From Bhog to Mishti

In Bengal, every festival weaves food into devotion. Durga Pujo, the grandest celebration, is not just the worship of a Goddess — it is the homecoming of strength, love and renewal.

The spirit of the pujo shines through in the bhog — a sacred meal of ghee-scented rice and golden moong dal cooked into a hearty khichuri, served with labra (a warm medley of spiced vegetables), crisp beguni (batter-fried eggplant), tangy tomato chutney, and creamy, cardamom-scented gobindobhog rice payesh.

Rare delicacies like chhanar dalna (cottage cheese curry) or dhokar dalna (spiced lentil cakes) occasionally grace the feast, enriching it with warmth, nostalgia, and reverence.

During Narayan Pujo, the humble shinni — a rustic blend of wheat flour, ripe bananas, sugar, and milk — is lovingly mixed by hand, embodying deep, simple faith passed down generations.

Kojagori Lokkhi Pujo fills homes with the soft glow of alpana — intricate rice-paste motifs drawn on the floors to welcome the goddess of prosperity. Offerings include narkel naru, crisp puffed rice, tender chandrapuli, and rare manohara sweets, their sweetness echoing hope and devotion. The goddess of prosperity is welcomed with the purest produce. In Bengal, festive food springs from an agrarian soul, where to feast is to offer, and to eat is to remember.

Do You know?

• Each region in Bengal has its speciality: Sundarbans’ chui jhal spice, North Bengal’s iconic sweets like mishti doi, and Sylhet’s citrusy meat dishes like beef hatkora.
• The Bengali concept of adda — casual, lengthy chats over snacks and tea — highlights food’s role in community bonding and social life.
• Bengali drinks range from fruity shorbot to spiced borhani and the famous Seven Colour Tea of Srimangal.
• Bengalis prize freshwater fish like hilsa, rohu, and catla, cooked in mustard gravies, steamed, or fried — making fish a cultural symbol.

— The author is a Chef at Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi