Ghoti Cuisine

Western Bengali cuisine is the traditional food culture of the western Bengal region, mainly in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal and surrounding areas.

Western Bengali people, also known as the Ghoti people, speak dialects of the Bengali language. They are related to the eastern Bengali people, also known as the Bangal people, who have a closely related cuisine.

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is a cultural center.

Meals are often divided into specific courses: bitter(shukto), leafy greens(shak), dal, vegetable, curry, and chutney.

Kasundi, mustard sauce, can be added to vegetables, rice, or other dishes. Torkari refers to a range of vegetable curries.

The khol or mridanga is a drum played in traditional music.

Ingredients

indica rice, aus rice

poppy seed(posto), mustard, cumin(jeera), coriander, black onion seed, fenugreek, fennel, nigella or black cumin(kala jeera)

black cardamom ?

green chili, dried red chili

turmeric, ginger, onion

dal; green gram, red lentil, red gram

pointed gourd, parval, bottle gourd(lau), banana flower(mochar?), brinjal? bori?

potato

Seafood includes tangra, ruhi, katla, pabda, hilsa(ilish), pomfret, bhetki, shrimp, prawn, and crab. Shrimp is emphasized more in Ghoti cuisine, compared to the emphasis on hilsa in Bangal cuisine.

Mutton and goat are used for meat.

Dishes

• steamed long-grain rice
• panta bhat(পান্তা ভাত): fermented rice, typically with toppings like chili and onion
• luchi: puffed flatbread
• ruti: flatbread
• potato dom(alur dom)
• potato torkari(alur torkari)
• potato and parwal in poppy(aloo potol posto)
• shukto(শুক্তো): slightly bitter sauteed vegetables
• greens(shak) with mustard sauce(কাসুন্দি kasundi)
• cholar dal: sweet spiced split chickpea(bengal gram/chana dal) curry
• lau ghonto, mochar ghonto
• macher jhol(মাছের ঝোল): fish curry, usually with tangra or ilish/hilsa
• begun bhaja: fried eggplant slices
• mango chutney
• mishti doi
• patishapta
• payesh / kheer