THE BONGS ARE HERE, SO CAN GASTRONOMY BE FAR BEHINDA

This is a throwback to the roots, a wandering back to the original homeland, and yet a little opportunity to celebrate the arrival of the Bengali gravy train - to Goa, with the taste and flavours of the land whose spirit is so close to our Goem.

But like good Bengalis, let’s go forward only after a back-ground.

The British, as we know, with their regalia and finery, moved across the colonies and set up bases in towns as their spread their wings and their cuisine. While they are long gone, in body but not in spirit, one of the last set of Indians who very charmingly have allowed remnants of the raj remain in their speech and deportment are the Bengalis.

They feast on British literature, poetry, their games and mannerisms and of course grow the same tea that the British did on the hill slopes of Darjeeling. The Bengali brown sahibs like their summers in ole blighty, watch a game or two at Wimbledon, some cricket (only in traditional whites thank you) at Lords, with the customary gin and tonic, a play or two in Westend or Drury lane in Covent Garden, and of course the high tea with scones, the delicately cut cucumber sandwiches or the ham and cheese variety. And when not in England, the British raaj clubs in Calcutta – Tollygunge, the Bengal and the Calcutta club, are signposts of British royalty now fiercely guarded by the Bengali sahibs. It is in Calcutta where the Raj meets the Bengali royalty and so does cuisine.

It is over time that British influences touched Bengali cuisine and a touch of Bengal went back to Britain. And a direct off shoot of the raj influence is the kabiraji cutlet. The art of breading and frying was brought in by the British and the French.

The influence of the British Raj is clearly seen in this recipe. This is of course, a spicier version of the British cutlet. The chicken or the prawn cutlet is made the way cutlets are made with some Bengali touches and then each cutlet is dipped into beaten egg, then coated with dry breadcrumbs and fried.

The British of course have taken the kasundi, the Bengali verison of the tangy mustard, back to England and admit that their British mustard is not a patch on this. And yes, some influenced sahibs of the raaj era (as well as those who have Bengali friends in parts of London) love the ‘jhuri bjaha’ where the potato is shredded to bits and friend in deep oil, a tastier version of the so called “chips”. But we digress here.

So this “back ground” is just an excuse to ramble on about Bengali food, with no apparent reason, but it does actually have a reason. Like the travellers and wanderers the British are, the Bengalis are no different. You are as likely to see a Bengali in the Golden temple at Amritsar or the mall in Darjeeling with his monkey cap and muffler, as you would in Krakow in Poland, again in monkey cap and muffler. But unlike travellers, their food hasn’t moved around in as rapid a pace but there are serious attempts at changing this. Anjan Chatterjee, was the first who decided to make ‘Oh Calcutta’, his restaurant brand, travel through the country giving many quite the first taste of Bengali cuisine, which by the way is not just river fish in mustard. In Calcutta too, simply because the ladies cook so magnificently at home, you do not find the town peppered with Bengali restaurants.

Bengali sweets though have travelled. Just opposite the famous Koshis in Bangalore, stands KC Das. In 1972, Sharat Charan Das, the grandson of the man who invented the rossogulla, moved part of the K.C. Das establishment to Church Street. But the later day family members like Biren Das, did entertain at home giving Bangalore folk of home cooked Bengali food like shukto and channar daal.

It is from Bangalore that another home grown Bengali food chain ‘Bangaliyana’, has now moved to Goa. Its owner, the sixty something very young Mr Ghosh, has opened Goa’s first Bangaliyana at Porvorim on the Chogm road after his chain of restaurants in his adopted town Bangalore. Akto is a traditional Bengali dish made many vegetables & at least one bitter vegetable with a pinch of sugar to adjust the bitterness. Without this typical Bengali menu is just incomplete. And though it’s early days yet, the shukto on his menu is very traditional. Sukto is a traditional Bengali dish made with many vegetables & at least one bitter vegetable with a pinch of sugar to adjust the bitterness. Without this no Bengali menu is complete. Bitter gourd, brinjal, flat beans, five spices, mustard, all go into this and its had at the start of the meal even before daal. The Bengalis are strict with their course by course eating. Like the Brits of course.

A meal was had with dear Mr Ghosh this week, as he was down from Bangalore to supervise the cooking here. The kosha mangsho, the light fish curry (known as macher jhaal), the brinjal fry and the mango chutney was wolfed with pleasure. And the shukto of course

For the record, the Bengali menu served in royal households of Bengal and can still be had in brass utensils and has this without fail: steamed rice, shukto, dal, bhaja, luchi,(fluffy puris) two vegetable curries, fish, chicken, mutton, chutney, papad, sweet curd and paan.

Bangaliyana, in Goa almost replicates that.

Like all good bongs, it’s now time for the after meal ritual, a burrp and lots of sleep.