ghee or mustard oil is heated up with panch phoron before adding vegetables for roasting. It is widely used in preparing lentils, vegetables and Machher Jhol. The miniature version of panch phoron is tin phoron, which consists of three whole spices namely black cumin seed, fenugreek seed and fennel seed. The third spice mix is called Bhaja Moshla, which a mix of roasted and crushed mix of three spices namely cumin seed, fennel seed and coriander seed. It is commonly used as a seasoning Ghugni, a popular snack. The fourth unique spice mix is the Bengali Garam Moshla. It differs from the standard Garam masala in that it used just three spices namely cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. It is used both as whole spices as well as roasted mix at the end of cooking to retain the fresh flavour.

Vegetables

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Bengali Hindu cuisine uses an assortment of vegetables which are also common in other Indian cuisines. A variety of edible leaves called shaak are either cooked solo or along with other vegetables, prawn or fish offal. Many of these leafy vegetables are consumed because of their medicinal values. On the occasion of Bhoot Chaturdashi, the day before the Diwali, the Bengali Hindus partake Choddoshak, a dish made of fourteen leafy vegetables.

Fish and meat

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Bengal being a deltaic region, is crisscrossed by several rivers and therefore is home to a multitude of sweet water fishes. Apart from that salt water fishes from Bay of Bengal and the backwater regions adjoining it are used as ingredients for a wide range of fish preparations.

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References

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  1. ^ Verma, Rahul (22 December 2013). "Fusion feast". The Telegraph. Kolkata. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. ^ Patel, Aakar (11 October 2009). "Eating out in India". The News. Karachi. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
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