Last time, we started our exploration of Bengali sweets with a look at the milk-based desserts, rabdi and payesh. This time, we move on to chhana, derived from milk and the starting point for two of the most popular Bengali sweets. “The name Sandesh is mentioned in medieval Bengali literature, including Krittibas’ Ramayana and lyrics…
Category: Calcutta Chronicles
Mishti : The Tale of Milk
Pujo is almost here, and in celebration the Gourmet Glutton is going full-on Bengali, with an array of articles based on Bengali cuisine. We have already explored the bitter and sour sides of our cuisine back in April, and this time we will tackle the sweets. The articles in this series are in direct contrast…
Breakfast, Memories and Simplicity
With the voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra stirring the stillness of the night just a few days ago, Pujo is officially in the air. This year however, I have no plans of returning to Kolkata and all I have to keep me company are warm memories of the Pujos gone by. And what better way…
A Taste of Bengal : Sour
We started our exploration of Bengali home cooking with the bitter side of Bengali cuisine (check it out here), dishes that are primarily eaten in spring and early summer at the start of the meal. This week, let’s bring it home with a look at its sour side. Bengali cuisine has its own separate category…
Bengali Cooking Techniques (Part 3)
Combination Cooking So far in this series, we have talked about cooking techniques involving water and fat. This time, we will conclude the series and explore the realm of combination cooking, a loose term that encompasses all dishes that involve both water and fat as cooking media, which actually includes most Bengali dishes. A small…
Bengali Cooking Techniques (Part 2)
Cooking With Fat In Part 1 of our Bengali cooking trilogy, we discussed the moist-heat cooking techniques in the Bengali kitchen. This time, we will take a look at the techniques of cooking with fat. Before we start, it is necessary to clear out some terminology. Dry-heat cooking with fat basically refers to cooking with…
Bengali Cooking Techniques (Part 1)
The Wet and the Dry Chef Bill Briwa of the Culinary Institute of America claims that there are four primary cooking techniques: dry heat cooking with fat, dry heat cooking without fat, moist heat cooking and combination cooking. He claims that everything we do in the kitchen to transform foods falls into one of these…
A Taste of Bengal : Bitter
We’ve discussed quite a lot about bitterness already, in our FATS series and our Not Too Sweet series. This time, we will begin our exploration of Bengali home cooking by looking at the role in bitterness in Bengali cuisine. Bitterness is an important component of the Bengali cook’s arsenal. The resourceful Bengali knows how to…
Hakka Noodles and Chilli Chicken
Ask the average Indian to list the names of cuisines and Chinese cuisine is almost always likely to be the second item in the list, just after Indian. Indeed, Chinese cuisine is a big thing in India; although what we call Chinese is very different from traditional Chinese fare. Our version of Chinese is in…
The Beauty of the Bhog
I’ve spent thirteen years in a missionary school. It was only when I joined Medical College Kolkata in 2012 that I was introduced to the concept of the school/college Saraswati pujo. From the arrangements and decorations to the pushpanjali, from the innumerable photoshoots in panjabis and saris to the khichuri bhog, it was a magnificent…
The Gourmet Glutton 