About Bangladeshi Food

Origins and Influences

Proper tiger prawns, known as golda chingri in Bengali.
Not all households in Bangladesh will actually eat these,
magnificent as they are.

Bangladeshi cuisine involves a lot of rice and lentils, and to a lesser extent fish. Rice is often substituted with flat breads like ruti and parata, especially for breakfast. Supplementing these are 'bhortas', which is the Bengali word for mash. Bangladeshi cuisine involves a lot of different types of mash, made not only from potatoes but also various other vegetables, lentils and even fish. The most commonly eaten meats are chicken, beef and mutton, but to a much lesser extent than any other food group due to the price of meat.

Regional variations exist, of course. Near the coast, people eat more sea fish and seafood in general. I'm not sure of what's cooked in a typical household, but restaurants around the port city of Chittagong serve curried lobster and crab. And of course, most of what I've written is from the perspective of a Bengali, because I don't know much about the cuisine of the various indigenous communities of Bangladesh. 

Some things I've grown up hearing is that in Bangladesh fish is usually cooked fresh from raw, rather than being fried in oil first as is often done in India. Vegetable and lentil dishes are also usually simpler when compared to Indian cuisine. And I'm pretty sure facts get even more hazy here, but a lot of people say our meat and kebab dishes have Mughal origins. 

While my mom was growing up, cooking would be done with a set variety of spices and at a push, buttermilk. Nowadays people use a myriad of new ingredients that weren't readily available back then like cream and yoghurt. In the past, bay leaves would have been one of the few herbs used in the kitchen, but mint and coriander are quite common too now. Even a few years ago people wouldn't eat mushrooms, although recently they've become a bit of a craze in homes as well as restaurants. 

Eating Styles

Bangladeshi food is never served in courses. There's be nothing like an appetiser, main course and dessert at a Bangladeshi table, even though food is often served in this manner at purported Bangladeshi restaurants. 

A meal starts with salty food, eaten in a particular order. Vegetables go first, followed by fish and then meat. Even with meat, there is often an order and poultry would be eaten before any red meats. All of these dishes would be accompanied by rice or bread, but traditionally never both. Other side dishes would be eaten alongside them, but the label side dish can be vague. Lentil soups, pickles or even kebabs may be considered side dishes depending on context. Of course, a typical everyday meal wouldn't include all of the food groups - multiple or all food groups being present in a meal suggests a special occasion. 

Salty food is followed by sweet food. Here things are much simpler and there's no particular order to follow. Multiple dessert dishes would usually only be served during special occasion meals. Everyday meals wouldn't usually even be accompanied by dessert, or dessert may be simpler dishes like sweet pickles or fruits. 

A Bangladeshi meal is an informal affair, especially when considering some of the more frigid restaurants in Europe (though thankfully in the UK we seem to be moving away from this!). Food is traditionally eaten with fingers, especially at home and even at dinner parties or formal events. Thorough hand-washing is de rigueur before and after every meal. The only exception to all of this are restaurants that serve foreign food, where cutlery will be provided and guests will be expected to use it.