A Bengali vegetarian classic

Banana blossom paturi

An easy korma for special occasions

Potol in fragrant rice

Bitter gourd and pumpkin stir-fry

Drumsticks in a light vegetable medley

Potatoes in a nutty poppy seed gravy

Pan-fried chicken winglets

Three styles of cabbage fritters

Waste nothing!

A Bengali winter pithe

A chocolate cake for the ages

VIinho de alhos to vindaloo

An old fashioned pudding, with tea-custard sauce

Eaten all over India, this version is unique to Bengal

A strong coffee

Ilish—deep-fried

Hilsa fish steamed in mustard sauce

Crunchy fried chicken in a hot-sour sauce

A creamy, delicate, small potol curry

Creamy, mildly sweet, set rice pudding

A distinctive biryani full of flavour but low on spiciness and heat.

Ultimate Mughlai delicacy of thin slices of lean beef marinated in a nutty rich marinade and slow cooked in fat

A chilled sweet, savoury and sour watery chutney made from small green mangoes with an added kick of pungent mustard oil.

A quick and delicate dal tempered with radhuni, a type of seed that is quite unique to Bengal.

Elegant saffron laden rice koftas—a 100 year old snack from Tagore's niece, Pragyasundari Debi's cookbook.

Bengali special spicy green plantain fritters soaked in a warm gingery curry

Subtle but rich in flavour, chingri malaikari—giant tiger/freshwater prawns cooked in creamy coconut-milk curry—is a Bengali treat.

A bright yellow, sweet Bengali polao redolent with ghee and garnished with fried cashews and raisins.

Ridged-gourd stewed in a mild sauce with coconut, green chillies and nigella seeds.

A fiery mishmash of green banana peels

The most most flamboyant sibling of the mashed potato family, aloo bhorta is the easiest and tastiest thing to make with potato.

Kumro-chingri’r dalna is a warm, mellow, hearty Bengali-style prawn curry with some nutritious pumpkin thrown in for good measure.

Juicy pork slices with hot chillies in every bite, chilli pork can double as a side dish as well as a standalone snack.

Sweet and slightly tart, the tomato-khejur’er chutney popular at wedding feasts, is easy to make and cooks in under 15 minutes.

A good nolen gur’er payesh (Bengali rice pudding) is one with a rich, creamy, silky texture and just the right amount of sweetness.

Bengali-style juicy curried new baby potatoes cooked in a savoury, tangy sauce and sprinkled with green peas.

The classic Calcutta fruitcake—a fixture in many homes around Christmas-time—is a rum-soaked, fruit-and-nut encrusted indulgence.

Deep-fried, puffy bread stuffed with a spiced green-peas-and-hing filling

Savoury-sweet preparation of curried split Bengal gram

Slow-cooked, rich, bengali mutton curry

Spicy, curried snack made with yellow peas

Rice and crunchy veggies with a bengali twist

Calcutta’s most popular and iconic street food

This crispy, tangy, savoury 'chaat' is a popular Calcutta street food dished out by phuchkawalas and is super easy to make.

A hearty Bengali Ilish (Hilsa) curry that takes just six ingredients and 30 minutes to cook.

A Tibetan steamed bread

Ema datshi, the national dish of Bhutan, is an easy-to-make, hearty soup with chilli peppers (‘ema’) and cheese (‘datshi’).

A dry roasted Bengali spice blend

A pan-fried flatbread stuffed with a filling of mashed potatoes

This recipe for hilsa in mustard sauce, steamed in banana-leaf parcels, involves only nine ingredients and is very easy to make.

The Bengali variant of ‘khichdi’ made with roasted moong dal and fragrant gobindobhog rice

A slow-cooked stew of meat, grains, and pulses.

The sub-continent’s favourite snack with a deliciously meaty twist

Pockets of kheer, sealed with a clove, deep fried, and coated with sugar syrup

A spice mix fit for kings!

Hot and spicy, decadent and comforting

These light and airy egg sandwiches à la Calcutta Coffee House make the perfect snack to accompany an evening cup of tea or coffee.

A step-by-step recipe that walks you through the process of making the perfectly fine, crisp, golden potato fries every single time.

A gorgeous-looking traditional Bengali vegetarian dal with roasted yellow mung beans, simmered with cauliflowers, carrots and peas.

A thin, delicate crêpe filled with sweetened, reduced milk or kheer

A sweet, milky, aromatic concoction steeped with orange pekoe tea

Begun or baingan bhaja is a Bengali vegetarian recipe of shallow-fried eggplant disks. Crunchy outside, soft inside. Cooks in 15 minutes!

A simple technique for that much-yearned-for jhurjhure bhaat

A spicy dry cabbage and peas stir-fry

A fragrant blend of three simple spices

A traditional Bengali dish of Prawns or shrimps steamed in a sharp mustard and yoghurt sauce. Takes just 5 minutes to cook in microwave!

The naughtier Indian cousin of the mashed potato-flavoured with ghee or mustard oil and green chllies-a tribute to Bengali love for aloo

Video recipe for traditional Bengali masoor dal tempered with nigella seeds and coriander. Takes 30 minutes to cook and tastes hearty.

The ultimate Bengali egg curry made with duck eggs-boiled, fried golden, then cooked in onion-garlic-ginger-tomato-garam masala sauce.