Election and food debate in West Bengal
Elections are being held in four states and one union territory of the country, but the attention of the national media is focused on Machh-Bhat and Jhalmuri of West Bengal. Memes are being made of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while former Union Minister Anurag Thakur is seen eating fish. Bharatiya Janata Party candidates are also campaigning with fish in their hands. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says that if BJP comes to power in Bengal, the troubles of Bengalis will end. At present, the image of Bengal has become such that only Maach-Bhaat and Jhalmuri are eaten there.
Relationship between food and geography
Food is related to geography, and this is often overlooked. For example, when Tejashwi Yadav and Mukesh Sahni eat fish during Navratri in Bihar, it irritates the Prime Minister. At the same time, candidates in Bengal roam around with fish to show that BJP is not against non-vegetarian food. At present, ‘Mach-Bhaat’ has become a topic of discussion in the media.
Other popular dishes of Bengal
People are trying to prove how great carnivores they are. It seems that if you come to Kolkata and don’t eat fish, you have done nothing. But if you think Bengal has only non-veg dishes, you are wrong. There are many other dishes in Bengal that people love.
Animesh Mukherjee, Writer, Itihas Ki Thali:-
The attitude towards non-vegetarian food in Bengal is different from other parts of the country. People here are comfortable with non-vegetarian food. While in other states the sale of meat reduces during Navratri and Sawan, its consumption increases during these days in Bengal. Here, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food is easily available in the same hotel.
Special dishes of Bengal
When you come to Bengal, you decide for yourself what to eat.
- Puchka: A famous dish of North Bengal, which is different from Pani-Puri or Golgappa. Its taste is spicy potato and sweet and sour water.
- Shortbread Peas: Street food of Kolkata, stuffed with fresh peas and spices.
Animesh Mukherjee:-
There are two types of food in Bengal. The food of East and West Bengal is different. Potato cultivation is good here and many potato dishes are famous.
- Potato-Potto: This dish is very popular in Bengal. Posto means poppy seeds, which is prepared in many ways.
- Calcutta Biryani: It contains both potatoes and meat, which makes it special.
- Water chestnut: This is the samosa of Bengal, which is different in taste.
History of Samosa
‘One thing you should know about samosas’
Animesh Mukherjee, Writer, Itihas Ki Thali:-
Samosa was a nomadic food, a handy snack for long journeys.
When has the samosa arrived?
Samosa came to India between the 12th and 14th centuries, coming from Iran and West Asia.
sweets of bengal
- Sweet: Chhena sweets like Rajbhog and Malai Chamcham are very popular in Bengal.
- Chinese food of Calcutta: People of Chinese origin still live in Kolkata and the history of Indo-Chinese food is more than 100 years old.
social acceptability of food
‘The food that is easily available has social acceptability’
Where grains are easily available, there are more vegetarian people, whereas where there are water sources, there are more non-vegetarians. The ease with which non-vegetarian food is available in Bengal is less than elsewhere.
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