Differences between Bengali Hindu and Bengali Muslim

[Bilal9]

Top one is known as Satpuri in Midnapore area having coconut filling. Contrary to @Joe Shearer thinking I believe Pitha is more a favourite in bengalis West of Hoogly than East. I have seen my relatives in Bankura and both Midnapore having at pitha dinner in winter.
Similar tradition is there in bordering and coastal districts of Orissa.
Even Lord Jagannath eats varieties of pitha in his menu.
A trivia, menu, ingredients and cooking process of Lord Jagannath temple has not changed for last 600-800 years. No potato, chili, tomatoes to name a few in his food.

I have no idea what Lord Jagannath eats - but I know what me and my fellow Bangladeshis eat.

If you haven't been to Bangladesh, you don't know what scale Pitha festivals take in Bangladesh, every luxury hotel throws a festival during that time. Usually in the month of Hemant which coincides with Nabanna or harvest time. @Joe Shearer dada pitha festivals are hugely popular in Bangladesh, don't know about WB. You've been in both areas, so give us your thoughts.

https://www.daily-sun.com/arcprint/details/109154/Pitha-Festival-at-Le-Méridien-Dhaka/2016-01-25

http://www.theindependentbd.com/magazine/details/135352/Pitha-Utsab-

 

[itsanufy]

I have been to Bangladesh multiple times.
Lord Jagannath food was not directed to you but to Joe.
Pitha with kites a must during Poush Sankranti (14/15 Jan). I believe the same is observed in same fanfare in BD.

 

[Joe Shearer]

Top one is known as Satpuri in Midnapore area having coconut filling. Contrary to @Joe Shearer thinking I believe Pitha is more a favourite in bengalis West of Hoogly than East. I have seen my relatives in Bankura and both Midnapore having at pitha dinner in winter.
Similar tradition is there in bordering and coastal districts of Orissa.
Even Lord Jagannath eats varieties of pitha in his menu.
A trivia, menu, ingredients and cooking process of Lord Jagannath temple has not changed for last 600-800 years. No potato, chili, tomatoes to name a few in his food.

I may have fallen prey to prejudice.

There was that beautiful video about the temple where the bhog was for sale after offering. As you mentioned, the food was true to tradition of those hundreds of years ago. One day I must go and eat there.

@Bilal9

Bilal Bhai, I follow Adnan Faruque's vlog! Very handsome couple, he and his wife; have you seen their vlog on eating out in Calcutta?

Pitha festival kono din jai ni. Hoito bhagye thhakle sei shujog pabo bhobishyote.

I have been to Bangladesh multiple times.
Lord Jagannath food was not directed to you but to Joe.
Pitha with kites a must during Poush Sankranti (14/15 Jan). I believe the same is observed in same fanfare in BD.

Which district are you from?

 

[itsanufy]

I may have fallen prey to prejudice.

There was that beautiful video about the temple where the bhog was for sale after offering. As you mentioned, the food was true to tradition of those hundreds of years ago. One day I must go and eat there.

@Bilal9

Bilal Bhai, I follow Adnan Faruque's vlog! Very handsome couple, he and his wife; have you seen their vlog on eating out in Calcutta?

Pitha festival kono din jai ni. Hoito bhagye thhakle sei shujog pabo bhobishyote.

I also like Adnan Faruque's vlog.
If you have noticed Jagannath's bhog is free from foreign ingredients like chilli, tomoto or potato which came which came with portuguese I believe.
Between I was in Hyderabad for 8 long years, there was a Bengali hotel adjacent to Ramkrishna Mission. Is it still there?
Another question which eateries Hyderabadi biryani you like most?

 

[Nilgiri]

free from foreign ingredients like chilli, tomoto or potato which came which came with portuguese I believe.

This is Brahmin custom ...well known to us in South too. It must be original ingredients as done a long time ago to be proper temple prasad.

 

[itsanufy]

I may have fallen prey to prejudice.

There was that beautiful video about the temple where the bhog was for sale after offering. As you mentioned, the food was true to tradition of those hundreds of years ago. One day I must go and eat there.

@Bilal9

Bilal Bhai, I follow Adnan Faruque's vlog! Very handsome couple, he and his wife; have you seen their vlog on eating out in Calcutta?

Pitha festival kono din jai ni. Hoito bhagye thhakle sei shujog pabo bhobishyote.



Which district are you from?

My origin rootes to Midnapore and Bankura, but born and brought up in Kolkata.
Visited BD for office works. More than 1 year I was in BD. My wife's is from BD but has UK citizenship.

