The Biriyani Trail

Aah the smell of biriyani always makes everyone who is a hardcore meat lover salivate to no end!!! But where or how did this so called exotic dish emerge? The answer to this question has been bothering me since the past 6 years and I have been searching for answers all along. It is only recently that time permitted to me to do my research when I extensively searched for my answers. Although I did get a few from watching those fabulous food shows on Fox Traveller or TLC my search was still on. My logical thinking told me that since this is essentially of Muslim origin the basic recipe to the dish would arise from the nomads of the middle east or may be even Mongolia!! Who knows!!

Since the bee got inside my bonnet I have been reading up on Iranian, Iraqi, Turkish, Mongolian food and cuisines for my answers. It has been an interesting journey for me reading about the food origins and cultures of these countries. What baffled me though about these cuisines was the fact that they were very similar to each other and yet very different. Mongolian cuisine is distinctly different from the others as mentioned.

Iraq, would possibly have influenced all the neighbouring countries as this was the bed of one of the world’s oldest civilizations, the Mesopotamian Civilization! Thus I wonder who influenced whom! Did the Mesopotamians influence the Egyptians, oh yes they too share similar food cultures and cuisines, or vice versa. Or was it the influence of the Indus Civilization on the Mesopotamian and the Egyptian which actually happened. I am no historian and therefore it would be wrong of me to pass a judgement, I can only speculate given the commonalities! I tend to keep the Chinese Civilization out of this as their cuisine and food trail is very different from the other three civilizations of that period! Trade did happen between these civilizations and there is enough proof of it as has been stated by historians. But what they did not state was the fact that along with trade there was exchange of food habits and culture too. I am certain that there would have been a certain amount of cross culture with marriage between those coming to our lands for trade and the residents of our land and vice versa. The spices used in Iraqi, Turkish, Iranian, Egyptian and even for that matter Greek cuisines and certain recipes are adequate reflection of it.

My research showed that there is mention of rice and meat cooked together in the Mahabharata, and that even old Indian texts talk of a certain rice dish as “pulao” or “pallao”. Now since I am neither an expert nor an authority on the ancient Indian texts written in Sanskrit I can only comment on what I come across in the Internet and deem them to be true. Logical thinking says that if there is a mention of rice and meat cooked together in the Mahabharat then it must be true and the other civilizations, Mesopotamian and Egyptian, may have borrowed the recipe from us and modified it later to suit their climates and tastes. Who know??!!?? Question is one can only ratify the authenticity of this if there is another epic work from either Mesopotamia or Egypt to compare the Mahabharat with which is as old! The mention in the Mahabharat may have happened to indicate the food for the army when at war and meat and rice cooked together would have been just the answer as it packed in the energies needed by the soldiers. That’s what my logic says!

The origin of the word “biriyani” traces to Persian words “birinj” meaning rice or “biryan” meaning to fry or roast. To me both could be true as “biriyani’ is made with rice and the meat, in most cases, is fried too. However, what’s in a name or for that matter how does it even matter where the word came from? What matters here is what is the origin of the dish called “biriyani”!

Be it Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or India, all have dish where meat and rice are cooked together and is called by different names. Looking at the demography of the countries where this very popular dish is eaten it can be seen that the countries are all bound by one religion – Islam. We can therefore deduce that although there is mention of a meat and rice dish in the Mahabharat, it is the Persians who later popularised it when they moved to the east to India and as they expanded their empire up north and west. I have not come across Egypt having a similar dish but most of the middle eastern countries do!

In India, there are variations depending on the local influence. For example, in Bengal we like it with potatoes, the ones you get in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, has the influence of coconut and curry leaves, in Andhra it is rather spicy, the Lucknowi one is considered to be the authentic, the usage of asafoetida prevails in Kashmir.

