The people of Bangladesh are very conscious of their culture and tradition. Most of the people in Bangladesh are Muslims. That is why you’ll not find any pork dishes nor will you be able to taste wine here in this beautiful country. The country’s cuisine gives special emphasis on different kinds of spices. Not only Bangladesh, but the whole Indian subcontinent also uses at least some amount of spice in their main dishes. On festivals like Pohela Baishakh (Bengali New Year), the most popular choice of dish is panta bhat (soaked rice) and Hilsa fish. 

Due to historical differences and Bangladeshi topography, the cooking is wealthy in provincial interpretations. Dating far from the past, the cuisine highlights fish, Lentils, and vegetables fitted with rice. Bangladeshi meals are performed by course rather than all at one moment. While having unique features, Bangladeshi cuisine corresponds to surrounding Bengali and North-East India, with fish and rice as classic choices. Bangladesh also invented the only multi-course ceremony in South Asia. It is known as Bangaliketa-styled cuisine. But if you are a sophisticated gourmet and you want to taste the rare and unique dishes of the local Bengali and Bangladeshi cuisine, then any local private English-speaking tour guides in Bangladesh will help you with this, they will show you the most unique restaurants and stalls that make the most authentic food in the country, but also will share with you culinary recipes and tell you how to cook this or that dish, which ingredient and where to buy and how to eat every dish in a right way!

Mezban preparations

Beef-based plates are favored by Muslims of Bengali and are a sign of social importance for a celebration of Mezban. The poor and the rich organize dinners on different events as much as occasions let them. It has a particular style of cooking and appropriate Mezban meat requires a specific skill. For instance: the special beef curry performed in this dinner is comprehended as Mezbani gosht, which carries a unique recipe, knowledge of which is effectively enclosed within the Chittagonian chefs.

Fish is utilized rather than beef while cooking Mezban in Hindu tradition. The Hindu society of Chittagong arranges Mezbani per year under the banner of "Chittagong Parishad", with curries cooked with fish, vegetables, and parched fish.

Main Foods

Rice is the most popular and staple food of the people of Bangladesh. They have very interesting food habits. They eat every other spicy dish by mixing it with boiled rice. During lunch and dinner, they eat different curries and fries of fish and meat with rice and vegetables. Roti, an item made of wheat, is taken for breakfast. Besides, mashed food items like mashed potato, mashed eggplant, and other bhaktas are also very famous among Bangladeshis.

Bakarkhani or Baqarkhani, also known as bakar khani roti, is a stuffy, flat-bread with spices that are part of the Mughlai cuisine.  This bread is prepared at particular Muslim sacred celebrations and is now famous as bread with sugar. Bakorkhani is similar to a biscuit in consistency, with a tough crust. The top components are sugar, semolina, flour, molasses bathed in saffron, poppy or nigella seeds, clarified butter, and salt. It is also comprehended as shukha (meaning 'dry') naan or shukha roti because of its dry consistency. There are 3 variations of bakorkhani; Gao-joban, shuki (shukha), and nimshuki. Out of Dhaka, various types of Bakarkhani are consumed in Bangladesh. The Bakarkhani of Chittagong and Sylhet correspond to a syrupy and sweet porota, whilst the Bakarkhani of Dinajpur is doughy and thick. It is normally eaten hot, ar breakfast, often with a special tee

Regional Food

The taste, flavor, and choice of food vary from one region to another. For example, the people of the western region like to eat Moong Dal with fish heads widely known as ‘Muri ghonto’, lucky, payesh, pitas, etc. The cuisine of the northern part of Bangladesh is mainly sweet and sour in nature and has a lot of similarities with Indian food. Freshwater fishes and tasty spicy dishes are most popular in the Dhaka region. Old Dhaka is very famous for biriyani. The cooking style of Sylhet locals is completely different from the rest of the country. They use special fruits and chilies during cooking. The country was ruled by the Mughal dynasty for a long period of time. Their effect can still be found in today’s cuisine.

Spices

Bangladeshi food is characterized by its intense use of spices. The fertile soil of Bangladesh grows many unique spices with varying aromas and tastes. Dried red chili, cumin powder, turmeric powder, chili powder, and coriander powder and mostly used. A spice mixture made of cumin, black cumin, fenugreek, carom seeds, and anise is known as ‘pach phoron’ and is also very popular for preparing fish and vegetable dishes. Mustard oil is an inseparable ingredient of Bangladeshi cuisine.

