Bengali Cuisine : The Traditional and The Trendy The 21st century is an interesting time. The global village is shrinking, and we are reaching a situation where you can savour Venezuelan arepas in the heart of London and a bowl of Korean bibimbap in a cosy cafe in Kolkata. Fusion food is on the rise,…
Tag: pujo
Celebratory Rice
It’s that time of the year again, when the entire city awakens from its “lyad” to enthusiastically celebrate the homecoming of Goddess Durga. And of course, good food is a crucial component of the agenda. Every year since 2019, I’ve posted a series of special articles during Pujo, ranging from solo write-ups to collabs to…
পুজোর রেশ, খাওয়াদাওয়া জম্পেশ!
“রাম খটাখট ঘ্যাচাং ঘ্যাঁচ, কথায় কাটে কথার প্যাঁচ।” কথার প্যাঁচ থেকে মাঠের পাঁচ-শূণ্য, গলার জোরে গোল নিশ্চিত। দুই পাড়ের ইলিশ চিংড়ি, দুই পাড়ের সাহিত্য, রান্না বা ভাষার মাধুর্যে আধিপত্য বিস্তারের নিরন্তর প্রচেষ্টা অব্যাহত, আর এই আদিম লড়াইয়ের আঁচে ফুঁ দিয়ে দুধে-ভাতে আছে বাঙালি। আমার এপাড় চেনা আমার বাবার থেকে, আর ওপাড় মা’র। কখনো এমার্জেন্সি আমলে…
মনকেমনের অষ্টমী
যেদিন ঘুম ভাঙলেই মনে হয় এ পৃথিবীতে এত আনন্দ এর আগে কখনও আসেনি, সেই দিনটাই অষ্টমী। পায়ের দিকে জানালা। চোখ খুলেই দেখব বাইরে ঝকঝক করছে রোদ। দূরের ইউক্যালিপটাস গাছটার মাথায় পাশের শহর থেকে আসা তিন-চারটে পাখি। তারা আমাদের শহরে এসে অবাক হয়ে গেছে খুব; সে গল্পই করছে নিজেদের কাছে। বারোয়ারি পুজো মন্ডপ থেকে পুরুতঠাকুরের গলা…
The Cocktail Chronicles: Pujo
This episode of The Cocktail Chronicles is a little different, and rather special. Since the Pujo season is upon us, I’ve decided to give the normal narrative a little break and focus on some original recipes, all centered around Bengali ingredients and flavours. The drinks are arranged from the simple to complex, and encompass a…
The Pujo Prelude
So far, 2022 has been an eventful year, with lots of highs and lows. One of the upcoming highs is getting to spend Pujo in Kolkata after a very long time. Pujo is a time of socialisation, of meeting up with friends. And in that spirit, I have a series of four rather special articles…
Machh: The Calcutta Epilogue
Last Pujo, we dived deep into an exploration of fish in Bengali cuisine. We covered fish as a whole, right from the cacophony of the fishmarket to the stunning array of classics whipped up in the kitchen to the eating traditions. In this article, we will expand our lens beyond traditional Bengali home cooking and…
The Bong Blueprint
Pujo is just a month away. It is my first Pujo back home after three whole years, which feels great. Like every year, 2022 also has a series of great articles lined up for you during the festive season. There are guest articles and Pujo-specific writeups, and then there are articles celebrating the beauty of…
Machh : From Kitchen to Table
It’s that time of the year again. Pujo is over, the lights and music have subsided, and we Bengalis, with heavy hearts, are slowly returning to our daily routine. However, to keep some of the Bong spirit alive, we still have two instalments of the Machh series to deal with. Here’s Part 3… Last time,…
The Magic of Mangsher Jhol
In my house, mutton wasn’t cooked very often, and usually reserved for special occasions. One of those occasions was Pujo, when a batch of mutton would be brought from the market and cooked into a delicious jhol. Which is why, to this day, a mutton curry to me feels celebratory, almost ceremonial, and also why…
The Gourmet Glutton 