“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare asked this very eloquently in his 1597 epic – “Romeo and Juliet”. Little did he know that 7,000 miles East of London, in Calcutta, the “Bangalees” were scripting their own epic with the same theme; not in Literature, but in food. The same extends to Bengali food. “Chorchori”, “Ghonto”, “Chhechki”, “Labra” and “Chhenchra” sound like swear words to people who have never heard of these dishes before. Even to some Bangalees, these do not sound like dishes one would heartily order at a restaurant, or even think of making at home. Essentially, all 5 dishes are vegetarian mish-mashes, each however is customized based on what the hero vegetable is, what base the gravy is, or even “What did ‘Thakuma’ want for lunch today?” A smorgasbord of “Niramish” (Vegetarian) Bengali dishes with names that Shakespeare would be proud of[/caption] Each dish has a character and an abundance of flavor that lights up dinners and the eaters’ faces. Only when you dig into a spoonful of “Labra” with “bhaat” or “Khichuri” will you truly experience the Umami that every Michelin Star chasing restaurant tries to create. The only problem is –the folks who’ve never experienced a “Labra” or a “Chhenchra” in their lives will never know what they’re missing out in their lives. It’s like being “blind-date-matched” with a “Padma Lakshmi” and leaving without meeting her because you assumed her to look like their “kakimas”. But us “Labra” eating folks know that supermodel-turned-UN-Goodwill-Ambassador Padma Lakshmi deserves better than that. Each of the devastatingly named preparations in the Bengali cuisine has a story to tell, and a really tasty one at that.
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