Desserts

Desserts are an integral part of Bangladeshi dishes. People just love different kinds of sweets. Milk, sugar, rice, and eggs are the key ingredients of these dishes. Phinney, payesh, shondesh, khir, halua, rasmalai, and roshogolla are some of the most popular dessert choices. There is a very special dish named ‘pitha’ which is found mostly during the winter in rural areas. It is a very important traditional food. You are guaranteed to fall in love with it if you have a bite. If you go to the villages with a local private English-speaking tour guide in Bangladesh, he can make arrangements for your pithy tasting. Puli pitha, bhapa pitha, patishapta, chondrule are noteworthy names.

Drinks

Various kinds of fruit juices are favored here. Milky tea and pure tea are the most popular choices. Borhani and Lassi are two delicious drinks made from yogurt. Being a Muslim-oriented country, wine is very rare. But, you can quench your wine thirst by going to a bar or a luxurious hotel.

Popular Dishes in Traditional Bangladeshi and Bengali Cuisine

Biryani

It is the most popular festive food in Bangladesh. It is made of rice and meat. Mutton, beef, or chicken can be used in it. The people of Bangladesh are very friendly and they like to invite guests to their homes. Biryani is a very popular choice when it comes to serving guests. It can also be found in restaurants and hotels.

Khichury

It is a dish made of rice and pulse. On rainy days, every Bangladeshi would love to have khichuri at their lunch table. It is eaten with various kinds of curries and fries.

Grilled Chicken

The young generation of Bangladesh adores this dish. The spicy and crispy dish can be eaten with rice or bread.

Hilsha curry & fry

Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh. It is locally known as Elish. One of the most delicious fish you’ll ever come across. Every item made of Hilsa will conjure its magic upon you. Hilsa curry, bhuna, Shorshe Ilish, and Doi Elish all taste like heavenly food.

Different Kebabs

In Bangladesh, you’ll find a number of different Kebabs made of Fish and meat. Seekh Kebab, hari kebab, boti kebab, and fish kebab are all popular choices. These kebabs are usually very spicy in nature. So, be mentally prepared to take heat from the fire of the spices.

Chicken/Egg korma

In these dishes, you’ll find the sweeter side of Bengali cooking. The sweet and sour flavor of the dish is bound to mesmerize you. It is mostly eaten with pulao rice on festive occasions.

Fast foods

Besides all the traditional foods, Bangladesh has a number of hotels and restaurants selling fast food. Here, you’ll find all the international items like burgers, Pizza, different salads, Chow Mein, pasta, sandwich, special kinds of desserts, etc. These restaurants always remain filled up with hungry customers. But, make sure you ask your personal local private tour guide in Bangladesh about the food you are going to eat because no one wants an upset stomach during a trip.

Rice

Food is prepared by boiling rice or rice in water. Rice is the staple food of the people of Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. There is also a trend of eating rice in the Indian subcontinent. In addition to the Indian subcontinent, rice consumption is prevalent in China, Japan, and Korea. However, different types of rice are eaten in different ways depending on the place. West Bengal and Bangladesh eat neat rice. But in China, Japan, and Korea, eating glutinous rice is popular.

Different types of fragrant rice are cooked based on different varieties of rice. About 65 types of rice are mentioned in Manasa Mangal Kavya. References to rice in Bengali cuisine can be traced back to ancient and medieval times. Also in Bengali conversation, the word rice is mentioned in various proverbs.

Apart from just eating, rice is also used to prepare different types of food. Among them, Pollyanna (Polao), Biryani, and Fried Rice are popular and noted.

Rice is cooked by boiling the rice in water. But different types of rice are cooked on top of different varieties of rice. Rice is mainly of two types –

• Boiled rice
• Atap Rice

Rice is washed well and boiled in a sufficient amount of water. Then the fan is discarded for the neat rice. But in the case of Atap rice, starch or fan is not added.

Cooking rice without starch after cooking boiled rice is called sitting rice in many regions. In this case, rice is cooked by adding twice the amount of water to the rice. If more or less water is added, it is not possible to cook the sitting rice. In terms of nutritional quality, the quality of sitting rice is much higher, and it prevents the wastage of throwing away the starch, and as the nutrients in the starch remain in the rice, the experts say sitting rice is much more beneficial and healthy than starchy rice.

Rice is mainly white in color. But depending on the variety of rice it can be a light golden color or brown color. It is usually served dry. It is also eaten in other ways. This addition can be anything from salt (for those who can't afford to add anything else) to butter or ghee, any curry, fish, or meat broth. It is soaked in water for a day or more and eaten after mixing with lemon juice and salt, it is called Pandavas. Rice mainly provides carbohydrates, sugar is 79%, fat 6%, and some vitamins, and mineral salts.

