Nirmala August 30, 2023

1. 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)

2. 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.

3. Rshogolla :

Rshogolla, a traditional sweet, is one of the most widely consumed sweets in Westbengal. The basic version has many regional variations. Rshogolla is one of the three most prominent trademark of Bengali culture (along with Rabindranath Tagore and the festival of Durga Puja) and probably the face of Bengali cuisine to people outside Bengal (along with fish and stereotypical posto or poppyseed).

4. Pantua :

Pantua is somewhat similar to the rshogolla, except that the cottage cheese balls are fried in either ghee (clarified butter) or oil until golden or deep brown before being put in syrup. There are similar tasting, but differently shaped versions of the Pantua e.g. Langcha (cylindrical) or Ledikeni. Interestingly, the latter was created in honour of Countess Charlotte Canning (wife of the then Governor General to India Charles Canning) by Bhim Nag, a renowned sweets maker in Kolkata.

5. Chutney :

Generally Bengal is one of the pioneers for this particular dish, making it with everything, including preserved mango sheets, called amshotto.

6. Chop :

Croquettes, usually coated with crushed biscuit or breadcrumbs.

7. Jhol :

A light fish or vegetable stew seasoned with ground spices, like ginger, cumin, coriander, chilli, and turmeric, with pieces of fish and longitudinal slices of vegetables floating in it. The gravy is thin yet extremely flavourful. Whole green chillies are usually added at the end and green coriander leaves are used to season for extra taste. It is the closest to a curry, yet it is more of a jus than a sauce.