Have you ever noticed how the taste buds behave according to the change in seasons?
Even a decade back I was a cha-khor , that is, a person addicted to tea. From six to eight cups a day I have now brought the consumption down to two – morning and evening. However, in the extreme heat of summer by evening my craving for tea vanishes.
But as rain splatters on the window panes, I have an irresistible urge to have a cuppa more soon after my usual early morning one. I resist that temptation but as Didi (elder sister) says the soul should not be unnecessarily tormented I have that tantalising second cup this morning. As I have boiled tea it is stimulating but at the same time kadak or strong on the palate.
The uniqueness of Indian (especially Bengali) cuisine is that the same dish can be prepared in a spicier as well as milder way depending upon the weather. In hot summer I hanker after a paatla maachher jhol – fish in a translucent gravy. Whereas in extreme winters the taste buds salivate over a maachher jhaal that is a fish curry made with lots of green chillies.
Another staple in Bengali households (of course mine as well) in the summers is posto or poppy seed paste which is used as a main ingredient in potato and many seasonal vegetable curry. It can also be had as it is with hot rice or as fried bodas or round shaped dumplings with a binding of the all-purpose floor. No, it doesn’t give a high but Posto is a great relaxant. Mustard paste or shorshe is another indispensable ingredient in curries and gravies – tangy and slightly bitter to taste it leaves a tingling sensation on the tongue.
As in many North Indian dishes, onion, ginger , garlic, diced or ground to a paste, form the basic masala or ingredient in Bengali cuisine as well. However, Bengal also has a wide variety of vegetarian cuisine which is less talked about. As the watery vegetables confidently march inside the kitchen in summer , the basic masala changes from the heat generating onion-ginger-garlic combo to a more soothing summary mix of ginger-tomato-asophoetida-cumin seed paste.
The choice of vegetables changes too with the change in seasons. The gourd family – bottle gourd, sponge gourd, bitter gourd, pointed gourd, ridge gourd, apple gourd – and the pumpkin family – green and red – become the summer ‘frontliners’ while in winter a yearning for chicken, egg, fish takes over. The cooking becomes spicier too in comparison with summer’s lighter versions which in Bong lingo is called haalka, that is, which does not put much pressure on the stomach.
Another summer essential in my kitchen is raw green mango which is used for pickles and chutneys, in curries as a vegetable and also as an ingredient in red lentil for that lip smacking toker daal. So is tamarind which I have rediscovered this season in tangy fish curry or maachher tok.
The South Indian Sambar (a lentil variant) is by itself a one pot meal which I relish with rice in humid afternoons. But what I have really taken a fancy to is the probiotic curd rice and the Nepali aaloo chukauni (recipe posted earlier).
The rich North Indian gastronomical delights with a few experimental side dishes gatecrash as winter knocks on the door.
But as of now, let me slurp over a bowl of paanta bhaat – boiled rice soaked in water and kept in the fridge overnight – with a helping of dim aloo sheddho – boiled potato and egg mashed with clarified butter/mustard oil, diced onion, coriander leaves and green chillies. The egg is replaceable by boiled bitter gourd anytime.
What a beautiful journey through flavours, memories, and seasons. I love how food carries so much more than taste. It carries culture, family, and moments in time.
Living on a small tropical island, we don’t really experience the dramatic seasonal changes you describe, so my taste buds probably don’t respond in quite the same way. But I can definitely relate to how certain foods bring comfort and how we naturally crave different things at different moments.
Your descriptions of the teas, spices, and traditional dishes truly made me feel like I was sitting at the table sharing the experience. Thank you for taking us along on this delicious journey!
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Thank you dear for reading the post. I am glad we could cross oceans and sit across and be in each other’s world.
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It is indeed amazing…even mind blowing when I embrace the reality that people are reading my posts from countries that I will only see on YouTube. 😃
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I agree. It gives goosebumps when I interact with people across continents and that we understand each other perfectly through our posts.
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Summer months are curd rice or should I say watered down buttermilk! Growing up I never knew about Bengali dishes other than sweets. Now internet has exposed so many. What oil do you use in Bengali cooking?
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Mostly mustard oil. But when frying it’s white oil.
I make raita which is as watery as butter milk.
But then there are some fries in which the nutty flavour of mustard oil really goes well. I guess, depends from dish to dish.
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It all sounds wonderful. I love hot and spicy food. 👍🏻👌🏻
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Wow!! That’s great. There are scores of Indian recipes available on You Tube.
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What a delicious reminder that seasons change our hearts as much as our plates. 🌧️🍲
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We are also Nature’s children but we are so wrapped up that we have forgotten that we are.
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So true. We spend so much time trying to conquer nature that we forget we belong to it. 🌿
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Great reminder of all that we tend to miss out in our everyday hassles. Rain comes and goes without even noticing beyond traffic jams and water logging.
Aloo-jhinge posto, kumro bhaja, baiguni, gobindobhog rice, and bhaja moong dal with lau, that was today’s lunch since we didn’t step out and enjoyed the rain indoors 😄!
