Bengali Cuisine - Cooking Styles

Cooking Styles

In Bangladesh, the culinary style developed rather independently; it was not greatly influenced by the rest of India and Southeast Asia because of the difficult geography of the Ganges delta. Some characteristics stand out: fresh-water fish, beef (only for Muslims, but still not very popular), the extensive use of parboiled rice, and much spicier food (some of the hottest dishes in the world). Floods are common in the region, so there is an extensive use of root vegetables and dried fish (shuţki). Milk and dairy products, so widely used in the neighbouring India, are not as common here; the geography prevents large-scale dairy farming, thus making dairy products an expensive indulgence. Although, some food calls for curd/yogurt or ghee. However, sweets do contain milk and dairy products as well as jaggery and rice paste.

As you move eastwards, anthropologically the people become more and more different, and the language takes a different tone and flavour all together. The far eastern parts are closer culturally to Burma than to India. In western parts of Bengal, more connected with the rest of India and dominated by the megacity of Kolkata since the late eighteenth century, the culinary style evolved to become different. The delta is thinner there, with fewer rivers and more open plains. There is significant commerce with the rest of India, leading to a flow of spices, ingredients and techniques and more importantly culture. The presentations are more elaborate and a significant feature of the cuisine is a vast array of sweets based on milk and sugar as part of tradition. While fresh-water fish is still common, mutton is more common among the Muslim population than beef and dried fish. Wheat makes its appearance alongside rice, in different types of breads such as luchi, kochuri and pôroţa. There's a greater use of coconut, both in cooking and in desserts.

Prosperity and urbanisation also led to the widespread use of professional cooks who introduced complex spice mixtures and more elaborate sauces, along with techniques such as roasting or braising. Also introduced around this time, probably as a consequence of increased urbanisation, was a whole new class of snack foods. These snack foods are most often consumed with evening tea. The tea-time ritual was probably inspired by the British, but the snacks most popular are Kolkata—chaţ, kachori,beguni,mochaar chop, samosa, phuluri and the ever-popular jhal-muri also referred to as bhelpuri . Puchka is the ever-popular street food.