Bengali cuisine has a lot of surprises. And it is this intrigue that you might encounter in every bite that sets it apart.
Novel preparations, new tastes, subtle spices -- that your tongue tries to wrap itself around and fathom.
Take the biryani, for instance. It's not coloured. It is usually white, and yet packs in a lot of spice and yumminess.
The delicate balance of flavours and deep respect for fresh, seasonal ingredients also makes the cuisine a big draw.
Rice and fish form the cornerstone of Bengali cooking, with iconic dishes like Machher Jhol, Shorshe Ilish, Chingri Malai curry.
Yet, seafood is not all that there is to this food. Meat plays an important role. Vegetables too comprise an intrinsic part of most meals and seasonal ones are preferred.
The style is distinguished also by the generous use of mustard oil, panch phoron (a five-spice blend of fenugreek, nigella, cumin, fennel and mustard seeds), turmeric, green chillies, which impart different kinds of aromas and depth.
Bengal's desserts are particularly celebrated and they have that happy surprise element too -- the shock of discovering just how delicious a chomchom or rosogulla Mishti Doi is.
Adrika Anand sources a recipe for Kolkata Mutton Biryani from Shaista Perween, a digital content creator under the handle @flavoursbyshy.
In her preparation, aromatic rice is slowly simmered with mutton and golden potatoes. The delicate hints of kewra and attar aid in producing a dish whose each ingredient is in wonderful harmony.
Awadhi-style Mutton Biryani came to Bengal in the mid-19th century when Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh (Lucknow) was exiled there by the British in 1856 and settled in Metiabruz, near Kolkata.
Wajid Ali Shah brought with him his royal cooks, musicians, artisans and the refined culinary traditions of the Lucknowi court, including the famous dum pukht style of cooking biryani -- deg par rice and meat, over dheemi aanch (low heat) is gently prepared together in a sealed pot.
Over time, the dish adapted to local conditions as meat was expensive and ingredients were limited. So the cooks introduced potatoes and boiled eggs into the biryani, which eventually became a defining feature of Kolkata Biryani.
Compared to its Awadhi counterpart, the Kolkata version is lighter, more fragrant, with essences of rose water and kewra, and saffron reflecting the Awadhi cuisine, while developing a unique identity in Bengal.
Salma Mullick or @salmathechef presents a recipe for Enchor Kofta made from green jackfruit called enchor in Bengal. Its unusual texture adds something special when cooked and mashed with spices. From it koftas are shaped and fried crispy. A quick do, they are a great snack or appetiser when served hot with chutney.
Photograph: Shaista Perween for Rediff
Kolkata Mutton Biryani
Recipe by Shaista Perween
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
To the mutton marination:
- ½ kg mutton
- 1 cup yoghurt
- 2 tbsp red chilly powder
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- Salt to taste, about 1 tsp
- 2-3 tbsp homemade biryani masala
- 1 large onion, deep fried to make birasta
- 2 cups cooking oil
For the potatoes:
- 3 large boiled potatoes, cut in halves.
- 1 tsp biryani masala
- Salt to taste, about ½ tsp
- Pinch food colour
- Oil for frying the potatoes
For the rice:
- ½ kg biryani rice
- 4 chakra phool or star anise
- 2-inch stick dalcheeni or cinnamon
- 4-5 green elaichi or cardamom
- 5-6 lavang or cloves
- 2 pieces javitri or mace
- Salt to taste, about ½ tbsp
- 3-4 lemons, sliced
For layering the biryani:
- Few aloo bukhara or dried plums
- Biryani attar infused a little warm milk with yellow food colour
- 2–3 tbsp kewra or screwpine water
- 1 cup ghee
Method
To marinate the mutton:
- In a bowl, mix the ingredients well so the mutton pieces are nicely coated.
Cover and marinate for 3-4 hours or overnight to give an even better flavour.
For the potatoes:
- Peel the boiled potatoes and add the biryani masala, salt, food colour.
Lightly fry the potatoes in oil until golden.
Keep aside.
For the rice:
- Wash and soak ½ kg biryani rice for 20 minutes.
Bring 4-5 cups water in a saucepan to a boil and add the star anise, cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves, mace, salt, sliced lemons.
Now add in the soaked rice and cook until 70 per cent done.
Drain and keep aside.
For the mutton:
- Transfer the marinated mutton to a large heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until the mutton becomes tender and the oil separates from the gravy.
If needed, add a little water.
Layering the biryani:
- In a heavy-bottomed large saucepan or dekchi: Begin by adding a layer of mutton gravy, followed by a layer of 70 per cent cooked rice.
Next sprinkle the birasta, fried potatoes, and aloo bukhara on top of the mutton.
Drizzle the biryani-attar-and-yellow-colour-infused milk and the kewra water.
Pour over some ghee.
- Repeat the layers as required, finishing with the garnishes on top.
For the dum cooking:
- Cover the saucepan tightly and keep on dum or low heat for 25-30 minutes.
This allows the rice, mutton, and aromatics to blend beautifully.
Take off heat and gently mix from the sides and serve hot with a raita or sliced salad (onion, tomatoes etc).
Photograph: Salma Mullick for Rediff
Enchor Kofta
Recipe by Salma Mullick
Serves 4-5
Ingredients
- 700 gm green jackfruit which becomes 300 gm after peeling and cutting
- 1 litre water
- 1 large potato
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 2 green chillies ground into a paste
- 1 tsp red chilly powder
- 1 tsp jeera-brown dhania or cumin-coriander powder
- ⅓ tsp garam masala powder
- 2 tsp chaat masala
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp water
- 50 gm maida or all-purpose flour
- 4-6 tbsp oil for frying
- Salt to taste, about 2 tsp
Method
- Boil the jackfruit in a large saucepan in 1 litre of water over medium heat for about 30 minutes until soft.
Drain and allow it to cool and keep aside.
- Boil the potato for about 20 minutes or cook for 2 whistles in a pressure cooker.
Peel and mash it well.
- Mash the boiled jackfruit in a bowl until smooth.
Add in the mashed potato.
Next add salt, red chilly powder, green chilli paste, cumin-coriander powder, garam masala, chaat masala, ginger paste.
Mix well.
- Heat the oil in a fryingpan over medium heat.
- Shape the mixture into small balls and flatten them slightly to form patties.
Mix cornflour with the water to make a smooth slurry.
Dust each kofta lightly with maida, dip into the cornflour slurry and coat again with the flour.
Fry the koftas in batches, flipping until both sides are golden brown and crisp.
Drain onto a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve hot with a mint chutney or tamarind chutney.