Festivals welcome winters in Bengal. Bengalis relish the seasonal merriment with different dishes that come with the sojourn of winter. Many indigenous festivals like Saraswati Pooja, English New Year, harvest festival Poush Parbon switch the Bengalis mood on festive feasts.
This is the perfect time to pay a visit to Bengal; you will be stunned by the different cuisines prepared by Bengalis that set a mark with their flavors, aroma, and versatility because Bengal is known as one of the connoisseurs of Indian food cultures after Mughals.
Demand for vibrant seasonal produce like green peas, cabbages, carrots, newly harvested potatoes increases, and people use them to make different mouthwatering dishes.
We’ve handpicked some best Bengali winter unique dishes that left a mark on your heart and enhanced your love for Bengali dishes. Let’s taste some-
- Koraishutir kochuri and alur dom
This dish is on the breakfast menu for an endless picnic and consists of flatbread filled with green peas and sliced potatoes. In this dish, luchi (flatbread) is fried with a kind slice of grated peas stuffed with ginger paste, nigella seeds, and a little green pepper. For proper consistency, alur dom (cut potatoes) is made with baby potatoes and is slightly spicy, but not felt harsh on the tongue, and you will not cry after having them.
- Pithe Puli
Makar Sakranti is a harvest festival when Bengali mothers start grinding rice in every home. Rice dust is the main ingredient in Pithe, a particular type of winter confectionery. Patisapta is a crepe filled with skimmed milk. Dudhpuli is coconut-filled dumplings topped with sweet boiling milk. Chitoi pithe, a cousin of soft idli sponge, is served with a velvety smooth sauce of jhola Nolen Gur, Which is a liquid Date Palm jaggery.
- Joynagerer Moa
This Dish is Originated from a small Bengal Town, Jaynagar. Crafted with kanakchur Khoi (a type of rice that smells good, bright, and soft), date jaggery, and sprinkled with hot mawa (skimmed milk), A smooth and soft bite in wet mova will add warmth to your mouth and add happiness to anyone who has it.
- Khichuri-begun bhaja-chutney
This is the necessary foundation of Saraswati Puja. This festive dish consists of Khichuri (a small spicy porridge made with aromatic rice and nutty lentil), bhaja (aubergine fritters), and chutney (ketchup-like sauce made with spices, tomatoes, and sugar). Served with shawl-pata (a traditional bowl), served with the scent of incense sticks and bright marigold flowers, This khichuri filled your mouth with aromatic flavors.
- Koi Macher Jhol Fulkopi diye
This fish curry is a magical winter delicacy of Bengal spiced with just ginger seeds and cumin. This mouthwatering dish’s main ingredient is koi mach (perch fish) and fulkopi (cauliflower). A few slices of tomatoes and potatoes are tossed inside to add some texture to the curry. The typical trope of all Bengali dishes includes this one – and it helps to balance the taste of spices in the curry and oozes the natural flavor of vegetables and fish in your mouth. The koi mach gives curry a distinctive fat-rich texture. You can use farm-fresh vegetables for the curry to make it more healthy.
Many more mouthwatering dishes of Bengal are still left to explore, but the dishes I mentioned in this article are the ones whose aroma will never be forgotten.
So, try these delicacies today, but don’t forget to use healthy ingredients. Freshji is one of the best organic fruits, vegetables and Grocery suppliers in Kolkata.