The very thought of Bengali food makes your think it’s all about fish and rice, but unlike the believe that most have, a Bengali meal always sees a array of vegetarian fare that mostly rules the plate. The dishes in Bengali cuisine sees the use of lots of vegetables and the best part being each dish sees an unique taste from the other. Also interestingly there’s a definite way how a Bengali meal needs to be started and following Ayurveda it always starts with bitter.
Labra
Labra – the quintessential Bengali vegetarian dish that’s mostly paired with Bhoger Khichuri, is a Bengali delicacy that sees a medley of vegetable like cabbage, cauliflower, flat beans, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes and more is mostly a mish mash of dish that’s very nutritious. This versatile dish has no restriction when it comes to the types of vegetables that can be added. With bare mimimum spices, it’s the flavours of Paanch phoren (five spice) does the magic for this dish. This common dish makes its compulsory presence in all festivals and celebrations.
Shukto
This vegetarian Bengali fare gets its name “shukto” comes from shukuta — the dried leaves of the bitter jute plant — according to Bengali narrative poems of the 15th and 16th centuries. Loaded with Bitter Guard, Eggplant, Green Banana, Potato, Sweet potato, Drumsticks, White radish, and Hyacinth Beans, the dish gets it’s special flavour and taste from it’s tampering with that one exclusive spice – the Radhuni (celery seeds). Having drawn inspiration from the Portuguese practice of stir-frying vegetables that were locally available and making it into a stew that was more like a palate cleanser, this dish came into existence.
Chorchori
Bengal saw a lot of gourds and leaves vegetables and interestingly along that time the Bengali kitchen saw the Vaishnava influence. Also this dish chorchori is a great example of cooking with no waste from root to shoot as Chorchori saw all parts of the vegetable being used. This easy, delicious and time-saving way to feed people. This simplicity of the dish can be seen in bati chorchori, where all veggies are put in a bowl with some water and left to be slow cooked. Once cooked a light drizzle of raw mustard oil does the magic. Chorchori was also a way to celebrate abundance of seasonal produce. This effortless dish still remains an all-time favourite in many houses.