Similar qualities with inherent differences, cuisines from East and West Bengal are worlds apart — infused with regionality and preferences.
It all began when Vivek Vaid, a food connoisseur, asked in a Facebook post about the perfect Kolkata thali.
The food-loving community flooded his FB wall with comments and all possible food combinations. ..
But it was never easy in the beginning. The Bengalis from both sides were at loggerheads for over 50 years — at the dining tables and in the football fields.
The use of fried onion is another speciality in our recipes. We also have unique ingredients in Bangladesh like taro, barun and fuji leaf.
Taro — Gives a flavour of lemon grass Fuji — Creates aroma of coriander, green chilli & lemon Barun — Infuses a flavour of ghee, green chilly and lemon.
The people in Barisal especially prefer coconut in, almost, everything.
1942. To fight the food crisis, the government started to import wheat from Haryana and UP to Kolkata. After Independence, the govt started to give wheat as ration. The white grains used to come from America. And this is how Bangalis in Kolkata learned to love roti. We find chana dal and breads with different types of stuffing in Ghoti food.
Another fish the Bangals love is the koi mach. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the famous Bengali polymath, was known as Jessore koi because of the size of his head.
West Bengal’s cuisines are highly influenced by the cooking of the Tagore household.
Rabindranath’s wife Mrinalini Devi was from Jessore and was known for her cooking. Once Tagore asked her if she could make jilebi with kochu (tora).
Tora is used vastly in Bangal dishes, and banana flower (mocha) and raw jackfruit (echor) are known to be Ghoti food.
If you feel Bangal food is too hot and Ghotis put too much sweet in their food, my suggestion for you is eat two plates of each together.
There is one Bengali fruit Shatkora. not Lime but similar. it is missing from the above list. Not in any EB-MB fan's menu I suppose. In England, Indian Restaurants run by Sylheti immigrants, do serve Chicken Shatkora and name it as authentic Bengali dish. @Deb_Ban ; @thebeautifulgame
Yes, I think this is the one you are speaking of, 'a cross between grapefruit, lime and lemon, it adds a tanginess and exotic taste to curry dishes and lifts them into the sublime.' ( http://currylifeblog.blogspot.in/2014/06/unusual-ingredients-in-curry-shatkora.html) But yes, from what I get from the Net, this is more popular in Bangladesh and has not made it to any EB-MB fan's menu (at least, as far as I know)
Daulat ki Chaat from Old Delhi. Also known as Malaiyyo in Varanasi. If you visit Old Delhi, this is a must-eat.
This is a dessert that takes a whole night to prepare. Baburam's recipe
goes thus: in an aluminium bucket, mix raw buffalo milk, milk cream,
kewra and "samundri panni", probably a leavening agent though he is not
clear on this. Park the bucket on an ice slab through the evening and
night. Eight hours later, around 3am, a portion of this mixture can be
removed and moved into a larger vessel and hand-churned.
Bleary-eyed, Baburam guides me to the ground floor rooms of a building
in Sitaram Bazaar. His brother-in-law had just finished the hour-long
churning process and worked up a milky foam that is transferred to a
large thali.
One of the most popular Bengali sweets, Rosogolla, has been the bone of contention between West Bengal and Odisha, as the two states have been involved in a legal battle over its origins.
While Bengal claimed stake on its most famous sweet citing history and traditions, Odisha claimed the dish originated in the state and was associated with the puja of Lord Jagannath.
The battle, which had been on for almost the past two years, saw an end when the Geographical Indication (GI) announced that the sweet actually originated in West Bengal.
The West Bengal government has been successful in registering "Banglar Rosogolla" with the Geographical Indications registry of India.
Rejoicing this 'sweet' victory, West Bengal's Chief Minister tweeted:
Sweet news for us all. We are very happy and proud that #Bengal has been granted GI ( Geographical Indication) status for Rosogolla
Speaking to India Today,, the state food processing minister, Abdur Rezzak Mollah, welcomed the GI announcement and said, "It was not merely a battle over Rosogolla, but a battle of pride and identity for Bengalis."
