FOOD

                                                            FOOD

Every country has its own tradition of foods. Bangladesh has also the same thing. In the sense of food habits, Bangladesh is influenced by the regional variations of her history. Being an outpost of Mughal Empire once, Bangladesh retains its heritage. Bangladesh is famous for rice production which has been the chief occupation of its people. Rice therefore the main food of Bangladesh. The Bangladeshis eat rice, not just a small quantity but a lot. They eat rice every day and at every meal with great testy and spicy curry of vegetables, fishes and meat.

You may not have realized that you may be ate Bangladeshi foods! Many of the restaurants framed in Brick Lane, London are actually Bangladeshi in origin. The same can probably be said for other called Indian restaurants throughout the world when Indian foods have much better branding.

 For the vegetarians Bangladesh is a paradise. Plenty of fresh vegetables are available throughout the year. Among them, winter vegetables are more popular because of their different

preparations and taste. The common vegetables from Bangladesh are Cauliflower, Cabbage, Tomato, Potato, Beans, reddish, Peas, Carrot, Radish, Pumpkin, Eggplant, Drumstick, Bitter-ground, Arum and Arum-root, Bind-weed and many others. Most of the restaurants serve some kinds of vegetable everyday either fried or curry or even Bharta (cereals of various vegetables or fishes dry or fresh with spices that are absolutely delicious).

Generally Bangladeshi take meal in three time a day called Breakfast around 8.00 am, Lunch around 2.00 pm and dinner around 10.00 pm . Besides in evening they take snakes.

In the morning, a farmer or a laborer starts his long day with a breakfast of Panta (plain boiled rice soaked overnight in water and slightly fermented). This watery rice mixed with salt and chilly, either green or fried dry ones but this is not just the only sort of breakfast. Muri (puffed rice) or Chira (flattened rice), or Khoi (popped rice) are other items of a traditional breakfast in most Bangladeshi homes in the rural areas. These are taken with milk, yogurt, seasonal fruits or Gur (a crude form of country sugar).

Wheat based plain bread (may be with oil) is another common item for breakfast. A large number of people of Bangladesh take baked bread and mixed vegetable including egg, various kind of meat, and a hot cup of tea at last of breakfast.

Biriani of Bangladesh

Traditional Foods of Bangladesh

Lunch is the main dish for Bangladeshis. Almost all the Bangladeshis take plain rice in lunch. Most of them take different kinds of vorta and Bhaji (saluted or fried vegetable with green or fried chilly and other spices) are very popular. They also take various kinds of spicy illusive fishes with it. So it is called that Mase vate Bangali (i e the land of rich and fishes). Fish or meat Jhol (liquidated, may be with different kind of vegetables) with plenty of chopped spices and other ingredients Cooked in low heat and for long is typical and an exclusive dish of Bangladesh. Dal (pulse) is must in Bangladeshi tradition in lunch. Adding ground ginger, garlic, onion, cumin, and chili pepper pastes, this dish also included fennel seed, black cumin, methie and so on herbs makes the Bangladeshi traditional meal greatly delicious.

Almost all Bangladeshis take same items of foods in dinner. Dudvat (milk and rice) is very common as the last item of dinner. This is eaten with seasonal fruits like mango, banana or jack fruit or just with Gur (country sugar).

Foods Varieties

During the harvesting season breakfast and evening snakes consist of a great variety of Pithas (rice cakes) of different sizes and shapes, salted or sugary, fried, boiled, sun dried or cooked. The remarkable Pithas are Sandwish, chitoi, dhupi, Pati-Sapta, antasha, pufi, Vapa, pua, various Nakshi Pitha etc. Swandwish pitha (taler pitha) is prepared from a mixture of rice flour, gur and salt, fried in mustard oil. Chitai a paste of rice flour baked in especially designed clay pans. It may be soaked for a day or two in evaporated milk. Pati Sapta is a variety of rolled pancakes with Kheer (great delicious, prepared with milk thickened through continuous boiling) filling. During weddings the bridegroom is given Nakhsi Pithas-carved and decorated rice cakes, which are real tasty.