Every kind of food that I cook, that is rooted in the subcontinent but not specifically in urban Bengali homes, is listed here. I've divided them into vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare, which is woefully inadequate, give the diversity. Still, that distinction probably tops the list of gastronomic preferences, so it veg/non-veg it is. A short description of the dish should help you narrow down what you want.
Vegetarian:
- Versatile bean soup -- a lightly-spiced red kidney-bean soup, that can be with or without meat, thick or thin, hot or mild, depending on what you're in the mood for.
- Dahi vada -- little steamed or fried buns made of ground daal, soaked in a tangy-sweet yogurt sauce.
- Tangy summer yogurt -- flavoured thick yogurt in a cup.
- Daal makhni -- daal transformed into a thick, savoury, butter-flavoured soup. Red kidney-beans and chholar daal.
- Curry puffs, or leftover samosas -- leftover vegetables put into a flour-envelope.
- Sattu Tikka and Parathas -- a tangy-savoury sattu filling in toasted flatbreads, and little sattu pancakes.
- Aloo-matar -- spicy potatoes-and-pea stew.
- Spicy masoor daal -- mushur/masoor daal cooked with tomato and onions, bursting with flavour.
- Aloo Matar Paneer -- fresh cottage cheese, potatoes and green peas in a light red tomato gravy. Vegetables, colour, protein and warmth -- just what the doctor ordered for winter.
Non-vegetarian:
- Keema -- minced or diced meat, seasoned with chilli and spices. Usually as a filling.
- Daal gosht -- ground or minced meat slow-cooked with chholar daal. Spicy, savoury, delicious.
- Biryani -- the queen of edible things. Just go see!
- Tangdi kabab -- spicy roasted drumsticks. To *die* for.
- Chicken Tikka Masala -- A journey to the far-tastier origins of thus colonial invention.
