Bengali Khabar

16 Bong dishes you cannot mess with-

1. Pathar Mangsho- In winters, on Sundays, some potato, some chilly, a little bit of spice and some ghee, what else do anyone need?

2. Fish Fry- And with it, some kashungi(mustard sauce).

3. Egg Roll- Put some salad inside it and some sauce(sauce is optional). I mean, that caramelized onion, broccoli and all these are not needed.

4. Hasher Dim- Specially chop that you find in North Calcutta. You will never forget the taste. Try it once, if you haven’t already.

5. Patla Macher Jhol with begun(Non-spicy fish curry with brinjal)- Patla macher jhol with begun and some finely chopped potatoes, this is what  heart needs when any Bengali is sick.

6. Beguni- besan can be so mesmerizing! Who would have known, right? Deep-fried brinjal in a batter of besan, that’s what makes your evenings and your political discussions even more saucy!

7. Peyaji and Alur chop(Onion and potato fritters)- to add to your beguni of-course and of course, a cup of hot tea.

8. Ilish Maachh- Rest of India has a different answer but for Bengalis, rainy season means Ilish Maachh. Ilish Macch baaja(fried), Ilish Maachh bhape(steamed with mustard), and of course some hot rice as usual with ghee.

9. Nolengurer rosogolla- We know rosogolla is so fascinating to the rest of the nation. They see Bengalis and go, “Aami tomake bhalobashi” and “rosogolla khabo”! is what they say.

But these people have not tasted Nolengurer Rosogolla. That’s the delicacy. That’s one thing that Bengalis can die for.

10. Ghugni(gravy made with dried yellow peas)- In North India. We keep hearing “Chole Bhature,” but I’m sorry nothing can beat the yumminess of Ghugni. You might need a Gelusil right after you eat Chole Bhature, but Ghugni wont do that to you. It won’t give you a heartburn.

11. Luchi- And of course, Luchi- Simple, hot, white! What is Puri? You know when you live far away, the one thing that you miss on your birthday is Mom made payesh(rice pudding), made with Gobindobhog rice and Gur(Juggery). It’s just not too sweet, it's not too runny, its the perfect consistency and with payesh you need Luchi

12. Chingri Maacch- one needs to be a real foodie to understand what is good preparation of Chingri Maachh and what is a well average!

13. Aloo Bhaja- It completes every meal. It does, it truly does.

14. Biryani with Aloo- Aaloo in Biryani, I mean there is no other way of having biriyani.

15. Paturi- I don’t know how unfortunate souls are there who didn’t have paturu and who didn’t hear about paturi. Take the Bhetki Maach or Ilish Maachh and slather it generously with a mustard paste, put a big piece of chilly in it and wrap in a banana leaf and steam it. Magic has been done. It is so delicious, that you will eat your hands.

16. Tomato Chutney- And at the end of your perfect meal, we have tomato chutney. We make tomato chutney with dates, aam shottor, cashew, Raisin.