Indian National Dishes & Bengali Cuisine

bzukowsk
Jan 29, 2021
2 min read

Rohan - You mentioned a category for National dishes - what other dishes qualify as National dishes? For the biriyani, how are they different across regions? You mentioned this and I couldn’t find much. Also, I need pictures of all these - can you get any for me?

India is one of the most diverse nations on the planet. It contains over 1,300 native languages. It has long been a central location of Eurasian trade routes and it contains ecosystems from the high Himalayas to tropical lowlands. It is no wonder that thousands of foods, spices, and cooking techniques are blended across various regions. There are vastly different dishes and similarly named foods, with slight variations, depending on the region.

Over the centuries, and especially since partition, a new sense of Indian identity has developed. There are now many dishes, once traditionally north or south India, that are now widespread across the country. National dishes are unofficial cuisine that has the same name and composition, but can vary greatly between each region. National dishes include biriyani and tikka rolls.

National Dishes

Biriyani

Though it has roots in Persia, this dish can now be found in restaurants across India. As a national dish across many regions, local biriyanis change significantly by location. At its core, it is rice, spices, and vegetables (and sometimes meats). There is a variety of spices used depending on the desired flavor.

Tikka Rolls

The kati roll once originated from West Bengal, but is now wide spread across India. It is a common street food. It combines tikka flavored chicken with a burrito like covering, such as a paratha or naan. The toppings and ingredients change from north to south, but every tikka roll contains the same goodness.

Bengali Food

Bengal is not a country, but a region split between two countries, eastern India and Bangladesh. For hundreds of years, the area developed a common sense of culture. People speak Bengali, eat Bengali food, and developed Bengali customs. The partition of Hindustan created a West and East Pakistan on either side of India. In 1971, West Pakistan (Pakistan as we know it today) and East Pakistan (Bangladesh as we know it today) separated. The Bangladesh independence movement sent 10 million refugees fleeing across India from the violence in Bangladesh, Dhaka, and Calcutta. A Bengali diaspora exists throughout much of India today. Today, beyond these tumultuous events, Bengali communities thrive across India and Bengali food is widespread.

Bengali food is sweeter, less spicy than some of its other Indian counterparts. There is often fruit, fish, or coconut involved. Bengali curries are a staple, as well as different types of fresh water fish and river prawns.

Bengali curries: They include coriander scented jhol, spicy jhol, and rich ginger based kalia.

Shorshe curries: Contains a strong mustard flavor
Paturi foods: come steamed in a banana leaf
Gobindobhog Bhaat: Steamed rice or luchi (puris usually come with this curries)
Chingri: River prawns
Rohu: White rui
Bhekti: Cod like fish, Ilish (hilsa), laughohto (fish head pounded with pumpkin)
Mochar Ghonto (mashed banana flour sometimes with potato and coconut)
Doibegun (eggplant in curd)
Shukto (several different vegetables in a milk based sauce)