"It feels good. But if people in Odisha claim it to be their sweet too, I don't mind. Let more and more people enjoy this fabulous sweet," said veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee.
"It is a matter of pride for all Bengalis. Rosogollo is ours while Chenna Poda is theirs (Odisha). I enjoy both these sweets, so now I want both the states to make up!" added author Nabanita Deb Sen.
The battle over the origins of this popular Bengali sweetmeat had taken a bitter turn when Odisha's science and technology minister, Pradip Kumar Panigrahi, set up several committees in 2015 to trace the origin of the delicacy. They had also indulged in the celebrations of Rosogolla Dibasa to link the origin of the this sweetmeat to Odisha.
In its application, the Bengal government had stated, "Rosogolla was first seen in the form of 'Delta Rosogolla' or 'Danadar', which was modified into today's soft, sponge "Rosogolla" . The first Rosogolla, which was in the above form, was first seen in Fulia, Nadia district which came to Bagbajar (in Kolkata) during 1860."
"It was the best of times for Bengal in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the height of the golden age of Bengal's resurgence. From fine arts to commerce, from culture to industry, from literature to science, in all things there was a glorious flowering of exuberant excellence. The spirit of this era touched the world of confectionery too," the application reads, referring to Nobin Chandra Das, the confectioner who claims to have invented the famous sweet.
Nobin Chandra Das
"In the 1860s, the man who chose this area to engage his genius was Nobin Chandra Das (1845-1925). It was a humble beginning. In a tiny, obscure comer of Bagbazar in North Kolkata, Nobin chandra set up a sweet shop in 1866, but the last thing he wanted was to run a mere sales counter. The passion to create something of his very own haunted him. His ambition was to create a completely original sweet, that would bring new excitement to the Bengali palate. There was in him an intense desire to create a sweetmeat that was never there before... the ultimate delicacy. He toiled for months, armed with imagination, skill and tenacity, and sometime in the year 1868, his labours paid off. He made small balls of casein (cottage cheese) and boiled them in hot sugar syrup. The result was a succulent, spongy sweet with a unique, distinctive taste. Nobin Das christened it the "Rosogolla" and a legend was born," the Bengal government wrote in its application.
Highlighting the significance of Rosogolla in Bengal's cultural context, the state government observes, "Rosogolla is most popular in West Bengal, its fame has spread all over the lndian subcontinent .Bengalis can start their meal with couple of Rosogolla and end it with a few more. It is the best sweet dessert in Bengal. Bengal used to offer Rosogolla Paila Baisakh, the first date of the Bengali calendar. Rosogolla is everywhere in marriage, rice ceremony and other festivals of Bengal.
Comments
Similar qualities with inherent differences, cuisines from East and West Bengal are worlds apart — infused with regionality and preferences.
It all began when Vivek Vaid, a food connoisseur, asked in a Facebook post about the perfect Kolkata thali.
The food-loving community flooded his FB wall with comments and all possible food combinations. ..
But it was never easy in the beginning. The Bengalis from both sides were at loggerheads for over 50 years — at the dining tables and in the football fields.
The use of fried onion is another speciality in our recipes. We also have unique ingredients in Bangladesh like taro, barun and fuji leaf.
Taro — Gives a flavour of lemon grass
Fuji — Creates aroma of coriander, green chilli & lemon
Barun — Infuses a flavour of ghee, green chilly and lemon.
The people in Barisal especially prefer coconut in, almost, everything.
1942. To fight the food crisis, the government started to import wheat from Haryana and UP to Kolkata. After Independence, the govt started to give wheat as ration. The white grains used to come from America. And this is how Bangalis in Kolkata learned to love roti. We find chana dal and breads with different types of stuffing in Ghoti food.
