Just as America has different staple dishes depending on where you are, India has the same idea. Indian food is a combination of many different ingredients as well as spices. (Fun Fact: 70% of the spices in the world come from India.) India has about 37 different cuisines. However, I will only discuss the regional food that I know best, Bengali (read Ben-gah-li) food. The staples of Bengali food are rice, whole wheat flour (also called atta [read ah-tah]), and lentils.

Bengali food has an emphasis on fish, vegetables, lentils, and sweets. One of the dishes that is associated with the Bengali culture is fish. Most Bengali families eat fish for almost every meal, and on every holiday. I know that in my family, the members who cook are able to many different species of fish in many different forms of sauce. There are numerous fish markets along the streets of Kolkata (where Bengalis are originally from) and most families go there at least once every few days to get fish. One way fish is cooked is that it is deep fried in mustard oil and then sauted in a sauce.

Lentils are a prime ingredient in many vegetarian dishes. Each type of lentil is used to make a specific dish.  Yellow pigeon peas are used to make Toor Dal (read Too-or Dah-l) which is a plain yellow lentil soup with a few seasonings and veggies mixed in.  Chana dal (read Chah- nah dah-l) is made with unshelled black chickpeas and results in a darker colored lentil “soup”. Mung dal (read moo-ng dah-l) is made from split mung beans, and rajma (read rah-j-mah) dal is made from red kidney beans. There are more types of lentils and dals, but in order to keep this blog short I will not list them all.

Most vegetarian dishes in Bengali food are cooked in mustard oil with poppy seeds and turmeric powder, and other spices are added in as needed. A lot of vegetarian dishes in the cuisine are made from tubers, gourds, and roots. Each vegetarian dish is a bright color and has a customizable spice level. Bengalis make main entrees with eggplant, cauliflower,  potatoes, okra, paneer (an Indian form of cheese), and other vegetables. Each vegetable can be prepared with various ingredients. A great Bengali dish to eat when you are sick is aloo shedho baath (read ah-lou shed-dho bah-a-th) which is Indian style mashed potatoes and rice. You just boil the potatoes, and then mash them and add a little salt. You then add as much mustard oil as you can handle, and mix it in. As optional garishes on the side, you can dice up some οnion and cilantro to mix into the potatoes. Then you can just mix everything together (including the rice) and enjoy!

The one thing Bengalis are the most famous for are their sweets or mishtis (read mish-tees). They are a central part of everydaylife for Bengalis and most families have some form of a sweet dish once a day. Bengalis make many different kinds of sweets, such as shondesh (read Shone-day-sh, a sweet made with milk and sugar tossed together over low heat), rasgulla (read rahs-gol-lah, dumplings made with Indian cottage class and semolina dough cooked in a light sugary syrup), and ladoos (read lah-doos, ball shapped sweets that are made with a base of a flour base mixed in with sugar and other ingredients, then cooked in clarified butter and molded into balls). The ladoos can be made with any ingredients that you want, which is why I was not specific in their description. Bengali food is a very unique cuisine, and I encouge you to try some food when you have the chance!