If the starch or foam is removed after cooking the rice, the starch content of the rice is greatly reduced. As a result, there is less chance of getting fat even after eating a lot of rice. Such misconceptions have been around for a long time. In recent years, several studies including the research report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have proved that if the rice starch is thrown away, 18 types of nutrients including starch and sugar are wasted which exist in sitting rice. And these nutrients greatly reduce the harmful effects of sugar.

During the boiling of rice, many of the rice grains burst, and the starch inside them dissolves in the water. The aqueous portion of this starch mixture is called a fen. During the various famines of Bengal in the sixties, begging for rice fen was the only means of subsistence for many poor people.

If rice is boiled in too much water for too long, most of the rice melts into the foam, creating a very thick starch solution (extension). It is called starch. Before ironing, the cloth is soaked in flour and dried to stiffen it. This is called starching.

Dry filling

Shutki bhorta is a type of bharta food whose main ingredient is dried fish. Shutki Bhorta is very popular among Bengalis in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. Initially, the consumption of dry fish was common among the coastal people, but it has now spread throughout the region. Dried fish, oil, onion, dry or green chilies, and salt. Although other ingredients such as coriander leaves, beet salt, etc. are used along with it depending on personal preference.

Shutki Bharta tastes different depending on the region or home. It depends on the variation of ingredients or the skill and dexterity of the cook. Bharta can be made with all types of fish, but relatively soft and small fish can be easily made as bharta. First, the fish are washed in water and fried in oil. Then dried fish powder or paste is made by beating the fish. It is accompanied by a generous amount of salt, onion, roasted dry chilies, or green chilies smeared with mustard oil. Shutki Bharta is eaten with hot rice.

Eating dry bharta has a long history in Bangladesh. To celebrate Pahela Baishakh on the first day of the Bengali New Year, panta rice and hilsa fish are fried and accompanied by dried fish bharta.

Eggplant stuffing

Bagun Bharta is a typical Bengali dish. It is a type of food made with brinjal, oil, salt, onion, pepper, and other ingredients. Eggplant bharta is eaten in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, but its preparation and eating habits vary slightly from region to region. It is primarily a vegetarian dish prepared with mincemeat or eggplant. It is grilled over charcoal or direct fire. This results in a smoky smell of the broth. Traditionally, this dish is often eaten with a local dish (especially panta) and bread. Eggplant Bharta is a popular cuisine in Pakistan and Bangladesh. But in India, it is Bihar West Bengal, a popular food in many states including Assam, Odisha. The dish has many names depending on the local language Hindi Gujarati odo Marathi (wāngyāche bharīt) 

The ingredients required to make eggplant filling are:

• Eggplant
• Mustard oil
• Chop onion
• Green Chilli/Spicy Chilli
• Coriander leaves
• Salt
• Other materials

Preparation

Eggplant filling can be done in two ways; Eggplants are grilled or boiled. First, the whole brinjal should be caught on fire by lighting the stove. At this time, the brinjal should be turned and burnt so that it can burn evenly. When roasting brinjal, it will be seen that the upper skin becomes black and the brinjal becomes soft, then the oven should be turned off. Now the black skin has to be removed. At this stage, chopped green chilies and chopped onions should be fried in oil on low flame. Besides, seasoned chilies are also used. Now in a bowl, pepper, and onion should be crushed and fried brinjal should be mashed. Many people use coriander leaves, boiled eggs, tomatoes, etc. in brinjal filling.

To boil the brinjal and stuff it, first put some water on the stove and put it on fire. After boiling, all the ingredients with or without the skin of the eggplant should be mashed together by hand. Also, chilies and onions can be fried in mustard oil and mixed in bharta.

Serving Process

Bengalis usually use brinjal as a curry with food. Begun Bharta is also served on some other Bengali festivals including Pohela Boishakh

Potato filling

Aloo Bharta is a dish prepared by grinding boiled soft potatoes with chili (Lanka), onion, and oil. Which is usually eaten as a curry. In 1747, The Art of Cookery, written by Hannah Glasse, described the method of making Aloo Bharta:

• potatoes
• mustard oil/ghee
• pepper
• chop onion
• salt

First, boil potatoes in a separate pot. Peel the boiled potatoes and keep them in a separate bowl. Now fry chopped onion, and chopped chili in a frying pan in light oil. At this stage, the boiled potatoes should be broken and crushed with the help of the hand. Fried onions and chilies and mustard oil should be rubbed well. Add as much salt as you like. Many people also use boiled eggs, beans, brinjal, etc. along with potatoes. Many people also use burnt pepper, it gives a different taste and smell to the bharta. Again chopped green chilies are also used. Ghee is often used for variety and flavor.

