Panta Ilish - a traditional Bengali platter of pantha bhat- A Bangladeshi variant of Congee (in soup) with fried Hilsa slice, supplemented with dried fish (Shutki), pickles (Achar), dal, green chillies and onion - is a popular serving for the Pohela Boishakh festival in Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi cuisine refers to the Bengali cuisine prevalent in Bangladesh. Bangladesh was eastern part of Bengal before partition, hence the two regions share similarities in cuisine. However, Bangladeshi cuisine incorporated beef which is not eaten by the Hindus (in present day West Bengal). It also has considerable regional variations. A staple across the country however is rice, various kinds of lentil, which is locally known as dal (sometimes written as daal) & fish. As a large percentage of the land (over 80% on some occasions) can be under water, either intentionally because of farming practices or due to severe climatological, topographical or geographical conditions, not surprisingly fish features as the major source of protein in the Bangladeshi diet. There is also a saying which goes, "Machh-e-Bhat-e-Bangali" (Fish and rice make a Bengali).
Another integral part of Bangladeshi cuisine is beef, presence of which is a must in most of the feasts and banquets across the country, though consumption of beef is mostly a religious taboo in traditional Hindu belief. Regional feasts such as Mezbaan of Chittagong, Ziafat of Sylhet/Comilla or Dawat of Dhaka will remain incomplete without serving spicy beef.
Regional cuisines
Bangladeshi cuisine is a generic terminology to refer to the cooking-style and trend now prevalent in Bangladesh. However, there are several regional variations, in terms of dishes, cooking style, serving style and nomenclature. In general, for cooking purposes, the administrative divisions more or less correspond to regional divides as well.
The main differences are as follows:
South - Barisal Division, Chittagong Division and Khulna Division, being close to the sea, tend to have a larger use of sea fishes in their cuisines in addition to coconut. Shutki, which is an especially treated dry fish, is extremely popular in these areas. Chittagong also exports shutki.
Dhaka/Central - Dishes involving fried rice and a lot of meat are usually legacies of Dhaka's past as the capital of Bengali empires. Much of this is still visible in the old city, where dishes like biriani, Mughlai porota and bakorkhani are made by speciality stores, many of which have existed for over a century.
West and North-west - Vegetable curries heavily occupy the main eating in these areas. Also, spices are more commonly, and more heavily, used. River fishes (sweet water fishes) are common in the dishes.
North-east - Large number of lakes around the Sylhet Division encourages greater use of lake fishes in the cuisine. Because of proximity to the hills in Assam, several fruits and pickles that are otherwise absent in rest of the country, such as hatkora are used in cooking and serving, producing a distinct nature to the dining menu here.
Staple ingredients and spices
The staples of Bangladeshi cuisine are rice, atta (a special type of whole wheat flour), and at least five dozen varieties of pulses, the most important of which are chana (bengal gram), tur (pigeon pea or red gram), urod (black gram), and mung (green gram). Pulses are used almost exclusively in the form of dal, except chana, which is often cooked whole for breakfast and is processed into flour (beshon). However, unlike neighbouring Indian food that includes types of rice and bread, the main source of carbohydrates in a "regular" Bangladeshi meal is plain white rice. Different kinds of fried rice, in the forms of pulao and biriyani are eaten mainly on special occasions and at parties.
Bangladeshi food varies between very 'sweet' and mild-to extremely spicy, many tourists even from other South East Asian and Subcontinental countries find the food spicy. It resembles North East Indian and South East Asian food more closely than that of any other part of the Subcontinent, most probably due to geographic and cultural proximity. The most important flavours in Bangladeshi cuisine are garlic, ginger, lime, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli. In sweet dishes, cardamom and cinnamon are amongst the natural flavours.
Regional specialties
Phuchka - an enormously popular spicy snack
Aloo Bhaji occurs across the region.
Luchi ,a flatbread.
Shujeer Halwa a sweet from across the region.
Fuchka a popular spicy snack.
Other famous Bangladeshi dishes
Torkari
Biryani Kachchi (mutton) Biriyani, Chicken Biriyani & Tehari (beef).
Khichuri (rice cooked with lentils)
There are several styles of Bangladeshi bread, including Luchi, Nan, Tondul rooti, chapati and paratha
Sweets and desserts
Bangladeshi cuisine has a rich tradition of sweets. The most common sweets and desserts include -
Chômchôm Tangail's Porabarir chomchom is famous
Kalo jam
Golap Jam
Rosho-golla
A wide variety of Pitha - steamed rice cakes or Vapa Pitha, Chitoi Pitha, Pan Pitha.
Firni also known as Payesh
Khir
Halua- there are different types of halua (semolina - shuji, carrot - gajor, almond - badam, boot etc..)
Jilapi
Doi - sweetened homemade creamy yoghurt
Shemai - sweet vermicelli
Shondesh - in Bangladesh, this is a palm sugar and rice flour fritter unlike the Shondesh of West Bengal
Chhana - also known as kaacha shondesh, is an unrefined form of shondesh
Jorda - sweetened rice or vermicili, fried in ghee (clarified butter)
Shon-papri- Sweet Gram Flour Noodles, very fine delicate with a melt in mouth texture.
Rosh-malai - small roshogollas in a sweetened milk base; Comilla is famous for it's Roshmalai.
Khaja & Goja - fried sweets
Borfi - there are different kinds of them
Murob-ba - traditionally made Bengali succade with various fruits such as Lime, Citron, Papaya, Mango, Pineapple, Soursop, Watermelon and also Ginger
Beverages
Borhani (a spiced mughal drink made from doii.e. yoghurt) Tea..
Bangladeshi cuisine abroad
The United Kingdom has a particularly strong tradition of what the general population would term Indian cuisine which is in fact a misnomer as the restaurants in question are mainly created by people of Bangladeshi origin. In the second half of the 20th century there was a spurt in the development of so-called Anglo-Indian cuisine, as families from countries such as Bangladesh (particularly from the Sylhet Division) migrated to London to look for work. Some of the earliest such restaurants were opened in Brick Lane in the East End of London, a place that is still famous for this type of cuisine and now popularly known as Bangla Town, with even the street signs bilingual.
In the 1960s, a number of "inauthentic Indian" foods were developed by British Bangladeshi chefs, including the iconic "chicken tikka masala". This tendency has now been reversed, with subcontinental restaurants being more willing to serve authentic Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani food, and to show their regional variations.
Bangladeshi food is now a staple of the British national cuisine. Until the early 1970s more than three quarters of Indian restaurants in Britain were identified as being owned and run by people of Bengali origin. Most were run by migrants from Bangladesh. Bangladeshi restaurateurs overwhelmingly come from the northern district of Sylhet. Until 1998, as many as 85% of curry restaurants in the UK were Bangladeshi restaurants but in 2003 this figure declined to just over 65%. Currently the dominance of Bangladeshi restaurants is generally declining in some parts of London and the further north one travels.
Meanwhile in the United States, the majority of "Indian" restaurants in New York are run by Bangladeshi Americans. It has been estimated that as many as 95% of them may be run by Bangladeshis.
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