To make the rainy days feel better, I’m hoping a few extra cups of tea with pyazi and baiguni will be perfectly acceptable for evening snacks 😉!
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I am ravenous Chetna. This is a torment – reading about my fav dishes and not tasting them.
While writing the post pyaanji came to mind several times.
Now I know “Aamader telepathyr jor aachhe” – to borrow that iconic Feluda dialogue!!
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Shotti 😄❤️.
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BTW are you married into a Bong family?
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Look, you’re now thinking like Feluda too😄.
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Sorry, if you find that inquisitive.
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Not at all. I was just joking. Yes, I’m married into a Bengali family, and my own family too has deep-rooted Bong connections 😊.
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Wasn’t my hunch right Topshe….?
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😅
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Such a warm and relatable read. Now I’m craving a comforting bowl of seasonal food! 😊
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Believe me after writing a good blog I am down with hunger pangs. 😂
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Such a relatable read, I resonate with the tea part so intensely! I dislike hot, humid evenings simply because I can’t enjoy my evening cup. My inner child squeals in joy when its rainy, cozy evening, just so that I can enjoy my tea moment! 😊
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I second that unequivocally
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I’m always up for a curry, leaning more towards fish in later life
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Yes, fish has all the right supplements for the body. Thank you so much Derrrick 🙏
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I resonate with tea and the aamer daal. Even now when at work, although I may have had my morning tea, when I stare out and look at the grey clouds like an antenna my mind signals another cup of tea!
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Yes, isn’t it ?
That tok daal is my favourite.
And now my throat is asking for a cup of evening dose.
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Gosh, sounds delicious!
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Thank you very much Chris. I wish I could offer you some.
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How interesting.
You’ve opened a window into the Bengali kitchen for me. I haven’t had the chance to try any of these dishes yet. It looks like we should start planning a trip to Kolkata.
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Good idea…
You’ll get to know more than cuisine
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Kashmir is witnessing high temperatures and 90 percent humidity and definitely it has an impact on what we eat.
I continue to be a chai-khor no matter how hot the weather is.
Watermelon and lassi are my favourites in summer.
From childhood we have heard not to cook fish in months which do not bear R in their name- don’t know whether it is a myth or it has something to do with high temperature.
We never cook fish in a milder way,it is the most spicy dish cooked together with collard green,radish, Tomato and Lotus stems.
Bitter gourd is my favourite.
Dim aloo reminded me of Dum aloo,a dish mostly prepared by Kashmiri pandits
मज्जा ही आ गया पोस्ट पड़ते पड़ते ,अब एक चाय हो जाये☕
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The culinary legacy of a region is deeply interrelated with its geographical terrain, climactic conditions and availability of edible products.
The rationale behind not having fish for a certain number of months in a year must be hidden somewhere in these factors….?
However, what puzzles me most is the complete absence of the heat producing onion garlic from Kashmiri Wazwaan considering the harsh winters of the state…!
Is pe a chat over chai ho jaaye….
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Onion,garlic and shallot are a must for fish,that made me skipping the mention.
All other things are optional.
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Ok…. that’s something new because I have had dishes which only had saunth , saunf and garam masala
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Geeta Ji,the Tridev(Onion,garlic and shallot) are a must for kashmiri wazwan.
Women peel them days before the actual day of wedding ,the ceremony is named a Rohan Pran shaerun(peeling of garlic and shallot), celebrated with singing kashmiri songs.
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Is there a difference in ingredients in cuisines of the pandits ?
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They use asafoetida,which gives their cuisines a strong smell
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You make a good point about taste changing with the seasons, Geeta. It’s definitely true here in the US, as well.
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Yes, it must be, Mary because we humans are also shaped by Nature. Thank you for your insightful comment.
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What a delightful post… The descriptions made me hungry …
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Thank you so much. You are most welcome to join the party.
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Thank you…. I’ll be right over 🤪😂🤣
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Geeta these dishes sound so yummy. Except for the fish curry ( my husband would love them but not me!) I love how all the vegetables dishes sound. Perhaps I’ll give it a try soon.
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Yaayy! Let me know …. Let me know how they turn out…and if you want any trucks and tips I am there!!!
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Great. I’ll have to ask for expert advice from you.
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Not expert but advice on jugaad – essentially short cuts – I excel in that! 😂
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👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
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Tea? That’s one of my favourite subjects 🙂 Yes, I’m a mild addict as well. Green tea, Matcha, fruit tea, black tea…and yes, our taste buds seem to change with the seasons, but some things are always the same all year round 😛 Great post!
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Yes, you are right. Some things remain perennial. Some walk in and out with seasons.
Thank you very much for reading and commenting.
I cherish your presence.
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I love that; perennial. Walk in and walk out with seasons. So well placed!👌
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Thank you so much authorfleurl. Seasons teach us so many things if we care to learn.
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💯 they certainly do.
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