Bengali Food

I was first introduced to Bengali cuisine by my friend Ishita Saha, the founder of the beautiful magazine “Food e Mag”, whose passion to the topic always pulls me in. Before then, I had always thought that it was typical ‘Indian food’. With time I came to learn that Bengali cuisine, although belongs to the Indian cuisine, is very unique with its own flavour palate, and very much different from the typical definition of Indian cuisine. In fact, it was not until a few years ago that I actually knew that when it comes to Indian cuisine, the varieties differ hugely from one area to another, at times sounding like separate cuisines altogether. Through my interactions with Ishita Saha and a few other Bengali people I met here in Dubai, I was introduced to the cuisine and its unique components, and with time developed a special appreciation for the food.

Luchi is traditional Bengali bread that Ishita showed me how to prepare. It is delicious, and works very well with a variety of the spicy Bengali dips. Here is how it is made, watch the video to see how it’s done and listen to Ishita talk to us about her roots.

Ingredients

Serves: 15
  • Flour – 1 cup
  • White Oil – 2 tbsp for the dough
  • White Oil – 2 cups for deep frying
  • Sugar – a pinch
  • Baking Soda – a pinch

Making the Dough

Add the White Oil, Sugar, Baking Soda to the Flour and start kneading by sprinkling water very frequently. Knead into a smooth and soft ball, then place it in a container and keep it covered for at-least 30 minutes.

Knead the Dough once again just before you start making the individual Luchi pieces. Then pull out small amounts of dough and make smooth, round balls in your palms (each ball should be 1 inch in diameter).

Flatten these balls by using a rolling-pin into circles of 4-5 inches in diameter.

(perfect circles can be made by flattening the small balls and placing a sharp-edged round glass or bowl on top and cutting off the excess – that’s cheating but worth the aesthetic appeal!)

Frying the Luchi

Heat the oil in a Wok (If the oil is not very hot the Luchis won’t puff up. They will become crispy and flat

Slide in each flattened flour into the hot oil and after a few seconds press it with your ladle. Immediately the Luchi should puff up. Turn it over and immediately take it off the oil (as shown in the video).

Note that each Luchi has to be deep-fried separately.

 

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