Bhojon-rosik Bangali

Bhojon-rosik Bengali can travel any distance for a good meal.

'Bhojon-rosik' is a defining Bengali identity.

Budhadev Bose described it most generously,

“Bengali food is a product of the home and family ties, of personal relationships — as much of science as of human affection, as much of age-old wisdom as of an intuitive response to Nature.”

He then added a delicious detail: “If there is an orthodox widow in the family, you must—absolutely must—beg her to give you a taste of what she cooks for herself. She may not let you step into her kitchen, but she will be unfailingly generous in hospitality.”

Bengal’s freshwater bounty, over fifty varieties, feeds both stomach and sentiment.

Rui, with its ritual prestige; Chingri; the majestic Ilish; and the oily Parshey with its bulging belly.

No wonder emotions flare when debating the supremacy of Chingrir Malai curry and Bhapa Ilish.

And then come Bengali sweets. A friend once said: Mithai raja ki sawari hoti hai. Wherever it goes, it makes its own way. No matter how full you are, you can't refuse Rosogolla, Sandesh, Pantua, Chum-Chum, or Mishti Doi? Paan, of course, is the final flourish to accompany the bulging belly.