When I cook biriyani it is very different from the ones I have tasted thus far in India. The recipe was given by an old family friend from Bangladesh and the meat it not cooked but marinated for a long time. The dish is assembled with the marinated meat piled in the center of the pot surrounded with the rice which is half cooked and a 50/50 mix of ghee and milk poured over before it is left on the stove for dum.

The Biriyani Map

Recently I came across an article published by the Times of India which has a mention of 15 types of biriyanis. It talks about the Kacchi Biryani which has its origin in Bangladeshi and as the name suggests, it uses raw mutton to make the rice dish.

The Hyderabadi biryani which is one of the most popular dishes in south India, this dish from Mughlai cuisine is quite a challenge to make, and each has his unique way of spicing it up. What makes it stand out is the usage of saffron and coconut. This biryani is cooked in layers - the most challenging part in its creation. While most other biryanis are always dominated by mutton and chicken gravy, here the saffron mixed-rice takes over. It is usually served either with brinjal gravy or mirchi ka salan.

Hyderabadi Biriyani

In Dindigul Biryani which is a favourite in Chennai, the rice used in it is very different - jeera samba rice instead of Basmati, giving it an entirely new flavour. The biryani also uses cube-sized muttonchicken pieces instead of big chunks. Apart from the usual masala, a lot of pepper is used. Lucknowi Biryani.

Based on the Persian style of cooking, the Lucknowi biryani uses what is known as dum pukht method of cooking. As is the norm with most Persian cooking methods, the meat and gravy are partially cooked and then layered and cooked in the dum pukht style. It is served in a sealed handi and is light on the stomach as it is low on spices.

The Kolkata biryani has its roots in the Nawabi style biryani of Lucknow. The chefs from Awadhi kitchens brought the signature biryani recipe to Kolkata, which later got tweaked into the unique biryani that we know today. This biryani is unique, thanks to its subtle use of spices combined with ghee, Basmati rice and mutton, and the addition of potatoes and boiled eggs also lends a different flavour to the dish. The use of nutmeg with saffron and kewra gives this biryani its signature aroma.

Kolkata Biriyani

Malabar biryani, which is famous in Kozhikode, Thalassery and Malappuram areas of Kerala, is characterised by variety of rice used called khyma rice, along with the rich flavour of spices, the generous usage of cashew nuts and raisins. The method of preparation of this biriyani makes it different form its counterparts. Here the rice is cooked separately from mutton gravy and mixed well only when ready to serve.

Malabar Biriyani

What makes Bombay biryani, like its Kolkata counterpart, is special for the use of potatoes in it. Be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian biryani, potatoes are a must. It is prepared by first layering the half-cooked basmati rice and cooked meat then cooked in the dum-style.

Despite the write up from which I have quoted, my biriyani trail has yet to come to an end. This is just the beginning of a very long journey with one of the most fragrant dishes that one can ever come across. I recall someone making a comment to me that “one does not eat biryani with ones mouth; one eats it with ones nose”!

Beauty of a Chinese Meal

Recently I was invited by my classmate June Li (Ku), who happens to be a Chinese, for dinner, along with our other classmate Sudeshna, to the most renowned Chinese areas in Kolkata, Tangra, which used to be dotted with tanneries owned by the Chinese who had migrated to India many moons ago. Most of the remnant families residing in this area have been there for at least 3 generations, if not more. With their prime business having been shifted away from that area they resorted to converting part of their properties into eateries, which incidentally have shifted focus from catering to a predominantly non-vegetarian palate to a vegetarian palate.

Earlier these eateries were not as expensive as those within the city and offered a very different menu than those found in the city. My first visit to Tangra was way back in the early 90’s when not only did very few know of eateries in that locality but even fewer resorted to visiting them. However, today things are fairly different. The cost is almost at par with those found within city limits and even on a weekday they are teeming with food lovers from all over the city.

