Bengali Cuisine

In

Ancient Period  Medieval Period  Colonial Period  Now

(With Special Reference of Delhi - Bengali Cuisine)

Ashutosh Dwivedi
S.G.T.B. Khalsa College
M.A. (P)

Department of History
University of Delhi
Turtle meat and eggs were also in demand (Banerjee & Das 1943)

Modern Time: Transition in 18th Century: In the 18th Century we can find some important
changes in food habit of Bengali, a large number of sweets both fired and made of posset or
cottage cheese (Channa) entered in the cuisine, till the 16th century Bengalis could not be
fermed connoisseurs of sweets as may were satisfied with sample dudh-chire (milk and
flattened rice), dudhlau (milk and qourd) and monda. Actually one can’t find any mentioned of
cottage cheese in Bengal texts till the 16th century. Cottage cheese made in Portugal is almost
identical with the Bengali version of cheese (channa). Portugese introduced three types of
cheese in Bengal (cottage cheese, bandel cheese and dhakai paneer) however one may
attribute the improvement of Bengali confectionary in the 18th century to urbanization and the
growth of cosmopolitan urban culture. Later Bhabanaicharan Bannerji noted how in the early
19th century urban centres such as Janai, Shantipur were becoming well known for specific
sweets like Rascara, Moa and ola. Bharatchandra Ray passed an authentic picture of the early
18th century Bengali life in his anandmangal, which gave a list of dishes popular among
Bengali’s. Another writer Nehal chand in his paus Parban talked of Kalia, Kebab, Kofta, Corma,
Dum, Bheena as Bengali favorites (Banerjee 1966), meat cooked with onion, garlic and rich
spices in mughal style became a part of Bengali culture in the 18 th century and continued till the
early decades of 19th century. Bharatchandra lists Bhekti, Bacha, Kalbos, Paoda and Ilish among
the spices of fish eaten by his contemporaries. Thus we see that by 18th century the main
stream Bengali cuisine with which we are familiar was gradually assuming recognizable shape ,
however there were still some important difference with the present day courses as compare
today potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage were still not popular. Even other dishes were not cooked
with salt, salt was presented to the invitees in separate container and they added it to their
food according to need.

Cooking techniques: - Bengalis take food very seriously and are said to spend a larger portion of
their disposable income on it. (According to my collected views from Delhi - Bengali people)
than people elsewhere in India, 2 hallmarks of Bengali cuisine are fish & sweets favorite frying
medium is mustard oil since its pungency is believed to bring out the flavor of fish. Iconic one is
maacher jhol, a fish stew made by cutting fish into large spices, bones and all frying it with
spices and then smiting it with vegetables.

Situating Bengali Cuisine: Here we will discuss about consumption of new culture of food by
the middle class in colonial Bengal visible transformation in the material culture added the self
fashioning of the middle class. Refinement in food, reduction literature, music and deportment
defined this middle class the rhetoric cuisine is one of the full comes which the idea of regional
nationalism rests.

Arjun Appadurai observes rightly when he asserts that it was only after independence in new
urban India that a national cuisine emerged, fuelled by cookbooks, these men of the middle
class specially their wives, who travelled all over India and present an idea of different regional
cuisines, helped to form a national cuisine. Exchange of recipes by the middle class women
blended into produce a national cuisine. Through to innovation of new expressive medium that
facilitated the modern articulation. Of a blissful tradition the middle class Hindu constructed a
new Bengali cuisine which is best described as hybrid and hybridity was a part of
cosmopolitanism of the colonial middle class.

Utsa Ray put his arguments here that so called foreign foods are cooked at home only after
urbanization happened in the 1990s in India so called mughal inspired dishes were not the only
traits of Bengali cosmopolitanism to argue that it was only after globalization that the middle
class was able to appropriate some kinds of cosmopolitanism is to ignore different layers of
hybirdity of Bengali cuisine.
 Vegetarianism became marker of distinction that separated Bengalis from the others.
Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay (1827-1994) who was educationalist and journalist, refuted the view
that Indian become weak because they were vegetarian. To prove this point he looked toward
European rather than looking back to an imagined tradition for the Bengalis he argued that
Spartans who did not consume meat fared best among the Greeks.
Impact of globalization (Now): It is not a new concept in its literal sense it is the process of
transformation of regional or local phenomena into global one, globalization changing the
eating habits among the Indian people. It also effects tradition of Bengali cuisine. Now a days
people (young) prefer Burger, fried chicken etc. and Bengali traditional foods somewhere
marginalized in Delhi many Bengali people also diverted toward western foods, we can also see
the impact of globalization on TOTO tribe of west Bengal. Impact of globalization ToTos are now
stared trying out other food items then their native food habits. Now a days they habituate
with pure Bengali foods like rice, carry of vegetable, daal, fish and meat. So young generation
prefer fast foods than traditional foods and popularity of fast foods contributing to spread the
culture, ethnic cuisine have become global.

