Kasundi Chicken (Chicken with a Bengali mustard sauce)

I might not be able to speak Bengali or know too much about Bengali culture (I try), but I sure as hell LOVE Bengali food. I have eaten a fair bit of it growing up, especially at my grandmom’s house. My aunts, to this day, feed me at least some Bengali food when I visit them. I make some Bengali food at home now and am constantly looking to add more to my repertoire.

Even though I have barely spent any time in Kolkata (where I was born), Bengali food to me is extremely synonymous to home. To comfort. To nostalgia. To deliciousness.

When I go to a Bengali restaurant, I am always keen to try new things and also to try my absolutely rubbish broken Bengali 🙂 I guess this is a way for me to connect to that part of my heritage.

One thing that screams Bengali food is Kasundi. Kasundi is this pungent, spicy, fermented mustard sauce that is integral to Bengali cuisine. It is used as a dip or as part of a curry and it just explodes in your mouth with each bite. It is potent, believe me! It is also extremely delicious! The only other remotely similar flavour bomb is wasabi, in my opinion.

This chicken dish uses Kasundi in the curry and is pretty damn tasty 🙂

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Matar Mushroom (Peas and Mushrooms)

There are some people I know, who don’t like peas. Call them characterless. Whyyy guys, whyyyy???

I find peas amazing in every form! My sister and I used to eat them raw, fresh from the pods when we were kids. There is a common Bihari snack which is roasted flattened rice with pan fried masala peas (ghugni) on the side. It is key to one of my favourite breakfasts – poha. Peas also add this lovely sweetness and texture to many Indian main courses – with paneer, potatoes, minced meat and so on. This recipe is all about peas and mushrooms!

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