What? No mangshor jhol bhaat (mutton curry rice) on a Bengali food blogger’s #sundaylunch thala (#thali) Instagram post?
Cancel him right now!
Moong dal, kumro korola (orange pumpkin & bitter gourd) sautéed in mustard oil and panch phoron. Rice (albeit #basmati and not short grained rice). Topped with gawa ghee. Caramelised cow’s milk ghee from Bengal. A slice of lemon instead of pickle. Greek yogurt. A relatively less hot green chilli. That was my lunch today.
I call this my #adultingthala
I do plan to have mangshor jhol at night. I might get cancelled yet again by my community if they find out that we plan to have chicken and not mutton curry. Mangsho means mutton/ goat meat. Definitely not poultry.
How is this even a subject for a post?
Pumpkin and bitter gourd are both vegetables that I would not touch as a kid. The only ‘acceptable’ vegetable for me was alu (potato).
And Sunday lunch without meat (it was largely chicken in our house) would seem like the end of the world.
Makes sense now?
