Bengali food has inherited a large number of influences, arising from a historical and strong trade

links with many parts of the world. Bengal fell under the sway of various Turkic rulers from the
early thirteenth century onwards, and was then governed by the British for two centuries (1757
1947). The Jews brought bakeries to Bengal, the Marwaris contributed their sweet-making skills,
the exiled families of Wajid Ali Shah and Tipu Sultan brought different flavours of Mughlai cuisine.
British patronage and the Babu Renaissancefueled the development of these different culinary
strands into a distinct heritage. From the culinary point of view, some major historical trends
influenced Bengali food.

The Rule of the Nawabs[edit]

Bengal has been ruled by Muslim governors since the days of the Delhi Sultanate, five shortlived, Delhi-based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. However, for more
than 500 years, Muslim rule in Bengal was centred in Dhaka. Trade routes going
from Delhi to Dhaka traversed almost the entire width of todays Bengal, crossing most major
rivers. Present-day West Bengal first came into prominence when Murshid Quli Jafar
Khan became the first Nawab of Bengal under the Mughals in 1717, and moved the capital
from Dhaka to the newly founded city of Murshidabad much further to the west and closer to
Delhi, the seat of the Mughal Empire. From the culinary point of view, Dhaka evolved a vibrant
cuisine based heavily on the influence of the Mughal courts, popularly called Mughlai (or Moglai)
cuisine and characterised by rich sauces and a generous use of meat (especially beef). These
food traditions continued in the courts of the Nawabs of Bengal. Though defeated by the British
in 1757, they continued as puppet rulers of Bengal till 1880; their courts, manners and cuisine
maintained by doles from the English.After Dhaka's culinary evolution to Mughalai cuisine, which
primarily used beef as its main meat course due to the influence of the Mughal rulers and
governors, we could see a shift in the way the primary meat changed from beef to mutton or
lamb.The reason this happened is due to the fact that after the Mughals left Bengal their cooks
remained and found out that using beef would not be very popular as they set up food carts,
hence they used mutton or lamb as a substitute and this spread into the roots of some of
Bengals famous recipes such as "Kosha Mangsho",Maach Dhakai style which is popular in
Dhaka .
Another key influence to the food came much later, when Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of
Awadh, was exiled by the British 1856 to Metiabruz, on the outskirts of Kolkata. Rich and
decadent, Awadhi cuisine was a giant in the world of food, and the Nawab is said to have
brought with him hundreds of baburchis (cooks), khansamas (stewards)
andmoshlachis (spice mixers). On his death, these specialist workers dissipated into the
population, starting restaurants and food carts all over Bengal and propagating a distinctly
Awadhi legacy into the western parts of Bengal, especially the burgeoning megacity of Kolkata.
While deriving from Mughlai cuisine, Awadh preferred mutton to beef and was liberal in the use
of attor (essence) of aromatics such rose or ketoki.This is the other reason a shift occurred from

using beef to using mutton instead . Also it can be observed that the recipes that have a Mughal
Bengali influence do not use mustard, like the authentic recipes that are traditional to Hindu
Bengali's .The reason mustard wasn't used is that it wasn't appreciated that much by the
Mughals and was avoided as we can see in their recipes.

Christianity and other European influences [edit]

As legend goes, to cater for the needs of British workmen, Nizam's restaurant in Kolkata invented the firstKati roll

The Christian influence came to Bengal a few hundred years after its arrival on the Western
borders of India. While the religion spread among the population, the region remained isolated
from the political and religious centres of Christian India. This meant that people retained many
of their local customs, especially food habits. Though the Dutch and the French also had
colonies in West Bengal, they have had little impact on Bengals culinary habits. That came from
the British, and other Western immigrants such as the Baghdadi Jews who set up Kolkatas
famous Jewish bakeries. West Bengals flourishing community of Anglo-Indians formed a onceinfluential cuisine, but it is now dying along with the reduction in numbers of their communities in
Bengal. The key culinary influence of the Christian community was the ritual of tea (introduced by
the British, and in Bengals snack food traditions. Baking, which was pretty much unknown till the
British came along, became widespread. The popularity of baked confectioneries was a direct
result of the British popularising the celebration of Christmas. The Jewish community, though
always tiny in numbers, picked up the trend and made it hugely popular to the massesnow
every railway station in West Bengal serves puff pastries to go with tea to millions of commuters
across the state. Chops and cutlets, once British in origin but now firmly Bengali, are served
every day in every little shack. Kolkatas big Jewish bakeries are dead or dying, [1] but their
influence is everywhere.

