THE FOOD MEME

Sukanya has tagged me for a food meme.

Here are a list of my favorite foods (in no particular preferential order):

1. Daal-Bhat: The staple food of the Bengalis are plain rice and a curry of pulse called daal. These two inexpensive dishes are very common in the daily cuisine of rich poor alike. There are many ways to cook daal and there are many varieties of daal. But I particularly like Moshur daal that is cooked in my home with small potion of turmeric (some like it more) and in many instances, especially when I am hungry I find that there is no alternative to fill your stomach if you take it hot.

2. Bhaja Ilish: Hilsha or Ilish is the national fish of Bangladesh. It tastes like salmon. I like to eat Hilsha fry (a little hard fried) with rice and green chili.

3. Kachchi Biriyani: This is one variant of Biriyani, which is very popular in the Indian sub-continent. Biriyani carries the legacy of the Mughal cuisine. I simply adore it when cooked with Basmati (a type of rice) and accompanied by Borhani (another drink delicacy made with sour yoghurt & black pepper).

4. Mutton Paya soup: Great for breakfast with bread when my mother-in-law cooks it.

5. Bhapa Pitha : Rural Bangladesh is famous for many kinds of pithas (cakes) made with rice and molasses. But the best is Bhapa Pitha, a
steam-baked winter cake. Crashed rice dust is filled with coconut flakes and pieces of molasses and shaped in a small cup and placed on a steamer pot (usualy cloth over a water-filled cooking pot) and the lid is put on for some minutes. Voila, you have Bhapa Pitha; enjoyed best fresh from the pot in a chilly temperature. The street side Bhapa Pitha stalls are ubiquitous in winter nights in Bangladeshi towns.

6. Singara: A kind of appetizer taken with tea in leisure times or with the main course.

7. Murighanta: A mixed thick gravy of fish-head or boned pieces of fish and mung daal boiled together taken with rice.

8. Tom Yam Soup (spicy Thai soup): My favorite to order in a restaurant. Comes with lots of choices, like sea food or chicken.

9. Kofta : A delicacy of the Indian sub-continent But also popular in Egypt.

10. Lassi : As a drink I like lassi a bit sour not the usual sweet kind widely available in Bangladesh.

Last of all I think the common foods can be made exceptionally delicious with expert cooking. And there is of course the issue of choosing the right food for the right occasion.

For some more insight into Bangladeshi cooking please read this.

I now tag Nitin as the next victim of the food meme. He once told me that he started his blog as a food blog.