External influence on Bengali cuisine

Arindam Sarkar

For centuries, the Bengali cuisine, whether served buffet or A la Carte, has been influenced by the nawabs, foreign settlers and the colonizers.

The staple fish and meat served with lentils and vegetables is a multi-course dish peculiar to the eastern part of South Asia. And the modern “service” structure is “a’ la russe style” of French cuisine where the food is served course-wise rather than all at a time.

Between 1757 and 1947, immigrants such as the French, Dutch, Portuguese, Jews, Chinese, Afghans and the British settled in and around Kolkata and influenced Bengali cuisine.

Murshid Quli Khan became the first Nawab of Bengal under the Mughals in 1717. With the nawab and the Mughal courts came the Mughlai cuisine or Moglai food dipped in rich sauces, marinated in rich spices and fares that saw an extensive use of meat.

In 1856, along with the last Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, who was exiled to Metiabruz, came the famous Awadhi cuisine to Kolkata. It is said the nawab brought with him hundreds of bawarchis, khansamas and masalchis. Deriving from the Mughal cuisine, Awadh preferred meat to beef and generously used ittar (essence) of rose and kewra.

The Nawabs of Dhaka also influenced the culinary style. Their bawarchis were famous for cooking Sutli kebab, Bihari kebab, Boti kebab, etc., made from marinated mutton and beef. They cooked breads mixed with cheese, minced meat and spices.

One of the famous dishes of the Nawab of Dhaka is the Kachchi Biryani, which is said to be better than the biryanis of Delhi and Lucknow but inferior to that of Hyderabad.

It is said the generous use of spices, meat and ghee in the Bengali cuisine came from the courts of the nawabs.

“Local cuisine has always been influenced by the movement of people, who have either settled or lived at a place for sometime. They have left behind their culinary influence,” believes Chef Joy Banerjee of Bohemian.

“From the Portuguese we learnt to make chhana (cheese), French taught us to bake paurooti (bread), chingri malai curry is imported from Thailand and dolma potol from the Armenians,” said Chef Joy Banerjee.

Later on, it is the Baghdadi Jews who set up Kolkata’s famous Jewish Bakeries. The Anglo-Indians also influenced Bengal’s cuisine but their culinary skill is slowly dying. Cakes and puffed patties are delicacies that originated from the famous Jewish bakeries. The British introduced chops and cutlets, which still flourishes in North and South Kolkata.

“Street food is very much a characteristic of Kolkata. Many say their origin can be traced to the Chinese and the Marwaris, before Bengalis started setting up eateries on pavements” claims restaurateur Anjan Chatterjee.

But gone are the days of external influence. Consolidated as a delicacy with a specific flavour and taste, Bengali food is now coming out of the home kitchens and hitting the restaurants in a big way. More than a dozen fine-dining restaurants are today doing business exclusively by serving Bengali fare in the city.

Kolkata is now home to Chinese, Mediterranean, Lebanese, Mexican, Thai, Korean, Middle-Eastern, Continental, Japanese, Bangladeshi and Indian –especially Bengali – cuisine.