When my friend June, her husband Fui Chung Li along with June’s elder sister Fong Hsiung invited me for dinner to one of the well known restaurants, Golden Joy, in Tangra, I expected that we would be seated in the usual areas of the restaurant. I was taken quite by surprise when we were ushered to an area which was beyond the restaurant area. I later discovered that this area was used by the owner Mr. Robert Liao for entertaining his friends and family.

I was even more surprised by the way the table was laid out for the dinner. It was a round table which had quarter plates with a bowl, chopsticks and a soup spoon placed on each cover. I then realised that the food served would be very different from what we normally ate at Chinese restaurants.

Once all of us were there the waiters brought in a huge bowl of soup (which was super tasty, except I hadn’t asked what it was). Then came Golden Fried Prawns, Steamed Chicken, Roast Chicken, Sauteed Chinese Greens and Hakka Chow. At that point I thought “Oh my God! What a spread!!” But was told by June’s cousin Micheal Liu and his wife Mary that more was to come. The Steamed Chicken and the Roast Chicken are items one wouldn’t find normally in the run of the mill kind menu. Both were super delicious and hardly oily.

The waiters then brought what is called Hakka Chicken (essentially Chilli Chicken but without the gravy or the fried onions which one normally finds in the restaurants), followed by Steamed Dumplings, and Steamed Tofu (filled with pork and fish). The grand finale was the Steamed Prawns served with a sauce, simple and delicious.

I follow a fair bit of cookery shows on TLC and the like on TV and especially love watching Kylie Kwong’s shows. It is through watching such shows that I have gathered my knowledge on Chinese food. Apart from this I had gained some knowledge earlier in my college days, which have gone all rusty now, when we had Mr. Deh-Ta Hsuing, an author and chef from Great Britain, give us valuable inputs on the cuisine. But to savour authentic Chinese food was not just a priviledge but also a pleasure and a fair bit of learning. I feel that if one wants to enjoy Chinese food it should be in the company of friends and family eaten the way the community does!

Thank you June, Fui, Fong, Robert, Micheal and Mary for giving me an insight to this wonderful world of Chinese cuisine!!

The wonderful spread attacked by all of us

The Gourmet Nite, 50 Glorious Years of IHM Kolkata and a Grand Reunion

24^th January, 2013, the grounds of Institute of Hotel Management at Taratala Road, Kolkata was teeming with visitors and students at 8 pm which is otherwise a very unlikely feature in these grounds. The occasion being the Gourmet Nite 2013, which ushered in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the college. Established in 1963 this college is the oldest in the city and has been the grounds of many celebrities of the Hotel Industry. This year’s Gourmet Nite was definitely special for me and my batchmates as it not only brought back hordes of memories but we were celebrating 25 years of passing out of this esteemed institution.

It took us all back to the December of 1985, when we had just joined this college with loads of aspirations. Our seniors, with permission from Mr. Koshy, our Principal, decided to start the first food festival hosted by amateurs and called it the “Gourmet Nite”. Although the name has stuck by ever since 1985, the festival which had once served world cuisine for its guests served a complete Indian fare this year. The theme this year was “Chakh le India”. None of us were interested in what was happening around us as some of us were meeting each other after 25 years and were far too excited to concentrate on anything else! And as a result “Chakh le India” was literally “Chakh le” for some of us! Now that is something we definitely did not anticipate. There was a snacks counter from which we had some delicious kababs and small bites with our drinks but when it came to eating dinner we almost missed the bus and just about managed to taste some of the spread laid out. The food was quite delectable and the students under the guideance of the professors (all of whom are alumni of the college) turned out a very mean sorpotel, vindaloo and biriyani amongst many other dishes from the various states of the Indian subcontinent. The salad counter also had a fairly good spread and there was a chaat counter too. Trying to catch up 25 years of news from each other made us miss the desserts completely and it was the chaat counter which came to be our saving grace! 