 

[Joe Shearer]

I also like Adnan Faruque's vlog.
If you have noticed Jagannath's bhog is free from foreign ingredients like chilli, tomoto or potato which came which came with portuguese I believe.
Between I was in Hyderabad for 8 long years, there was a Bengali hotel adjacent to Ramkrishna Mission. Is it still there?
Another question which eateries Hyderabadi biryani you like most?

Your point about the Portuguese is very relevant. Two more things: they brought chhana to Bengal, and there is a set of Christians named Gomes and other Portuguese names in Dhaka itself. Fantastic cooks; one of them was the Head Chef at the Bengal Club till 2010 or so.

Bawarchi. Shifted from Paradise.

I haven't come across the Bengali hotel, possibly because I don't look for Bengali food in foreign lands (anything outside Bengal is a foreign land).

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

Your point about the Portuguese is very relevant. Two more things: they brought chhana to Bengal, and there is a set of Christians named Gomes and other Portuguese names in Dhaka itself.]

In Chittagong, which is a southern district of Bangladesh where I come from, we have a history of interaction with the Portuguese, due to the port where they used to come for trading.

We have a quarter in Chittagong known as "Firengi Baazar", Firengi referring to the Portuguese, This area is where most of the Portuguese who married off with locals settled in. If you visit this place you can find their descendants, you can easily make them out from their Portuguese and Christians names/surnames.

If you visit churches in Chittagong and Even in Dhaka, you will surely find a few of these people. The Chittagonian Language has a lot of vocabulary loaned from Portuguese.

You can read more about it here, but if you would like to know more and you happen to visit Bangladesh, consider getting in touch with the caretaker of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Chittagong, the kind gentlemen is very informative and a firengi descendant himself.

 

[Joe Shearer]

In Chittagong, which is a southern district of Bangladesh where I come from, we have a history of interaction with the Portuguese, due to the port where they used to come for trading.

We have a quarter in Chittagong known as "Firengi Baazar", Firengi referring to the Portuguese, This area is where most of the Portuguese who married off with locals settled in. If you visit this place you can find their descendants, you can easily make them out from their Portuguese and Christians names/surnames.

If you visit churches in Chittagong and Even in Dhaka, you will surely find a few of these people. The Chittagonian Language has a lot of vocabulary loaned from Portuguese.

You can read more about it here, but if you would like to know more and you happen to visit Bangladesh, consider getting in touch with the caretaker of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Chittagong, the kind gentlemen is very informative and a firengi descendant himself.

Many thanks. I will surely use this information as you suggest.
@jbgt90
You will find this interesting.
Hope you are better. I am expecting a call, in case....

 

[T90TankGuy]

Many thanks. I will surely use this information as you suggest.
@jbgt90
You will find this interesting.
Hope you are better. I am expecting a call, in case....

Thanks for pointing this out , never knew about this in BDesh .

 

[Nilgiri]

In Chittagong, which is a southern district of Bangladesh where I come from, we have a history of interaction with the Portuguese, due to the port where they used to come for trading.

We have a quarter in Chittagong known as "Firengi Baazar", Firengi referring to the Portuguese, This area is where most of the Portuguese who married off with locals settled in. If you visit this place you can find their descendants, you can easily make them out from their Portuguese and Christians names/surnames.

If you visit churches in Chittagong and Even in Dhaka, you will surely find a few of these people. The Chittagonian Language has a lot of vocabulary loaned from Portuguese.

You can read more about it here, but if you would like to know more and you happen to visit Bangladesh, consider getting in touch with the caretaker of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Chittagong, the kind gentlemen is very informative and a firengi descendant himself.

That's really interesting. Are there some good vlogs of these churches in CTG?

 

[fallstuff]

The correct term is Chitoi Pitha, or Bengali Rice Flour Pancakes, which is a wintertime breakfast treat. Sometimes jaggery is included.

My other favorite is Mukh-Upakkhan Pitha - nowadays people have bastardized the name to Mug-Pakon Pitha. The decoration used to tell stories for serving to deities and royals (like Nakshi Katha decorations). Nowadays the decorations are MUCH simpler.

That one my friend is নকশী পিঠা. I kind of like that one.
My besties were always teler pitha and or taler pitha. The other one I would eat by the boat load is chita pitha with hint of ginger root.

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

That's really interesting. Are there some good vlogs of these churches in CTG?

I'm afraid not, Chittagong isn't popular among the travelers circles and touristy types, people do come but they just head on to the three hilly districts known as Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

What's sad is that Chittagong has a lot to offer ranging from a noticeably distinct culture, unique traditions, a calmer vibe than Dhaka, natural beauty rivalling any other part of Bangladesh, historical sights of cultural and religious significance and much much more. I could go on about my glorious home but I'm sleepy.

But as things stand Bangladeshi government isn't trying as hard as they should at attracting tourists, with this government not trying hard enough is the norm.

