Mark Wiens Explores Authentic Bangladeshi Cuisine

[Bilal9]

Old Dhaka food is heavenly with many types of dishes. I have heard from others that there are little matrimonial relationship between men and women from old Dhaka and other areas.

Why? One reason is the existence of traditional old-Dhaka food varieties. Even a poor old Dhaka family would know how to cook many varieties of dishes whereas brides from other areas would not even be aware of the existence of so many varieties.

"Amaro diler chot - bojhena kono halay...."

From a onetime Los Angeles resident...with roots in Purani Dhaka.

 

[Bilal9]

Khuli aur Haddi, long time. Foodka and Dine Out with Adnan YT channels have done joint food runs in BD and Kolkata recently. Do check them out.

Here is Adnan (Hillol bhai) checking out Iftar in Old Delhi with one of India's food bloggers, Anubhav Sapra.

Old Dhaka food is heavenly with many types of dishes. I have heard from others that there are little matrimonial relationship between men and women from old Dhaka and other areas.

Why? One reason is the existence of traditional old-Dhaka food varieties. Even a poor old Dhaka family would know how to cook many varieties of dishes whereas brides from other areas would not even be aware of the existence of so many varieties.

Dhaka Mughal rulers from the pre-British times encouraged expert Bawarchis and Khansamas from Oudh (Awadh) region populate the old Dhaka area, as Awadh (Lakhnau) was the center of Mughal culinary (and in fact all facets of) cultural refinement. Biryani was only one small part of that cultural invasion. As we all know - old dhaka is the center of Dhaka-centric culinary scene. Bakarkhani Roti was of course a staple snack in my family for afternoon tea and even breakfast. Miss the darned things.

Bangladeshi Biryanis will have copious Adrak (Ginger, Ada) and Rasun (Garlic) added which are often left out of Kolkata Biryanis (which in turn have more Potatoes and eggs compared to Bangladeshi/Awadhi variety).

Compared with other Indian biryanis, Awadhi (or Lakhnavi) biryani is "mildly flavored, contains a lot of ghee, cardamom, and very few spices. It can feel dry, but the meat feels even more fatty to taste because of all the ghee used. You won’t see herbs like mint or coriander here because Awadhi biryani is all about whole spices."

Explainer 101: The Differences Between India's Most Famous Biryanis

If you can’t decide between Awadhi and Hyderabadi biryani, this might help.

www.idiva.com

 

[Skull and Bones]

Khuli aur Haddi, long time. Foodka and Dine Out with Adnan YT channels have done joint food runs in BD and Kolkata recently. Do check them out.

Link thakle diyen, dada.

 

[DF41]

The food in Dhaka is truly fabulous.

I was there for a month doing consultation work on a proposed new railway. Aid package from Japan.

I fully enjoyed all the meals in Dhaka , and sometime in other BD cities too.
The hilsa fish I had there, fried or in curry, blew my mind.
I tried the same in Singapore and that was a pale shadow of what I had in Dhaka.

Once in a claimed BP restaurant and the 2nd , I as the chef.

I then found out that the chefs of best Indian restaurants are actually Bangla Deshis . It seemed Bangladeshi chefs are so reknowned that they are snatched up.

I left Dhaka with a great great respect for Bangladeshi cuisine

 

[Bengal71]

The food in Dhaka is truly fabulous.

I was there for a month doing consultation work on a proposed new railway. Aid package from Japan.

I fully enjoyed all the meals in Dhaka , and somethings in other cities too.
The hilsa fish I had there, fried or in curry, blew my mind.
I tried the same in Singapore and that was a pale shadow of what I had in Dhaka.

Once in a claimed BP restaurant and the 2nd , I as the chef.

I then found out that the chefs of best Indian restaurants are actually Bangla Deshis . It seemed Bangladeshi chefs are so reknowned that they are snatched up.

I left Dhaka with a great great respect for Bangladeshi cuisine

Wow, I am a little surprised the Chinese would find our food tasty. I thought Asian cuisine has a different taste and not very compatible with cuisine of the Indian subcontinent? Guess I was wrong then. You are welcome again to Dhaka, next time you visit please go to old Dhaka to taste the best food Dhaka has to offer, if you haven't already.

 

[Maula Jatt]

The food in Dhaka is truly fabulous.

I was there for a month doing consultation work on a proposed new railway. Aid package from Japan.

I fully enjoyed all the meals in Dhaka , and somethings in other cities too.
The hilsa fish I had there, fried or in curry, blew my mind.
I tried the same in Singapore and that was a pale shadow of what I had in Dhaka.

Once in a claimed BP restaurant and the 2nd , I as the chef.

I then found out that the chefs of best Indian restaurants are actually Bangla Deshis . It seemed Bangladeshi chefs are so reknowned that they are snatched up.