The evening saw many luminaries of the Hotel Industry present. Anjan Chatterjee, founder of the Mainland China Group; Subhomoy De, General Manager of Peerless Inn Kolkata; Chef Sujan Mukherjee, Executive Chef of Taj Bengal; Chef Anirudhya (Rambo) Roy, Executive Chef Taj Lands End; Chef Rajesh Dubey, Director Food Production of the Mainland China Group; Swaminathan Ramani, Chef Sushanta Sengupta and Anindya Palit of the 6 Ballygunge Place; Bharat Dhamala and Namrata Borthakur of the Red Hot Chilli Pepper all graced the occasion. Barring Swaminathan Ramani of 6 Ballygunge Place and Bharat Dhamala of Red Hot Chilli Pepper the rest are all alumni of the college. The oldest student Mr. Barun Chakraborty was felicitated that evening but due to ill health he couldn’t be present and just 3 days later he left us all for the heavenly abode.

Chef Sujan Mukherjee, Chef Anirudhya (Rambo) Roy and Chef Rajesh Dubey are all a part of the group that was celebrating their 25 years of passing out. It was this group who had celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the college and standing on those very grounds they were all back to being carefree 19/20 year olds with not a worry on their shoulders for those few hours. The Batch of ’88 was in their third and final year when the college celebrated their Silver Jubilee. This batch was a very talented lot in all respect. They had decorated the college beautifully, something we sadly missed this year! Their talent in the kitchen is also evitable considering the fact that they have 3 well renowned chefs in their batch. The reunion celebrations of this batch started with the Gourmet Nite on the 24^th January, and went on till the 27^th January. The only regret that they possibly have is that they would have had a lot more people joining in on that evening at the Gourmet Nite had they known about it earlier. The dirty dozen who were there that evening had a complete blast forgetting their age and thus the food too!! The Batch of ’88 is one of the three batches who have seen the Silver and the Golden Jubilee of the college and hopefully will live to see the 75 years celebrations too! And when that happens they will once again shout out their famous slogan “yeh kya ho raha hain......” 

Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata

Anjan Chatterjee – Founder of the Mainland China Group

The Famous 3 from the Batch of ’88 – fom left Chef Sujan Mukherjee, Chef Rajesh Dubey, Chef Anirudhya (Rambo) Roy

Subhomoy De – General Manager, Peerless Inn, Kolkata

Young students of the college at the Gourmet Nite 2013 

A lighthearted Batch of ’88

Silver Jubilee preparations going on 

Sujan Mukherjee at the 1988 Goumet Nite

                                                                      

Food Culture in the Clubs of Calcutta – CCFC

I have been going to CCFC (Calcutta Cricket & Football Club) for the past 35 years since 1976. From then till now there hasn’t been much of a change in how certain items are prepared or taste.

Although the history of the club dates back to 1792 it is practically impossible for me to describe let alone perceive what was available from the kitchen to the members then. I can at best start from the mid 70’s when their fish finger, keema aloo chop, chicken sandwich, beef steak, chicken roast tasted just as good as they do even now.  In order to understand the kind of food available at this club one has to know a bit of the club’s history. This is the second oldest cricket club after MCC, an essentially a sports club whose members were people from the tea industry. The members would after a game or while discussing business would look for quick bites to satiate their hunger pangs. During the 70’s and 80’s it was male dominated where members would discuss business over drinks and quick eats. One would rarely see a lady in the premises other than during the festivities or sometimes over weekends. In the winter while an interesting cricket match was in progress the members and their guests would enjoy a hearty beef steak while sipping on their favourite drink enjoying the afternoon sun.

In the 80’s the menu saw the advent of new dishes and momos, chaats and kebabs found their way to gastronomic delights of the members. However, if you wanted to eat a hearty meal you could no further than the humble beefsteak or the roast chicken. Although the 90’s saw an increase in the menu and a change in the demography where members started bringing their families to enjoy the facilities, of the club the all time favourites fish finger, keema aloo chop, chicken sandwich, beef steak, chicken roast remained firmly where they always were! In 2004 the club boasted of their new dining room, which once was a huge hall used only very rarely, serving a multi cuisine fare to its members. Despite the changes there was no change in the way the all time favourites tasted. I have heard that the CCFC serves, possibly, the best beef steak in the city!

