I grew up in Delhi and am half Bihari half Bengali. If there is one beverage in my DNA, it is Tea! The strong, brewed and with some milk variety.
‘Regular’ chai is a constant in my house and in the house of everyone I have grown up with. No morning starts without a nice cup of tea. For many, tea is also needed through the day, especially in the afternoon.
One of my favourite versions of chai is the one with ginger – Adrak Chai. Strong, aromatic and slightly spicy. Tea for the soul!
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 🙂
Continue reading “Kasundi Chicken (Chicken with a Bengali mustard sauce)”
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