Bangladeshi cuisine

Bangladeshi cuisine is rich and varied with the use of many spices. We have delicious and appetizing food, snacks, and sweets. Boiled rice is our staple food. It is served with a variety of vegetables, curry, lentil soups, fish and meat. Fish is the main source of protein. Fishes are now cultivated in ponds. Also we have fresh-water fishes in the lakes and rivers. More than 40 types of fishes are common. Some of them are carp, rui, katla, magur (catfish), chingri (prawn or shrimp). Shutki or dried fishes are popular. Hilsa is very popular among the people of Bangladesh. Panta ilish is a traditional platter of Panta bhat. It is steamed rice soaked in water and served with fried hilsha slice, often together with dried fish, pickles, lentil soup, green chilies and onion. It is a popular dish on the Pohela Boishakh. The people of Bangladesh are very fond of sweets. Almost all Bangladeshi women prepare some traditional sweets. ‘Pitha’a type of sweets made from rice flour, sugar syrup molasses and sometimes milk, is a traditional food loved by the entire population. During winter Pitha Utsab, meaning pitha festival is organized by different groups of people. Sweets are distributed among close relatives when there is good news like births, weddings, promotions etc. 74 English For Today Sweets of Bangladesh are mostly milk based. The common ones are roshgulla, sandesh, rasamalai, gulap jamun, kal jamun and chom-chom. There are hundreds of different varieties of sweet preparations. Sweets are therefore an important part of the day-to-day life of Bangladeshi people.