Over the past year the club boasts of a much better fare to tickle the gastronomic juices of its members. The kitchen which once served just a few quick eats now caters to varied tastes and has in its list chelo kebab, fish and bacon roll, chicken and vegetable tarts, noodle soup and lots more. The kitchen staff is capable enough to handle a lavish meal for its members if they want to have a private party.

The thought of documenting the food culture in certain clubs of Calcutta, now known as Kolkata, came about when I met this gentleman who has a media company and has started a food magazine in Bengali, Hyangla Henshel. So, when Anilava wanted me to write for their magazine and that too on the given topic I thought what better than to start with CCFC which has been home turf. What you have just read is the English version, albeit tweaked a bit here and there, which has been published in the February/March 2013 edition Hyangla Henshel. It hasn’t been easy writing in Bengali, but this too has been adventurous!  

                                                     Beef Steak at CCFC

The Closest to the Courses of a French Meal is a Bengali Meal

Couple of weeks ago when I was talking to a bunch of 17/18 year old kids about the courses of the classical French Menu, it suddenly crossed my mind that we Bengalis have an equally elaborate meal with just as many number of courses. So we started a discussion about this similarity in class. Being a Bengali I suppose it is our food culture that crossed my mind at the very outset, and I am not quite certain if any other Indian meal can come anywhere close to it! I will, however, do a research and if and when I do find a similarity document it right here.

The quintessential Bengali will always have rice as the base with all the courses served. However, certain courses during a more formal occasion may also be served with luchi, a fried unleavened bread made from flour.

A classic French meal will begin with a hors d’oeuvre, this course allows the diner to build up an appetite for what is to follow. It is usually piquant in nature and is served in small quantities. Similarly the Bengali meal starts with a course which teases the taste buds and allows the person to look forward to an appetising meal. The Bengali meal usually begins with a starter of bitter vegetables (karela/ucche aka, bitter gourd) or herbs (neem) or flowers (sajna phool aka flowers of the drumstick plant), either fried or boiled and served in a very small quantity. Sometimes a mixed vegetable curry made with the bitter ingredients called shukto is also served. This course apart from enhance the appetite also cleanses the palate and the body and is considered to have a lot of medicinal value.

Following the hors d’oeuvre, the French enjoy a course of soup. We Bengalis have a course of dal instead. Dal can be equated to soup as it is has soup like consistency and is made from various lentils. Amongst the Bengalis the common dals are masoor dal (split red lentils), moong dal (split green gram), cholar dal (split Bengal gram) and matar dal (split yellow peas) are most common, although kalai/urad daal (spilt black gram) is common in certain areas only. Dals are usually made with a tempering of spices after boiling them. They can also be made with vegetables or fish head added to it. On special occasions cholar dal is served with luchi, but as mentioned earlier dals are also eaten with rice. Some dals like the moong dal can also be served as a starter course if cooked with ucche/karela. Dals are served with an accompaniment of fried vegetables like brinjal, red pumpkin (kumro), potatoes or even fish or fritters made from a variety of vegetables including onions.

Like the French, the Bengalis too have a separate vegetable course. Apart from being an accompaniment to dals vegetables are served in a myriad of ways. Ghonto, cchyanchra, labra, chorchori are different ways of cooking a variety of vegetables all into a single dish. The Bengali housewife is also very adept at cooking the most insipid vegetables in the most delicious way. To give an example of this, potol (pointed gourd) or jhinga (ridged gourd) are quite insipid to taste, but in a Bengali household they will be deliciously made with a variety of spices to give it more flavour. Potol is made into dolma (which is not indigenous to Bengal but a technique imported from Greece), similarly jhinga is cooked with potatoes and poppyseed (posto) paste. Sometimes pulses as well as fish head are added to vegetables. Various parts of the banana plant is consumed as a vegetable; the tender stem called thor is made into chechki (a method of slow cooking vegetables), the flower (mocha) after removing the stamens are made into ghonto, the raw banana (kancha kola) is churned out into delicious koftas.

