The people of the City of Calcutta are often referred as 'Mach E Bhat E Bangali' for their love towards food. Every Bengali household in the city has a thing in common as a part of their menu in daily basis that is 'Mach-Bhat' (Steamed Rice served with Fish Curry). Besides 'Mach -Bhat' the Bengali Cuisine is full of lots of dishes to tantalize any food lovers taste buds. In India the food of different states have different flavors like food of North Indian states are spicy, food of the South Indian states are sour but it is different in Bengal. A Bengali typical Meal that starts with 'Luchi' and ends with 'Mishti Dahi' have an amazing combination of items that balances every tastes perfectly from Spicy to Sour and Bitter to Sweet.
In Calcutta the preparation of food does not always starts in kitchen but it starts from a bunch of other places and emotions as well. In the City of Calcutta people start preparing for their meals early in the morning by visiting a market in their locality. The Bengali's generally love to visit the market with a bag in their hand and buy fresh vegetables, fish and meat by checking the quality of the items with their hand. Bengali's can go to any extent to buy a perfect fish for their lunch. Doing the Shopping at a local market is often called an art because it requires a lot of skills out of which bargaining is a must have skill. In Bengali household the Weekends or Holidays are known for Family Get-together. Unlike any Get-together food plays very important role in Bengali Get-together as well.
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| Fish Market of Calcutta |
On any weekend or holiday the day starts late in Bengali household with a cup of refreshing tea. Then it is followed by every Bengali's weekend special breakfast 'Phulko Luchui' (Deep fried puffs made up of flour dough) accompanied with 'Cholar Dal' (A lentil soup with finely chopped coconuts) or 'Alur Dum' (A curry made up of potato and a whole lot of spices) and 'Jalebi' (A sweet prepared by deep frying a batter of lentil paste soaked in sweet syrup). Later on the day the Lunch is taken together by all the members of the House as mostly all members of the house remain present on the weekends or holidays. The lunch starts with the serving of a plate full of 'Steamed Rice' which is quickly followed by the Bitter Bengali Delicacy 'Shukto' (A vegetable soup made up of five to six vegetables and cooked in a whole lot of spices along with Mustard and Poppy). There has been a saying from the old times in Bengali Household that the Bitter taste of Shukto helps in opening of the taste buds, so it is served at the beginning of the meal. The Shukto is followed by a 'Macher Mathar Dal' (Lentil cooked with the head of the Fish) with 'Jhuri Alu Bhaja' (Deep fried grated Potatoes) as accompanied. The Dal is then followed by a Fish item out of which 'Bahap Hilsa' (A fish item made by steaming Mustard marinated Hilsa fish in banana leaf) or 'Chital Peti' (A fish item made from the belly portion of the Chital fish with a red Curry of mixed spices) are most loved. The Fish item is then followed by 'Chingri Malai Curry' (A sweet and sour dish of prawn made from the milk of Coconut) a dish that got its name from the 'Malay' province because of the way the item is cooked following styles of Malay Cooking using Coconut. The last item of the Lunch is the most spicy item of the total platter, 'Mutton Kosha' (Mutton cooked in whole lot of spices over a long period of time to cook thick textured tender Mutton Curry). The Mutton is followed by 'Aam er Jhol' (A sour dip or chutney made up of unripe mangoes) that is believed to help in digestion. Most Bengali's have a sweet tooth so they end their weekend lunch with sweet like 'Rosogolla' (Soft balls of cottage cheese soaked in sweet syrup) or 'Mishti Dahi' (Soft textured sweet yogurt). After Lunch Bengali's prefer to take a 'Bhat Ghoom' (Short nap) till evening. At the evening the food journey keeps on continuing, 'Fish Fry' (Bread Crumb Coated deep fried Bhetki Fish) or 'Chicken Cutlet' (Cutlet made up of marinated Chicken) accompanied with Kasundi (A dip made up of Mustard, Dried Mangoes and spices) are the most preferred evening snacks. The day generally ends with a dinner at a fine dining multi-cuisine restaurant or at home with a light Bengali dinner time meal.
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| A Bengali Lunch Platter |
In today's present day when all the people of the City of Calcutta are getting busy with there corporate life's. The one thing that the old walls of the houses of the city are missing are the grand meals with the entire family. The meals in the City of Joy are not just meals, but each component of the meal have a story and emotion behind it. For the people of the City of Calcutta it is home where our Heart lies.
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