West Bengal’s cuisines are highly influenced by the cooking of the Tagore household.
Rabindranath’s wife Mrinalini Devi was from Jessore and was known for her cooking. Once Tagore asked her if she could make jilebi with kochu (tora).
Tora is used vastly in Bangal dishes, and banana flower (mocha) and raw jackfruit (echor) are known to be Ghoti food.
If you feel Bangal food is too hot and Ghotis put too much sweet in their food, my suggestion for you is eat two plates of each together.
@Deb_Ban ; @thebeautifulgame
But yes, from what I get from the Net, this is more popular in Bangladesh and has not made it to any EB-MB fan's menu (at least, as far as I know)
This is a dessert that takes a whole night to prepare. Baburam's recipe goes thus: in an aluminium bucket, mix raw buffalo milk, milk cream, kewra and "samundri panni", probably a leavening agent though he is not clear on this. Park the bucket on an ice slab through the evening and night. Eight hours later, around 3am, a portion of this mixture can be removed and moved into a larger vessel and hand-churned.
Bleary-eyed, Baburam guides me to the ground floor rooms of a building in Sitaram Bazaar. His brother-in-law had just finished the hour-long churning process and worked up a milky foam that is transferred to a large thali.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-belly-Daulat-ki-chaat-the-ultimate-desi-souffle-returns-to-capital/articleshow/49706088.cms
One of the most popular Bengali sweets, Rosogolla, has been the bone of contention between West Bengal and Odisha, as the two states have been involved in a legal battle over its origins.
While Bengal claimed stake on its most famous sweet citing history and traditions, Odisha claimed the dish originated in the state and was associated with the puja of Lord Jagannath.
The battle, which had been on for almost the past two years, saw an end when the Geographical Indication (GI) announced that the sweet actually originated in West Bengal.
The West Bengal government has been successful in registering "Banglar Rosogolla" with the Geographical Indications registry of India.
Rejoicing this 'sweet' victory, West Bengal's Chief Minister tweeted:
"It feels good. But if people in Odisha claim it to be their sweet too, I don't mind. Let more and more people enjoy this fabulous sweet," said veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee.
"It is a matter of pride for all Bengalis. Rosogollo is ours while Chenna Poda is theirs (Odisha). I enjoy both these sweets, so now I want both the states to make up!" added author Nabanita Deb Sen.
The battle over the origins of this popular Bengali sweetmeat had taken a bitter turn when Odisha's science and technology minister, Pradip Kumar Panigrahi, set up several committees in 2015 to trace the origin of the delicacy. They had also indulged in the celebrations of Rosogolla Dibasa to link the origin of the this sweetmeat to Odisha.
In its application, the Bengal government had stated, "Rosogolla was first seen in the form of 'Delta Rosogolla' or 'Danadar', which was modified into today's soft, sponge "Rosogolla" . The first Rosogolla, which was in the above form, was first seen in Fulia, Nadia district which came to Bagbajar (in Kolkata) during 1860."
"It was the best of times for Bengal in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the height of the golden age of Bengal's resurgence. From fine arts to commerce, from culture to industry, from literature to science, in all things there was a glorious flowering of exuberant excellence. The spirit of this era touched the world of confectionery too," the application reads, referring to Nobin Chandra Das, the confectioner who claims to have invented the famous sweet.
Nobin Chandra Das
Highlighting the significance of Rosogolla in Bengal's cultural context, the state government observes, "Rosogolla is most popular in West Bengal, its fame has spread all over the lndian subcontinent .Bengalis can start their meal with couple of Rosogolla and end it with a few more. It is the best sweet dessert in Bengal. Bengal used to offer Rosogolla Paila Baisakh, the first date of the Bengali calendar. Rosogolla is everywhere in marriage, rice ceremony and other festivals of Bengal.
https://scroll.in/article/745871/who-deserves-credit-for-the-rasgulla-bengalis-odiyas-or-the-portuguese