My experience with Bengali cuisine

Mutton curry

  Paturi           

Kolkata, for those who don't know, is one of the India's largest cities. It is also the capital of West Bengal, a state located in the east of the country which shares a border with Bangladesh.

In my college days, I had Bengali friends and consequently had the opportunity to try a lot of Bengali food. At Bengali restaurants my preferred dishes were the fish cutlets while the home favorites were fish curries/fried fish. With respect to local (DC) restaurants, I am partial to the roast chicken and biryanis at one of Arlington's Bangla restaurant, Gharer Khabar.

With many memories linked with food, I was really keen on visiting Kolkata during my visit to India. Last winter, we got to spend a few days in Kolkata  and had a chance to enjoy some of its local cuisine.

The Mughlai influences on its food were reflected in their preparations of biryani, mutton curry and kathi rolls. I absolutely loved their mutton curry which I had the chance to try with freshly made pooris (or as the Bengalis would call them "loochis"). The kathi rolls were also delicious. Many of the dishes we tried could be found at our hotel. The Bengali breakfast we tried at Westin was surprisingly authentic. It was mostly a simple preparation of veggies with "loochis". The hotel also offered a vast menu comprised of Indian breakfast items from idli-vada to pao bhaji, all of which were quite good.

Kathi Rolls

Bengali cuisine boasts of a lot of fish, predominantly river fish. While the fish dishes I tried didn't entirely disappoint me, the strong mustard flavor in the dishes wasn't to my taste. I loved the home-made styled fish curry (macher jhol), which was cooked with veggies (ours had cauliflower and potato) and served with rice. We also tried some other traditional delicacies of fish cutlets and paturi (fish cooked with mustard in a banana leaf) at a highly recommended local favorite called 6 Ballygungeplace.

Finally, Bengali sweets are well-known. If you are ever in the city, one must not miss out on their very popular rashogollas. My personal favorites are Kheer Kadam and Chom Chom, that brought back memories for me of a small Bengali restaurant in Pune that first introduced me to the cuisine.