World Food Day Special: Celebrate Bengal’s flavours with pure goodness! - GetBengal Story
“Pete Khele Pithe Shoy” — almost everyone in Bengal has heard this proverb, but the question is, how many can truly relate to it in real life? Food is not just something we eat to fill our stomachs. For Bengalis, it is an emotion, a celebration, and a way of life. Whether it’s a street-side phuchka or a plate of steaming hot khichuri on a rainy day, food connects people, memories, and moments. On this World Food Day, let’s take a walk through the lanes of Kolkata and see how food brings happiness, health, and heritage together.
Kolkata, known as the city of joy, is famous for its food. Spicy rolls, crispy chops, sweet mishti doi, and sandesh, among other foods, there is something for anyone. People love to eat food outside, try new tastes, and of course share food with friends and family. It is food that completes every gathering in Bengal.
But it is not just about street food, for every Bengali, no other modicum of cuisine in the world can rival what is lovingly called "Mayer Haat-er Ranna". Just thinking about the magic of an everyday home-cooked meal! Whether you are thinking about a hot bowl of dal served with a plate of aloo posto and a side of shak bhaja with the scrumptious "crunch", or the taste of paturi, or even a hearty bowl of kochi pathar jhol. These are not just pure cuisines, they are stories served to you on a plate! Each mouthful dripped with love, warmth, and memories of home.
The way of eating changes with the time of day. Fast food/packaged snacks have become entrenched in our lives. Quick and good food. They are also highly processed with preservatives and chemicals. This awareness, of course, comes slowly; we are starting to realize how much we are paying for convenience. This is why the movement is now toward natural and chemicals & preservatives free foods- pure, wholesome, live food.
Organic and pure foods- think chemicals & preservatives free honey, ghee, aam gur, achar, and traditional mustard oil- are coming back into the kitchens of Bengal.These foods are not simply "foods." They are, in fact, priceless gifts of nature. There is nothing like a teaspoon of chemicals & preservatives free ghee poured over steaming rice – pure magic. Honey used (instead of sugar) added to desserts and drinks is just plain delicious. When one thinks of aam gur, in addition to the sweetness of sugar, they reminded of winter afternoons, and a homemade achar reminds them of summer afternoons of childhood.
Buying organic food is not a trend. It is a way to return to our roots. Our moms and grandmoms used to take great care to cook with food they sourced, used ingredients with integrity, and their food was overwhelmingly nutritious. Chemicals & preservatives free food allows us to continue this respect and care for our health, lucky for us, it also helps our local farmers and the local soil to sustain for generations to come. All the while, eating wholesome safe and good foods.
Many of our youth in Bengal today are now taking traditional foods, and combining them with new recipes like honey cakes, aam gur ice cream, organic salads with mustard dressing, etc. This is a wonderful marriage of the wisdom of our grandmothers with new style. Food is not just about taste, but about making a better choice for our body and our planet.
World Food Day acts as a reminder to be mindful of the food that we consume, it encourages healthy eating habits, emphasizes reducing waste, and advocates stewardship of farmers who produce the food on our tables. Food has always been regarded as sacred in Bengal —“anna he param brahma”, food is divine. That belief is alive and well in every Bengali kitchen.
So this World Food Day, let’s enjoy the celebration over our favourite Bengali cuisine, with love, gratitude, and good health. Let’s have chemicals & preservatives free, pure, wholesome foods on our plates — as health is wealth at the end of the day. And when that health is delivered to your taste buds, through the taste of Bengal, it becomes delicious.
