You can dig into some dishes which are low on spices and high on taste – the perfect summer combination. These simple, uncomplicated dishes also come with the warmth of home all the way from West Bengal.
Where to go?
There are a quite a few restaurants in the city you can head to for Bengali cuisine. We list a few that are pocket friendly.
Kolkata House in Kondapur at Rs 400 for two.
SwadEast at Forum Sujana Mall at Rs 250
Tumpa Bengali Food in Madhapur at Rs 300
Call Of Bengal in Gachibowli at Rs 550
Mochar Ghonto
This dish is a star in its own right. Mochar Ghonto or Banana blossom curry. Flowers of banana tree are cleaned, boiled, mashed and cooked in various spices.
Cumin, ginger, garam masala and ghee are the predominant flavours in the dish. The rich aroma and taste of this delicacy is something you will cherish for a long time.
Aam Dal
Summer is all about mangoes. What can be better than incorporating the taste of mango in everyday meals, like dal. Although using mangoes in dal or lentils is not exclusive to Bengali cuisine, the aam dal prepared in Bengali style is a lot different from other cuisines.
Only spices in this tangy affair are mustard seeds (whole) and dried red chillies. The dish is unparallel to beat the scorching heat of summer due to the cooling effect of the raw mangoes.
Maccher Jhol
Any discussion about Bengali food remains incomplete without the mention of fishes. Fish in synonymous to Bengali culture and hardly any day passes in a Bengali household without some or other variety of fish curries being served. The options to choose from the variety fishes and curries are endless, but the most uncomplicated and summer appropriate is a ‘kalo jeere kancha lonkar jhol’. Fish curry does not get any simpler than this, for this dish the fish is fried and cooked in a very light and watery gravy made with just green chillies and black cumin seeds. Don’t be fooled by the rather limited ingredients as the dish work wonders on your palate.
Sukto
Sukto is a regular mixed vegetable curry with a Bengali twist. The dish has a variety of seasonal vegetables cooked in a light gravy with limited spices that include ginger and Radhuni (a typical Bengali spice with smell similar to parsley and taste similar to celery), with dash of ghee and milk (optional). One of the essential ingredients of the dish is bitter gourd which gives the dish its characteristic hint of a bitter taste which makes the dish stand apart. It is one of the Bengali dishes with the most authentic flavours.
Doi Potol
It is another curry which screams simplicity and comfort. It is pointed gourd made in a curd rich gravy. The spices used are fairly common everyday ones like cumin, coriander seeds, red chilli powder and turmeric.
The use of curd makes it a must have dish for summers.