I left Dhaka with a great great respect for Bangladeshi cuisine

Not a lot of people know this fact :lol
not only are almost all the Indian restaurants ran by Bangladeshi chefs but also most of the restaurants owned by Pakistanis also have Bangladeshi chefs

Not many people know this unless they are in restaurant business or know people in it (talking specifically about US)

 

[Imran Khan]

This is our version of mashed potato. Unlike the bland Western mashed potato, ours is made in mustard oil with green chilli and red onion. Taste to behold.

i tried it many times man so its mustard which make it taste like alcohol

The photographs from a newspaper of today. I hope, our Pakistani brothers will like these dishes. @Imran Khan

1) Kashmiri Biriyani
View attachment 839950

2) Hydrabadi Chicken Biriyani
View attachment 839951
View attachment 839953

3) Lukhnow Nawabi BiriyaniView attachment 839952

i eat hyderabadi biryani bro its taste more sour then spicy .

Karachi is the Biriyani hub. Is it the contribution of Indian Muhajirs there?

somehow yes but do not forget it was hindu majority city even before 1947 . hindus back then were not ultra nationalists stupids like RSS bjp turn them now . they tolrate beef and meat .

 

[DF41]

Not a lot of people know this fact :lol
not only are almost all the Indian restaurants ran by Bangladeshi chefs but also most of the restaurants owned by Pakistanis also have Bangladeshi chefs

Not many people know this unless they are in restaurant business or know people in it (talking specifically about US)

I did not know that until that period I was in BD and Dhaka

 

[Maula Jatt]

The photographs from a newspaper of today. I hope, our Pakistani brothers will like these dishes. @Imran Khan

1) Kashmiri Biriyani
View attachment 839950

2) Hydrabadi Chicken Biriyani
View attachment 839951
View attachment 839953

3) Lukhnow Nawabi BiriyaniView attachment 839952

Punjab and Kashmir can't have good briyani as we don't like spicy stuff and briyani is supposed to be spicy, ours is trash

Only Indians can make good, authentic briyani IMHO

I'll look for a good restaurants for kachi briyani maybe it's good too

For South Asian cuisines from my experience kashmiris, Punjab focus a lot in "ghee", meat, cream and it's not usually as spicy
While Hindustani cuisine is kinda spicy
My last experience with Bangali cuisine wasn't perfect because of bad restaurant so I might be wrong but a bunch of things had that sweet auroma or maybe I am unable to explain that auroma, it was definitely distinct

 

[Paitoo]

Not a lot of people know this fact :lol
not only are almost all the Indian restaurants ran by Bangladeshi chefs but also most of the restaurants owned by Pakistanis also have Bangladeshi chefs

Not many people know this unless they are in restaurant business or know people in it (talking specifically about US)

Not just abroad, even within India a lot of staff in the hospitality industry is from Bengal (and now increasingly Orissa which has similar cuisine). I know quite a few people who own restaurants and I have seen the Bengali staff in their establishments increase. While good culinary skills is a reason, it is also a matter of supply. Bengal is an overpopulated poor state with limited opportunities.

The hotel industry as a whole pays very poorly and Punjabis who were ahead of the curve tend to move abroad as the Indian salaries do not attract them any more. People from other regions have filled in the gap. Chefs from Awadh region are also not seen much now, as the cuisine has gotten restricted to fine dining because of its elaborate preparations. South Indian cuisine is the only one that continues to see local participation.

 

[Paitoo]

@Sainthood 101
Yes, and it is supposed to have influenced Bengali cuisine as well. The Kolkata biryani is essentially an Awadhi biryani. Here is a popular Indian Youtuber interacting with a descendant of the Awadh Nawab who runs a place in Kolkata.

 

[ilish-in-wonderland]

Punjab and Kashmir can't have good briyani as we don't like spicy stuff and briyani is supposed to be spicy, ours is trash

Only Indians can make good, authentic briyani IMHO

I'll look for a good restaurants for kachi briyani maybe it's good too

For South Asian cuisines from my experience kashmiris, Punjab focus a lot in "ghee", meat, cream and it's not usually as spicy
While Hindustani cuisine is all about that spicy stuff
My last experience with Bangali cuisine wasn't perfect because of bad restaurant so I might be wrong but a bunch of things had that sweet auroma or maybe I am unable to explain that auroma, it was definitely distinct

I think its a matter of you own taste as well. I for one cannot bring myself to eat gujrati food for example (sugar in daal wtf)
(bengali food is pretty spicy, try another restaurant may be)

 

[DF41]

(bengali food is pretty spicy, try another restaurant may be)

Bhut jolokia and Carolina Reaper can always be found in my kitchen.
Started when my dear wife ambushed me with a Habanero 20++ years ago in Hongkong giving me the shock of my life.


I think my tastebud more elevated since then



Bengali food not only spicy. They are so bloody delicious.

That said, I had not ventured to street food there . Ate only in restaurants or from company chefs.

All the dishes I had were FABULOUS

 

[Destranator]

Link thakle diyen, dada.

https://youtube.com/c/FoodkaSeries

https://youtube.com/c/AdnanFaruque

 

[notapdformat]

To be honest, after seeing couple of videos today this petuk couple appears to me to be unprofessional food vloggers who are often awkward and laughing for no apparent reason.
Unlucky Mark Wiens and BD. They even fail to describe many things when Mark wiens clearly wanted to know, right? Someone please tell me are they even real food enthusiasts or just mostly for attention and views