So vlogs aren't going to pop up anytime soon, However if you do a search on YouTube, you will find videos of the churches albeit of a poor quality.

Aside from churches, we also have alot of temples in Chittagong. In my home district of Sitakundu, we have a large population of Hindus. I'd would say anywhere from 15 to 20% are Hindus and these are all locals not people from elsewhere. The name "Sitakundu" probably has some relation to this as well.

One of the most famous temples is Chandranath Temple which stands atop the Chandranath Hill in Sitakundu. It's 300 something metres above sea level If I recall correctly and Hindus from various parts of Bangladesh make religious pilgrimage to the site.

Here are some photos for those of you who are interested :

You can read more here

I haven't personally had the chance to visit myself but I do plan to visit. I'm not Hindu but I do like visiting places of worship because of the calming sensation and sight of people submitting to the higher powers. This has led me to visit many churches and old mosques in Bangladesh. I'd be lying if I didn't mention this bit, but some of the visits aren't my idea but that of my friend who is a Christian, not a firengi though.

Besides this temple is atop a hill and has steps leading all the way up, there's an adventure to be had so why not.

I consider myself quite lucky, I visited the Armenian Apostolic Church in Dhaka and met the last Armenian (the caretaker) in Bangladesh just 2 years before his passing (he died last month). Our conversation was brief but the gentleman was very nice and gave me a quick rundown of the history of the site.

So anyway if any of you are ever in Bangladesh and want to visit old historic sites I would recommend the Chandranath Temple and the Armenian Church, of course there's alot more to see but visiting these places of worship will help dispel some of the rumours about Bangladesh being intolerant.

My apologies, if this post is all over the place and shoddy, it's 1 AM and I'm half asleep.

Edited.

 

[Nilgiri]

I'm afraid not, Chittagong isn't popular among the travelers circles and touristy types, people do come but they just head on to the three hilly districts known as Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

What's sad is that Chittagong has a lot to offer ranging from a noticeably distinct culture, unique traditions, a calmer vibe than Dhaka, natural beauty rivalling any other part of Bangladesh, historical sights of cultural and religious significance and much much more. I could go on about my glorious home but I'm sleepy.

But as things stand Bangladeshi government isn't trying as hard as they should at attracting tourists, with this government not trying hard enough is the norm.

So vlogs aren't going to pop up anytime soon, However if you do a search on YouTube, you will find videos of the churches albeit of a poor quality.

Aside from churches, we also have alot of temples in Chittagong. In my home district of Sitakundu, we have a large population of Hindus. I'd would say anywhere from 15 to 20% are Hindus and these are all locals not people from elsewhere. The name "Sitakundu" probably has some relation to this as well.

One of the most famous temples is Chandranath Temple which stands atop the Chandranath Hill in Sitakundu. It's 300 something metres above sea level If I recall correctly and Hindus from various parts of Bangladesh make religious pilgrimage to the site.

Here are some photos for those of you who are interested :

View attachment 641284 View attachment 641285 View attachment 641286

You can read more here

I haven't personally had the chance to visit myself but I do plan to visit. I'm not Hindu but I do like visiting places of worship because of the calming sensation and sight of people submitting to the higher powers. This has led me to visit many churches and old mosques in Bangladesh. I'd be lying if I didn't mention this bit, but some of the visits aren't my idea but that of my friend who is a Christian, not a firengi though.

Besides this temple is atop a hill and has steps leading all the way up, there's an adventure to be had so why I not.

I consider myself quite lucky, I visited the Armenian Apostolic Church in Dhaka and met the last Armenian (the caretaker) in Bangladesh just 2 years before his passing (he died last month). Our conversation was brief but the gentleman was very nice and gave me a quick rundown of the history of the site.

So anyway if any of you are ever in Bangladesh and want to visit old historic sites I would recommend the Chandranath Temple and the Armenian Church, of course there's alot more to see but visiting these places of worship will help dispel some of the rumours about Bangladesh being intolerant.

My apologies, if this post is all over the place and shoddy, it's 1 AM and I'm half asleep.

Edited.

Thanks friend, you are injecting lot of quality and fun to this subforum in general too. Its much appreciated.

 

[itsanufy]

Your point about the Portuguese is very relevant. Two more things: they brought chhana to Bengal, and there is a set of Christians named Gomes and other Portuguese names in Dhaka itself. Fantastic cooks; one of them was the Head Chef at the Bengal Club till 2010 or so.

Bawarchi. Shifted from Paradise.

I haven't come across the Bengali hotel, possibly because I don't look for Bengali food in foreign lands (anything outside Bengal is a foreign land).

Once try Sadab near charminar along with roadside morning biryani during bakri eid.