Bangladesh
Shagatom=Welcome
Click here to see the word "Welcome" in Bengali
Food is a major part of the Bengali culture. The food has five basic tastes, bitter, astringent, sour, hot and sweet. Bengali cuisine consist of more
fish than India or Pakistan. The main staples are fish and rice. Bengali's prepare fish in many different ways such as steamed, braised , fried, stewed
with vegetables and sauces that are mustard based or thickened as a gravy.
Many people think that Bengali food as being the same as Indian food. That is not true. Bengali food has its own taste and character, especially the many varieties of curry dishes. The curry is not as hot as the curries from India. The many different meat, poultry and fish curries
are delightful.
Whether you have five dishes or twenty, each dish is eaten separately with rice to savor the individual flavors. The milder tastes always comes first and
it is by adding the stronger taste that you appreciate the whole range of tastes. Vegetables specially the bitter ones such as bitter melon (my husband's
favorite) come first followed by dal (lentils) then come the vegetable dishes, followed by the fish. If meat is cooked it always follows the and chutney. The sweets are enjoyed at the end of the meal just as it is here in America
I hope I have sparked your curiosity and you try your hand at Bengali Cooking.
Bitter Melon
Fish Curry
Mango Rice
Kancha Moong Dal
Naan
Bitter Melon
- 1 lb bitter melon
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp. coriander
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic, crushed
- 1/4 tsp. turmeric
Cut bitter melon into 1 inch slices; rub well with salt and set aside for 1/2 hour (the salt reduces the bitter taste), then wash to remove salt, drain well . Sauté bitter melon in oil on medium heat until they turn pale green (approx. 8-10 minutes). Add onion and cook until it starts turning brown; add tomato and spices, cook on low heat until tender.
* Bitter melon can be bought at Asia and Indian markets
- 1 pound fish, cut into small pieces
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp nigella
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. ginger, minced
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp coriander power
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 serrano peppers
- 1 tsp garam masala
- cilantro, to taste
- 2 tomatoes
Heat olive oil
in a medium-size sauce pan. Add cumin seeds and nigella and fry 1 minute; add onion and fry until translucent. Add minced garlic, ginger and serrano peppers, fry until they start turning brown. Add cayenne, turmeric, curry and coriander powder and salt. Stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add fish,cook
3-4 minutes. Add just enough water to cover the fish. and cook covered until the fish is done. When done, remove from heat, add garam masala, chopped tomato and cilantro and let sit covered for about 5 minutes. Served with Basmati rice.
1 green mango, julienne 2 - inch piece ginger, grated 2 green chilies 2 cups cooled cooked rice2 tsp oil 1 tsp. mustard seeds 2-3 curry leavessalt and pepper to taste
Peel and cut mango. In a
large skillet, heat oil, add mustard seeds and peanuts for 1 minute, add ginger,
green chilies, and mango and curry leaves and cook until mango is tender. Stir
in rice and fry until rice and mango mixture and stir-fry until well mixed and
rice is hot. Serve hot or cold.
1 cup moong beans2 1/2 cups water 1 tsp salt 1 tsp turmeric2 tsp ginger2 tsp oil2 dried red chilies1 tsp mustard seeds2 bay leaves2 tbsp ghee(clarified butter)
salt to taste1 tsp sugar
Rinse beans in a colander under running water for 2-3 minutes. In a large pan
bring water to a boil, add moong beans and salt and turmeric, cover, reduce heat
and cook until tender, remove from stove. In frying pan on medium high heat oil,
add red chilies when they turn black add mustard seeds. When they stop
sputtering add ginger and bay leaves, Stir for 1-2 minutes, add ghee and moong
beans salt and sugar. Cook on medium high 3-4 minutes to thicken;
stirring frequently.
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. water
1/4 cup ghee
In small mixing bowl add sugar and yeast to warm water. Blend in to flour. Cover and let rest until
it is foamy. In a mixing bowl add flour, salt and oil. Add baking powder, yeast and water. Knead into a dough ball. Roll each ball into 5" circles.
Brush each with water, then bake on stove in a hot griddle. When it starts to bubble put in oven a broil for just until bubble get brown.
Place on greased baking sheet, brush with butter and bake in 400° oven for 5-6 minutes. Serve hot
 
|
| |
|
