A Full Bengali Feast with Friends

Name: A Full Bengali Feast with Friends
Cuisine: Bangladesh
Ingredients: red lentils: 2 cups; water: 6 cups; turmeric: 3/4 tsp; garlic: 3 cloves; dried fennel: 1/4 tsp; cloves: handful; yellow onion: 1 small; vegetable oil; fresh spinach: 2 lbs; raw shrimp: 2 lbs; garlic: 3; turmeric: 1/2 tsp; salt: to taste; yellow onion: 1 cup; vegetable oil; lime: 1; Chickpea flour: 2 1/2 cups; water: 1 1/2 - 2 cups; zucchini noodles: 1 cup; yellow onion: 1 cup; jalepeno: 1 small; green cabbage: 1 cup; chaat masala: 1 Tbsp; salt: to taste; ketchup: 1/2 cup; turmeric: 1/2 tsp; vegetable oil: a couple quarts; eggs: 12; yellow onion: 1/2 cup; serrano pepper: 1 small

Dahl, Chingri Shaak, Pakora, Deem Bhaji & Pulao

Cuisine:

Bangladesh

Ingredients

For the dahl (lentils)
2 cups red lentils
6 cups water
3/4 tsp turmeric
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp dried fennel
handful cloves
1 small yellow onion
diced
vegetable oil
For the Chingri Shaak (Spinach & Shrimp)
2 lbs fresh spinach
2 lbs raw shrimp
3 garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric
to taste salt
1 cup yellow onion
sliced
vegetable oil
1 lime
Pakora (Vegetable fritters)
2 1/2 cups Chickpea flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups water
1 cup zucchini noodles
1 cup yellow onion
sliced thin
1 small jalepeno
sliced
1 cup green cabbage
shredded
1 Tbsp chaat masala
to taste salt
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp turmeric
a couple quarts vegetable oil
for frying
Deem Bhaji (Omelette)
12 eggs
1/2 cup yellow onion
sliced thin
1 small serrano pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
to taste salt and pepper
for cooking vegetable oil
For the pulao
2 cups dry basmati rice
1 Tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
5 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
3 bay leaves

Directions

I’ve enjoyed all 96 of the countries I’ve cooked from so far, but far and away the most fun experiences have been the ones where someone has come and shown me how to make a family recipe. A friend is always a better teacher than a blog or a cookbook, although as I’ve learned along the way recipes passed down from mama are much harder to fit squarely into an ingredient list or even step-by-step directions. But what’s lost in precision is more than made up for in memories and in stories.

This Bengali feast was no exception. Meet my dear friend Riya, who we have to thank for the recipes and the memories that accompany them! Riya and I have been talking about doing this dinner (also known as the “collab of the century”) for quite some time, and finally got it on the schedule right before before she started fasting for Ramadan.

We got together early in the afternoon to shop together and start with the prep work. Riya is effervescent and hilarious and it was my delight to be her sous chef. And you better believe we had Mama Rahman on speed dial from the moment we stepped into Whole Foods. She helped us with everything from picking out ingredients, figuring out substitutions and cooking each component of our feast.

I asked Riya to tell me a little bit about how she picked the dishes we made and to share any memories that go along with them, and here’s what she had to say:

“This meal was really a household staple. It uses a lot of the same ingredients and turmeric is a consistent theme. It’s not expensive and not meant to be bold or complicated. It’s meant to fill you up and shouldn’t be fussy, and this meal was always in rotation at my parent’s table.

The deem bhaji was the first thing my dad taught me how to make, and I always feel closer to him when I make it. It was a dish he knew how to cook before he really learned how to cook. The rice is always the foundation of a bengali meal, and the daal and shaak complement each other. The squeeze of lime adds a brightness to the whole meal, and was my favorite part as a kid.

The pakora was a special treat for us. You can really use any vegetables you like, and I’ve made it my own with the zoodles. The cabbage is a consistent part and the chickpea flour gives it a completely different texture than using normal flour. This dish represents a mix of my American culture and my Bangladeshi culture. Fried meets American veggies meets tempura meets ketchup and tangy chaat. It’s the best of both worlds and can be adapted to be unique to you.”

These are the beautiful people who were fortunate enough to enjoy it. There’s nothing I love more than smiling faces around my table.

This was such a satisfying meal, and one that I won’t soon forget. As our friends started to arrive, some helped with the cooking, others caught up over wine. We started with the pakora as an appetizer so folks wouldn’t get too peckish. Then all of the dishes were served family style, the beautifully seasoned rice a base for the chingri shaak and the dahl, and the deem bhaji was a huge treat. We sat and talked and lingered over the food, and seconds were definitely encouraged!

One thing that surprised me most is how affordable this meal was to make. It’s very veggie heavy, and as Riya noted a lot of the components overlap. It also didn’t hurt that we both have very stocked spice racks. But at the end of the day, this huge feast cost only $10 / head – and that’s with the impulsive gourmet chocolate binge that Riya and I fell victim to (not a traditional Bengali dessert, but delicious!) And best of all, Courtney and I got to enjoy the leftovers for several days!

Steps

1 Done	Dahl (Lentils) Combine lentils and 4 cups of water in a large sauce pan and cook until water is no longer visible and the lentils are soft. Add a splash of oil to the pan. Add onion and spices and cook until softened and fragrant. Stir the onion into the lentils and blend with an immersion blender. Stir in an additional 2 cups of water and let simmer until the consistency of a thick stew.
2 Done	Chingri Shaak (Spinach & Shrimp) Sauté onion and garlic together with spices in a large sauce, dutch oven or wok. In a separate pan, cook the shrimp until pink, careful not to overcook. Add raw spinach to the onion/garlic mix and cook down, in batches if necessary. Remove excess water from the pan if necessary. Once spinach is completely cooked down, add the shrimp back in. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh squeeze of lime.
3 Done	Pakora (Veggie Fritters) Combine chickpea flour, turmeric and water in a bowl - start with 1 1/2 cup water. Add salt to taste. Stir, adding additional water until it's what Riya refers to as a "thick foundation." I don't wear foundation, so it kind of should look like a textured yogurt. Stir in the shredded veggies. Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan. Drop in small portions (~1/4 cup) of batter into the oil and fry for about 3-5 minutes Remove with a slotted spoon and set on a plate lined with paper towel. Cook in batches. In a small bowl, mix the ketchup and chaat masala - serve alongside pakoras.
4 Done	Deem Bhaji (Desi Omelette) Fry the onions in vegetable oil. Meanwhile, beat eggs and spices in a large bowl with spices. Stir in the cooked onions. Throw in some serrano peppers. Add a generous splash of oil to a large skillet. Once hot, pour in the egg mixture. Cook like you would an omelet. It's okay if it breakfast up a bit when you flip. Serve on a large plate.
5 Done	Pulao (Rice) Cook rice according to package. As it's simmering, add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, bay leaves and cloves. Stir in ghee. Serve as a side to all the other dishes.