Bengali Food: In Delhi: During my field work of Bengali cuisine I visited some restaurant and
also made interaction with Bengali people and one thing is very sure that ask any Bengali and
they will tell you just what and how much foods means to them, because it is all about flavor
and nostalgia, Puchka, Bhaja, Jhanmuri, Ghugni are some dishes, every Bengali who is living in
Delhi eager to eat it.

Seven places I have visited during my fieldwork

- Oh! Kolkata (Nehru Place)
- City of Joy (Alakhnand)
- Bijoli Grill (CP)
- Ki Hangla (Gurugram)
- Machh Bhaat (Gurugram)
- Probashi (Dwarka)
- Chitaranjan Park
 Oh! Kolkata is very famous restaurant for Bengali cuisine in Delhi they
have an elaborate lunch and dinner ballet as well for those who wish
to experience an authentic taste of this cuisine. I spent 1 and half hour
in this restaurant and interacted with Anodya Chatterjee, belongs to
Bengal and here studying in Ambedkar University, according to him restaurant serves authentic
Bengali foods and must try the grilled fish. When I asked him in globalization context that now
it changing our food habit and how much you are affected and which one will you prefer,
traditional food or fast food? He answered that he will choose traditional over western/fast
foods.

City of Joy, another famous and most visited place for Bengali food, it is a
place serves palatable authentic food (Bengali cuisine) I spent one hour
here and Chinmay Viswal who is preparing for civil services exam were
missing his home food and according to him by staying way miles from my
home I really miss that (Om Food) so I use to come in city of joy, here I get real taste that I want
from my home. I made interaction with the owner of that restaurant, he personally gave me
some time and I asked about history of city of joy, he said realization of what we are missing
and also what there newer generation has probably not experienced at all, in realization to the
renowned Bengali cuisine, encouraged us to make an honest endeavour to open outlet where
we could serve some of that so basically the wants to go ahead with traditional Bengali cuisine.
Bengali Machh is reminiscent to the true and original taste and flavors looked to perfection like
traditional manner.

Ki hangla, serves transitional foods from both west and east Bengal
according to Mr. Sujit K. Sinha according to him Ki hangla tries to serve
the food that was developed in Bengal in British era. It is a blend of
Muslim and English cooking and if you are craving for Bengali or
Dhakai traditional cuisine than head to Ki hangla. Priyanka Chakraborti, if you want to taste
traditional food of Bengal then just go with Ki hangla there is variation in taste and Dhakai
Mutton will definitely take way in medieval period.

Chittaranjan Park, it is known as mini Bengal here you will feel like you are in Bengal, here you
can find Bengali foods and Bengali people around. In my field work I must suggest you if you are
coming here then must try Bengali food with Chinese touch, Chinese influence because in
Bengal there is two communities one is Bengali community another is Tangra community and
this one basically consume Chinese oriental food so you can find here Bengali and Chinese food.
Rahul Ghosh (Native) was describing Mokhorochok (Bengali Namkeen) method to me, Ajay
Ghosh (brother of Rahul) also had good knowledge about the history of CR Park and he mostly
visits street foods near CR Park. I spent nearly two hours here and it was amazing experience
with Bengali community. A short discussion with Arun Rai took me on the history of Bhadralok.
Bhadralok who migrated to India after partition soon began demanding a niche for themselves
in Delhi, these refugees allotted land in 1960s. Refugees of the colony then turned the area into
a showcase of high Bengali culture. Park displayed a zealous Bengali culture and a good place
for Bengali community in Delhi.

Probashi, Bijoli Grill was nonpareil and Didactic too. My all visits during my fieldwork is very
important for me and helped me very much in my study in Bengali cuisine history and it
divulged many facts about Bengali cuisine which is rarely known to someone.

Conclusion: Thus, one thing is very clear that food habits and cuisines changes over a period of
time, it never be same. Cooking (Bengali) based on three major factor one choice of ingredients,
second their proportionate quantities and third, cooking styles. Bengali people (in Delhi too) are
perhaps a greatest food lovers in Indian subcontinent distinct culinary tradition emerged in
Bengal based on the availability of local ingredients. So basically my main objective is to study
the origin, growth and present status of Bengali cuisine. (as we traced in ancient, medieval and
colonial period) one very commonly accepted view:
“We do not think that Indian food losses identity, it merely changes sometimes for the better,
incorporating new and more diverse ingredients and process due to globalization, various street
food and chaats from Indian have been recognized as Indian food.”
Now, sweets (Misthi) occupy and important place in diet of Bengali famous three are sandesh
(Sondesh) Roshogolla and Chomchom, and one another thing is important to know here is that
Bengali cuisine are highly influenced by the Tagore household.
My whole study during field work, one thing I was noticing that not only Bengali people in Delhi
but also the other community (non Bengali) was not less than Bengali (in Bengali food
consumer), in fact some of them (non Bengali) were more interested in Bengali cuisine than
actual Bengalis usually are.