No Bengali meal is complete without a course of fish. The French too have a dedicated course for fish (poisson). Fish steamed with mustard paste (bhape) is one healthy way of cooking fish. Fish is also made into paturi, wrapping marinated fish in banana leaves and steaming it. Other ways to cook fish are jhol, jhal, kalia, rosha etc. Each method is defined by the spices used. Jhol is a gravy tempered with green chillies and whole spices whereas in jhal one would use sliced onions as a base. Similarly there is very little difference between kalia and rosha, both gravies are made with onion ginger garlic paste, one has a thicker gravy than the other. Incidentally it is more a difference of opinions between the Bangals (Bengalis from former East Bengal) and Ghotis (those from Western part of Bengal). (Discussing this brings to my mind an altercation I had with my friend, Sujan Mukherjee, now the esteemed Executive chef of Taj Bengal and my batchmate from college, regarding the difference between jhol and jhal. That was what he was asked to differentiate for the campus interview, I gave my perspective of it and he his, and we both disagreed with each other’s logic. Mine came from the knowledge bestowed upon me by my mother in law which I thought was the ultimate!!!)  

The meat course is optional otherwise but essential during occasions. Bengalis unlike the French will not consume the meat of any other animal other than the goat. Kochi pathar mangsho (meat of a young goat) is much sought after even today and kosha mangsho a delicacy. The French have three courses assigned to meat and that too of various kinds and prepared in different manners.

What follows next is chutney a sweet and sour preparation made from a variety of vegetables like raw mangoes, tamarind (both raw and ripe), pineapple, dried plums, chaalta (elephant apple), jolpai (Indian olives), tomatoes, raw papayas or fruits like dates, pineapples, dried plums etc. This course like the sorbet in a French meal help cleanse the palate and prepares the diner to finish the meal with a dessert as with the French meal.

Along with sweets one would be served doi (yogurt), typically sweetened, this not only aids digestion but also prepares the palate for the final dessert. Doi is considered a part of the dessert course in a Bengali meal. Finally no Bengali meal is complete without the serving of paan (beetle leaf) which helps in digestion the elaborate and heavy meal served.

It has been rightly mentioned in Wikipedia that “the Bengali cuisine is perhaps the only traditionally developed multi-course tradition from South Asia that is analogous in structure to the modern Service à la russe style of French cuisine, with food served course-wise rather than all at once”. The only possible difference between the two being that the primary accompaniment of the Bengali cuisine is rice and the garnishes are quite minimal also that a Bengali meal will never have any alcoholic accompaniment like the French.

While writing this article I felt that there were some parts which overlapped with my earlier article. However, the two are travails of different kinds. I hope that my readers have gained fruitful insight to our Bengali cuisine. I will refrain from writing recipes here as I feel there are more than enough recipe books available. However, if anyone wants recipes for a Bengali preparation please feel free to leave a comment with your email address and I will oblige. Happy reading!!!

Bygone days of the Bengali wedding feasts

The first recollection of a wedding was my aunt's in December 1971. Then days weddings were like a festival, not that they aren't these days, but it was different then. There were no wedding planners, no catering companies, no fancy decorations and yet everyone had loads of fun.

The weddings were planned by the elders of the family making sure that no one was neglected. The presence of the senior members was mandatory to ensure that the rituals, which were fairly elaborate, were adhered to. The menu was planned meticulously, the trousseau was equally well planned for both the bride and the groom. And all this was done not by a wedding planner but by the family members themselves.

