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On my lunch thala (Bengali for plate) today was mushuri dal with kalo jeere phoron (tempered with Nigella seeds), Gobindobhog bhaat (ordered it from Bio Basics) with Bonolokhi gawa ghee (bought from Viswa Bangla at the Kolkata airport), fulkopir dalna (cauliflower curry) and maach bhaaja – mandeli (anchovies) smeared with turmeric, chilli powder and salt, shallow fried in mustard oil.

Dal, rice, vegetables (at times a fry and/ or a curry), fish fry and/ or curry, rice was the basic structure of most of my meals at home while growing up. Except when fish was not there and an egg was brought into play. Omelette, fried egg, or dalna/ jhol (curry/gravy). Meat was a once a week affair and affordability played a big role. At night we’d often have roti, a legume and sabzi. Fish would never be served with roti. Chicken or egg would work.

 

As I tell people, the average Bengali meal is perhaps 80 per cent vegetarian if you put all the components of a meal together. This holds true through large parts of eastern India I believe. Odisha, the plains of Assam, Bihar, Tripura too.
If you count the number of vegetarian dishes that we have in our repertoire, versus the number of fish and meat dishes, I suspect that the former will outweigh the latter. That the vegetarian dishes are not well known is perhaps somewhat thanks to us Bengali men. It’s fair to say that we were more excited about the meaty bits and are more likely to machh, mangsho, chingri than shaak, dal, shobji.

 

If one looks at it from a dietary and not religious perspective, the definition of vegetarian and the ‘non’ is not as black and white in Bengal as it is in the western world. In the west a meal could be all about the steak, or fish or crustacean with some potatoes or salads thrown in as window dressing. Vegetarianism there is a lifestyle choice. You are not born into it.
The Bengali non-vegetarian eats a fair bit of greens etc.
Not always willingly.
As they grow older, their gut teaches them the value of acceptance when it comes to vegetables.
Or maybe that’s just me!

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  • Irene says:

    The gut bit is so true Kalyan. I learnt it at 38 almost two years back while my brother has started toeing the same line. At 32, mind you 😀

  • chutneylover says:

    Hi Kalyan,

    I’m slowly realizing the above. Though when I went to Calcutta a few yrs back & asked for a local vegetarian meal or restaurants, I was told there was none. Was super disappointed though now I know better

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