Bengali Cooking: Seasons and Festivals (Paperback)

~ Chitrita Banerji (Author) "If you ask a Bengali for the shortest description of Bengali food, the answer is likely to be fish and rice, unless you are speaking..." (more)
Key Phrases: West Bengal, East Bengal, Kadam Bhai (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This highly original book takes the reader into kitchens in both Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal by way of the seasons and festivals which have shaped the region's cooking. Chitrita Banerji offers her readers the wonderful recipes of Bengali home-cooking rather than the standard fare of Indian restaurants. it is a vivid and deeply-felt introduction to the life, landscape and culture of the Bengali people. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Serif Publishing; 2nd edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189795929X
• ISBN-13: 978-1897959299
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,090,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite, March 31, 2004

By	Sanjay Choudhuri "intodigital" (Mission Viejo, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For starters, you need to know that I am from Bengal, and good cook books for Bengali food are truly hard to find. And bengali food restaurants are even more rare.

This Bengali cookbook does more than provide recipes. It provides the context for them, which is essential in understanding both the culture and the food. As one of the reviewers has correctly pointed out, the recipes have not been "Americanized" for the busy woman (or man). However, being one who also lives in North America, and has a busy schedule, I have not found the recipes onerous. In fact, they deliver genuine tasting Bengali dishes, just like you would find at home. If you are looking for quick 5-minute recipes, to satisfy a spouse craving Bengali food, this is not the book for you. I doubt if there is any book like that with Bengali food recipes.

This book's true value is in understanding how and why certain foods are eaten in Bengal at different times of the year (based on seasonal events and availability of ingredients). The finer subleties of food differences between Bengalis from West Bengal (now in India) and East Bengal (now Bangladesh) also shows up in this book, but will be lost to most people who are themselves not from Bengal. One of my parents is from East Bengal/ Bangaldesh, while the other is from West Bengal. So I had the added pleasure of reading about her adventures in dealing with these differences.

In summary, the recipes here are authentic (I have tried many), and some are unique - not found elsewhere but by word of mouth. An absolute must for a Bengali food lover, maybe not for most others with no or little connection to Bengal.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Captures the Imagination!, October 17, 1999

By A Customer

Bengal through the seasons comes to life on every page. The author's descriptions and anectodes of life growing up in Bengal and Bangladesh are a delight to read. I will say though, that unless someone has quite a lot of experience with Indian ingredients and techniques the recipes will be difficult, but this in no way changes the fact that this is a wonderful book to add to your collection.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, October 31, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been away from my homeland of Bengal for years and this book brings back so many memories of forgotten foods, the seasons, the festivals, the general Bengali lifestyle. It's the best "spur-of-the-moment" purchase I've made in a long time!