West Bengal is in Eastern India. It spans from the Himalayan range in the north to Bay of Bengal in the south. Its capital is Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta). Calcutta was earlier the capital of British India. While the capital moved to New Delhi, Calcutta remained the capital of West Bengal.
Kolkata is well known for the grand colonial architectures such as the Victoria Memorial Hall. Fort William, Belur Math, Writer’s Building, Howrah Bridge etc.
Kolkata’s “Durga puja’ has been included in the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO”. It is one of the most popular traditional festivals for the Bengalis. The festival symbolises victory of good over evil as seen Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura. Families unite to pay homage to the divine feminine power during this festival. The festival normally falls during the period September -October.
West Bengal shares international borders with Bhutan in the north , Bangladesh in the east and Nepal in the west. Within India, the state is bordered by Sikkim in the north, Assam in the east, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar in the west and Bay of Bengal in the south.
Food:
Rice and fish are the staple and the most popular food of West Bengal. They love sweets too. West Bengal is the place for food lovers. There are many delicious cuisines from West Bengal.
Chickpeas or Bengal gram is popular in West Bengal. In fact, chickpeas got its name as Bengal gram from the British. During British Raj chickpeas was widely cultivated in Bengal.
We will cook Cholar Dal, one of the favourite dals of West Bengal.
Cholar Dal
Cholar Dal is one of the favourite dals from Bengal. Easy to cook and very little spice and oil are used. The consistency of this dal is slightly thicker and sweetish in taste. The nutty chana dal, roasted coconut bits and the sweet raisins gave a beautiful texture and taste to the prepared dal. It is full of nutrients. It is best served best with luci/puri.
You need:
125 gm chana dal/split and husked Bengal gram
2 green chillies
½ tsp salt
1tsp sugar
½ tsp turmeric powder
1tbsp ghee/refined oil
2 bay leaf
4-5 crushed cardamoms
12 gm finely diced fresh/dried coconut
20 gm raisins
Method:
- Wash and soak channa dal for about 20-25 minutes.
2. Cut the stems and split the green chillies slightly on the broader side.
3. Chop the coconut into small pieces leaving 2-3 pieces as long strand for garnishing.
4. Crush the cardamoms slightly and keep them aside.
5. Wash and drain the dal and place it in the pressure cooker.
6. Add the split green chillies, salt, sugar, turmeric powder and 1 cup of water.
7. Close the cooker and place it over the heat. After the first whistle, reduce the heat to minimum and cook for 3 minutes.
8. Switch off the heat and allow cooker to cool down.
9. Heat the oil or ghee in a heavy pan.
10. Fry coconut till lightly browned and keep it aside.
11. Fry the raisin in the same oil and keep it aside.
12. Keep a few raisins and little coconut separately for garnishing the dal later.
13. Add the remaining to the cooked dal.
14. Add the bay leaves to the hot oil in the pan.
15. When they turn brown, add the crushed cardamom and stir-fry for few more seconds.
16. Pour the fried spices on the dal.
17. Bring the dal to boil and simmer for few seconds.
18. The dal should be thick and sweetish. If it is too thick add 1/4 cup of water and bring it to boil again. Dal is ready for serving.
19. Serve it hot with luci/puri.
20. Should you make the dal of little thinner consistency it could be served with steamed rice as well.
Happy Cooking !
Coming up next …… Dal from Central India
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Dal On The Table 
It is so interesting to see the various styles of tempering Dal from different States! Keep up the good work! 👍
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It is so interesting to see the various styles of tempering from different States and cultures! Keep up the good work! 👍
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Thank you Akanksha.
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Grateful for our Dal Diversity 😊
You are doing a great job highlighting this
Indiraji!
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Thank you Abha. Keep reading ……
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