Aloo Bharta has its variations due to the addition of different ingredients. For example:

• potato filling
• egg and Potato Bharta
• bean and potato filling

Prawn Malai Curry

Prawn Malai Curry is a popular Bengali dish prepared with prawns and coconut milk, spices used for flavoring. This term is famous throughout Bengal. Prawn malaikari are served at weddings, festivals, and guest services. Prawn Malaikari was also popular among the British stationed in Calcutta. The main ingredients are shrimp and coconut milk. Ghee or mustard oil, onion, turmeric powder, green chilies, garlic paste, and ginger are used with it. Malaikari is also made with lobster. First, the prawns are peeled. These prawns are fried in hot oil with onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and salt, and coconut milk, cooked for a few minutes.

Fish eggs

Fish eggs are fully developed eggs collected from the uterus of fish and some marine animals. Fish eggs are called Roe in English. Eggs of prawns, scallops, etc. are also called roe. Various types of food are prepared in different cuisines of the world with fish roe. Eggs from marine fish such as lumpsucker, hake, and salmon eggs provide excellent amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Caviar is prepared from fish eggs.

The demand for hilsa fish eggs is the highest among fish eggs in Bangladesh. Hilsa fish eggs are fried and sold at Mawa Ghat on the banks of the Padma. In Bangladesh, fish eggs are cooked whole-fried or broken with other ingredients. Foodie Bengalis are very fond of eating Ruizati fish egg bhaji with Uchchi.

Fried fish

Fried fish is a traditional dish that is widely popular in Bangladesh and the states of West Bengal, Tripura, Odisha, and Assam. Fish has become an integral part of Bengali life. Variations are observed in the method of frying fish from region to region. Almost all types of fish are fried. In some places the fish is deeply fried, some lightly. Mainly fish is fried in deep oil and cooked dry with onions and chilies. Fish is eaten with fried rice.

A strong desire to eat hilsa fish fry can be observed among Bangladeshis. A lot of hilsa fish is fried, this very simple dish is very popular in Bangladesh. 'Hilsa Bhaja' is fun to eat hot. There are different rules for frying fish. Some fry the fish lightly, some burn it in charcoal, and some boil it in hot water and fry it. However, those who are afraid to eat with a fork, but fry the fish. All fish fry methods are usually close. 

Ingredients:

• Hilsa fish - 7 pieces
• Turmeric powder – half teaspoon
• Chili powder – half teaspoon
• Coriander powder – half teaspoon
• Cumin powder – half teaspoon
• Salt – about half a teaspoon
• Oil – 3 tbsp

Fish pieces can be taken more or less, according to which the other ingredients should be increased and reduced. Pay special attention to the amount of salt, not too much.

Method of preparation:

1. Rub all the above spices well on the fish pieces and keep them for 10 minutes.

2. Then heat the oil in a pan and fry the fish pieces. After the oil is hot, lower the flame while frying. Fry the fish pieces well on low flame, and remove them when it looks dark brown in color. Be careful not to burn and turn black. If you keep the heat of the stove low, it won't burn.

Fish fry is inextricably linked with Bengali life. Therefore, fish fry has taken place in proverbs. If someone pretends not to know something despite knowing it, he is said to be "unable to eat fried fish upside down". Himanish Goswami, in his dictionary Panai, writes about fried fish: in the general sense of forbidden fish, but in the special sense, one who cannot eat fried fish upside down is considered blameless or innocent.

Shorshe ilish

Shorshe ilish is a Bengali dish, native to the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, made from hilsa or Tenualosa ilisha, a type of herring, cooked in mustard gravy. The dish is popular among the people of Bangladesh where the fish is mainly found and in the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam's Barak valley.

The main ingredients are hilsa, white mustard, mustard, mustard oil, green chili, black cumin, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt. Lime juice and/or coriander leaves may be added for flavor.

Food is a very important part of Bangladeshi culture. The delicious foods of Bangladesh make it ideal for gastronomic tourism. The flavor and aroma of the dishes are so good that you’ll remember them forever. Having an organized local private English-speaking tour guide to plan your tour will save you from a lot of unnecessary hassles. So, don’t waste your time. Take a moment, utilize our website, search for a local English-speaking tour guide, and arrange your dream holiday in Bangladesh today.

 

 

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