Saturday 25 May 2019

A traditional Bengali wedding menu

This post is inspired by someone in one of my foodie groups who said that she did not know much about Bengali traditional food. I was trying to find out a pic or some reference to a traditional Bengali wedding menu on the internet but found only the modern ones with biriyani and what not, masquerading as traditional menu. 
So I sieved through my childhood memories and remembered the family weddings which I used to attend in the 80s and this is what I remembered...

Breakfast: Luchi (Puris made purely with refined flour), shada alu'r torkari (Potato sabji with no or very little turmeric) and bode (sweet boondi)

Lunch: moong dal with cauliflower and peas, jhiri jhiri alu bhaja (very finely sliced potatoes fried crisp), one or two types of fish curry usually a pabda maachher jhal and/or alu-fulkopi diye koi maach er jhol (only if the wedding is in winter as koi maachh is best at that time), patla aam er tok (a sweet and watery chutney with raw mangoes, if in summer) or tomato chatni (in other seasons) , papad (fried in oil), mishti doi and rasogolla

Dinner: Usually served on a banana leaf. The leaf would be laid out on the table with a lump of salt and a 1/8th slice of a lemon. Then started the feast of - luchi or radhabollobhi (the latter is filled with a filling of mixed dals), alu's dam or chhola'r dal (a thick channa dal), maach er matha diye moong dal (moong dal cooked with fish head), long and thin slice of begun bhaja (brinjal fry).
As kids we would say to each other - bhushi maal diye pet bhorash na meaning don't stuff yourself with rubbish, cos the main items were yet to come 
Now the actual feast : rui maach er kalia (rohu cooked in a thick onion gravy) or if the family was rich enough then golda chingri'r jhal (king prawns cooked in a thick onion gravy) followed by kosha mangsho (mutton gravy usually cooked using mustard oil)
The sweet ending: Aam er chatni (thick and sweet mango chutney) or tomato chutney with raisins and dates, papad (fried in oil, of course), mishti doi or ice cream, sandesh, rosogolla.
Mouth freshener: Mishti paan

Both lunch and dinner was served with good quality, steaming hot white rice.

Of course, even after all this many guests who would eat their fill would discuss how the taste or quality of food did not meet their expectations while belching satisfactorily, on their way home. 
There used to be times when some guests would have two wedding invitations on the same evening and belive it or not, they would eat at both places.
If you are a vegetarian, the non-veg dal would be replaced by a normal moong dal and the fish and mutton dishes would usually be replaced with cauliflower and paneer dishes.

Note: All pics are from the internet.
Chingri maachh er jhal

Alu fulkopi diye koi maachh

Kosha mangsho

Pabda maachh er jhal

Rui maachh er kalia