The Bengali passion for food finds expression in unique and delicious festive fare for each of the year’s many festivals

Unique Bong Jargon

FoodTalk
Adda: A novel concept created by the Bengalis signifying ‘chatting’ and elevated to the level of a national pastime.

An integral part of the chat sessions is the constant flow of snacks like beguni (eggplant fritters), shingara (samosas) or muri makha (rice crispies with chopped onions, green chillies, etc.)

Bengalis seem incapable of functioning without cha (tea) and a typical household always has the kitchen fire burning where endless cups of tea are prepared throughout the day. An adda session is unimaginable without cha!

Jol khabar: Literally translated, the term means ‘water and food’ though it is used to denote snacks. Breakfast is also ‘jol khabar’ even though it usually consists of some filling meal like luchi batichorchori (puri with a potato curry usually cooked without turmeric and with green chilli) or an equally heavy radhabollobi (stuffed puri with potato curry).

The evening snacks at teatime are also known as jol khabar