Since this is essentially a blog on food let me now look at the menu that was served in the yester years and how they differ from the present day menus. Let me start with the 70’s, the wedding festivities would start at least 3 to 4 days prior to the D-day then. The food was prepared by the “bheins” or cooks and the sweetmeats by the “moiras” or the sweetmeat makers. There was one person in the family who had complete control and knowledge about what was to happen in the kitchen. Huge stoves were created with brick and mud and coal, cowdung and wood was used as fuel, not LPG and essentially mustard oil was used to cook the food barring of course the luchis which was fried in peanut oil (Postman - that's the name that crosses my mind). Thus the food tasted different and people were not calorie conscious!

The days leading to the D-day usually started with luchi along with kalojeera kancha lonka phoron diye alur torkari (potato bhaji with kalonji and green chillies) and bonde – sweet boondi (albeit made in house). Lunch a simple affair of daal, bhaat, either a bhaja (fried brinjal/potatoes/cauliflower) or a mixed vegetable sabzi made with or without the fish heads, and maach (fish curry) followed by sweets. For tea there would be either samosas (shingara) or khasta kochuri or radha bhallabi with aloo dum along with whatever was the sweet of the day. Usually there would be a sweet of the day – bonde, pantua, rosogolla being the favoured ones.  The dinner menu would usually be a repeat of the lunch.

On the D-day itself, lunch would be slightly more elaborate. It would start with a shaak bhaaja (fried greens), followed by daal made with or without the fish head (a bhaaja moonger daal was usually the choice), along with a round of bhaajas (fried brinjals/potatoes/caulifowers etc.) followed by either by a potoler dolma (parwal or pointed gourd dolma) or fulkopi aloor torkari (cauliflower and potato sabzi) or a mixed vegetable (chyancchra), then came fish (usually rui/rohu or katla) made into a kalia or with shorshe bata (mustard paste) or with doi (curd), followed by chutney made from whatever sour vegetables available during the season (green mangoes) or tender tamarind or chaalta (elephant apple) or jolpai (Indian olives) or tomatoes or even with raw papayas or dates) served with papads, and finally mishit doi (sweet curd) and sweets of the day followed by paan. This was a sit down meal and the food was always served on banana leaves and water in conical mud baked glasses. The banana leaves were laid on long tables lined with paper, the youngsters were given the task of serving water, salt and lime wedges to the guests. The food came in brass buckets and the one serving the rice had an important role to play. He ensured that the guests were offered a second helping of whatever item they liked best. The elders (senior citizens) along with the children were served first, then generation wise with the ladies of the household eating last. It was the men folk who served everyone, and when it came to their turn to eat it was the women who served them. However, when the ladies of the household ate it was their husbands or brothers in law who served them and that too with a lot of pride. The cousins and siblings of the bride or the groom use to compete with each other while they ate, who could eat the maximum number of fish or sweets etc., and it was taken for granted that this would happen.

The dinner on the D-day was slightly more elaborate. The meal started with luchi, cholar daal (chana dal made with fried bits of coconuts) and begun bhaja (fried aubergines – cut not in roundels but lengthwise). This was then followed by fish fry or fish roll (indigenous to the Bengali cuisine) or chingri cultlets (tiger prawn cutlets) served with kasundi (mustard sauce again indigenous to the Bengali cuisine). The pulao was then served with katla macher kalia (katla fish cooked in a rich gravy) followed by kosha mangsho (mutton curry). Chicken was looked down upon in those days as it was considered a meat for the poor (mainly Muslims – I apologise to all my Muslim friends who might read this, I don’t mean to be a racists but that’s how it was) and it was not served in any Bengali wedding. The more affluent would serve at least 2 – 3 varieties of fish and mutton. Chutney and papad then followed after which was served mishit doi and at least 2 – 3 varieties of sweets. The meal was finished off with the paan. Food was served on banana leaves, water in mud baked glasses, and the concept of a fingerbowl was the glasses itself. People used lime and salt that was served in the beginning of the meal to cut down the grease and used the water in the glass as their fingerbowls and tore a part of the paper which was used to line the tables to wipe their hands. Priority was given to the groom’s family and friends (bor jatri) followed by the friends and extended family and finally the immediate family when serving the meal. When the bor jatri and outsiders were being served the elders used to be present to ensure that everyone ate well and never was this a rushed affair. The person in charge of the kitchen always went ahead with over a 20% extra on certain food items to factor in the competitive youngsters.

