5 authentic Bengali recipes to try during Durga Puja
Bengal's biggest festival Durga Puja is synonymous with the energetic beat of dhak, stuffing your face with Bengali delicacies, endless adda, and pandal hopping in new clothes. However, if you are away from home and unable to visit the City of Joy now due to work commitments you must be missing it all. Try these five authentic Bengali recipes to feel the festive mood.
Khichuri
Saute bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, and red chili in ghee. Add potatoes, green peas, and cauliflower, and mix. Add ginger paste and tomato and continue frying. Add gobindobhog rice and roasted moong dal, green chilies, salt, sugar, and turmeric powder, and stir well. Add water and let it cook. Add roasted jeera powder and mix well. Garnish with ghee and serve hot.
Labra
Labra is a traditional vegetable curry to have with khichuri. Saute panch phoron, asafoetida, and dry red chilies in some mustard oil. Add chopped potatoes, radish, cabbage, cauliflower, and brinjal and fry well. Add salt and turmeric and cook the mixture. Add chopped pumpkin, a little sugar, and grated ginger and mix well. Cook for a few minutes more and serve hot with khichuri.
Dhokar dalna
Grind together Bengal gram, grated ginger, garam masala, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Saute this mixture in oil, lay it out on a plate, and cut into squares. Saute bay leaves, ginger paste, and tomato puree, in ghee. Add garam masala, asafoetida, red chili powder, green chilies, and coriander powder, and cook. Add water, fried potatoes, and fried dhoka and mix well.
Aloo posto
Soak poppy seeds in hot water for two hours, and then grind into a smooth paste and keep aside. Saute nigella seeds and green chilies in oil. Add baby potatoes and fry. Add turmeric powder, and poppy seed paste and cook for some time. Add water, and salt and let it boil. Add sugar and green chilies and simmer. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Mishti doi
Heat milk with sugar in a saucepan and continue stirring until reduced to half. Add sugar to another pan, sprinkle some water and stir to caramelize it. Add the warm milk and mix well. Pour the caramelized milk into a bowl, add hung yogurt, and some cardamom powder, and whisk well. Let the yogurt sit overnight, then refrigerate it and serve chilled.