The Chinese[edit]
The Chinese community in Indian sub-continent are a community of immigrants and their
descendants that emigrated from China starting in the late 18th century to work at the Chittagong
and Calcutta port. The ethnic Chinese have contributed to many areas of the social and
economic life of Bengal. A sizeable number are also owners and workers in Chinese restaurants.

Along with them, the Chinese food came to Bengal for the first time and as time passed by it has
been influenced by the demands of the local taste buds.
The introduction of the fabled taste maker monosodium glutamate came along with sweet corn,
much later, and got infused into what is widely popular as "Bengali Chinese". The cuisine is
characterised as much by what is missing mushrooms, for instance, are not found in Bengal
as by what is there such as a far greater use of pork than other Indian cuisines. As the Chinese
opened restaurants for Bengalis, they spiced up the bland Cantonese sauces with sliced chillies
and hot sauces, creating unique dishes such as Chicken sweet corn soup, Chilli Chicken and
Manchurian; they apparently made up these names to attract customers.

The partition of Bengal[edit]

The partition of Bengal (1947) following independence from the British in 1947 separated West
Bengal from Bangladesh. This caused a significant change in demographics; populations were
divided along religious lines, and over three million people were said to have crossed the new
Bengal border in either direction. This large-scale displacement along religious lines led to some
changes of food, because there were differences in food habits between the Muslims and the
Hindus. However, the culinary shift should not be overstatedlarge populations of each religion
stayed put on either side of the border.
There was one major divergence, though. The newly formed West Bengal was a small state in
India dominated by the city of Kolkata. This city came into prominence as the original capital
of British India and quickly became one of the largest and richest in the world, completely
overshadowing the original city of Dhaka. After partition, Kolkata continued to wield an outsize
influence in the cultural and food habits of West Bengal. Its offices, ports and bazaars attracted
many communities from the rest of India, (especially the Marwari and Chinese communities);
substantial populations of these communities have lived for generations in Kolkata. Their
influence has been, in particular, in the sweet shops (e.g. Ganguram's)and street foods of
Kolkata; many have Marwari or Chinese origins. Bangladesh, on the other hand, was isolated by
the political border from Kolkatas multiculturalism and retained a more traditional take on things.

The influence of the widows[edit]

The treatment of Hindu widows has always been very repressive. Tradition ties a womans
identity to her husband; a widow is therefore left without an identity, property rights or social
standing. Bengal was particularly repressive in this regard; widows were either banished or led
very monastic lives within the household, living under rigid dietary restrictions and not allowed
any interests but religion and housework. The nineteenth century saw active widow reform
movements in Bengalthe ban on Sati in 1829 and theHindu Widow Re-marriage Act of 1856
were key milestonesbut the related social practices took a long while to die out and indeed, still
remain in part.[2] Rampant child marriage[3] and low life expectancies left many women widowed

it is estimated that some 25% of households have a widow living in them.[4] Widows were not
allowed to leave the house, so their contribution to the household was usually restricted to the
kitchencreating a unique class of chefs in the dominant Hindu community.[5]
While most Bengali castes ate meat and fish, this was of course barred for widows. Widows also
did not use heating foods such as onions and garlic, but ginger was allowedthis found a core
place in Bengali curries, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Expensive spices such as saffron,
cinnamon or cloves were used very sparingly if at all; nuts, dry fruits, milk and milk products
(such as cream, ghee or curd) were similarly scarce.[6] In spite of all these restrictions, however,
the food evolved to be anything but crude and limitedits deceptively simple preparations drew
upon Bengals vast larder of vegetable options and were often elaborate to the point of fussiness.
Cooked with elaborate precision and served with equal refinementmultiple courses and an
intricate formality about what goes with what and in which sequenceit formed an enduring base
for a rich and varied cuisine. Leftover cuts in particular, such as spinach ends or vegetable peel,
are transformed lovingly into magical preparations. Chitrita Banerji in her book[7] quotes a
nineteenth-century Bengali writer mentioning that it was impossible to taste the full glory of
vegetarian cooking unless your own wife became a widow.