The day after the D-day (Baashi Biye) is particularly important for the Bangals (people from East Bengal, today’s Bangladesh) as the groom would take his bride home only after sunset and there would be a fair number of rituals held on that morning. With the grooms immediate family being present for the rituals it was only natural that they were invited for lunch. Lunch was similar on this day to the dinner of the previous day except that the meal did not start with luchi and daal but with plain rice served with ghee and shaak bhaaj (fried greens) followed by the bhaaja moong daal with fish head served with bhaajas like before, fish like topse (mango fish) or bhetki fry, followed by at least 2 – 3 varieties of fish made in different ways, with chutney, doi and mishti (sweets) to finish off as always.

I have been all this while writing about the feast from the perspective of the bride’s family. It is really not much different in the groom’s house just that on D-day dinner is evaded. The lunch on the day of the bou bhaat, which is on 2^nd day following the D-day, is meant for both the families (bride and groom) and their very close relatives. Bou bhaat is a ceremony where the bride serves food (rice) to her new family to gain acceptance amongst them. The menu that is served on this day is fairly elaborate and similar to the one served on the day after the D-day (baashi biye). The dinner on this day was also a replica of the one served by the bride’s family on the D-day with minor changes.

So far I have documented what the wedding feasts were like in the 70’s. The early 80’s saw a change creeping in with families getting smaller. The catering companies started coming into being and the spread started changing as a result. Bengalis started getting more adventurous. Mughlai dishes, especially biriyani and chaap made its way into the menu especially on the D-day and bou bhaat dinners. The service was also taken care of by helping hands employed by the catering companies to do so. By the 90’s it was the catering companies who were given the task of managing the food for the weddings. The menus started changing and so did the service pattern, and an essentially Bengali menu that was served in the yester years moved on to accommodate the changing palate. The turn of the century saw more changes, sit down dinners on the D-day and the bou bhaat gave way to buffets and theme weddings came into being. Bengalis started emulating the cultures of the Marwaris and Punjabis to include ceremonies like Mehendi and Sangeet. Likewise they also started including food from the world cuisines to be different. However, there are some families like my aunts (who has been mentioned earlier), who have still maintained the tradition of the Bengali wedding feasts.

This article would have been best expressed in Bengali, but for the larger segment of my readers. Hope I have been able to give an insight to the Bengali food culture. Keep looking out for more!!!

Introductions of a cook

A good cook, is a very cliched word, who is a good cook? A person who can cook well in terms of following a recipe or a person who can rustle up a recipe with whatever is on hand. I would personally choose the latter.

I am passionate about food and cooking. I went to study Hotel Management and it was there our professor Mr. Ranjan Mukherjee showed us the way to be a good cook. This was way back in the late 80's, herbs and other exotic ingredients were not so readily available to us and as a result we had to improvise. This improvision made me turn and twist recipes, sometimes making the recipe taste real good, but there again, did I even know the original taste of the recipes I sometimes churned out? There were times I even cooked from my memory of the taste of a certain dish I had in my childhood.

It is the ability to transform something ordinary to a work of art adding personal touches is what makes a person a good cook. This is just the beginning of my journey as a food blogger. There is so much that I would like to share that I don't quite know where to begin. My friends and family believe that I am a good cook, but am I? I do not know, I hope to find out more about my passion as we travel through my blogs.