Aditi, remember you asked me to write on Durga Puja food habits .... You wanted to have some inputs for some magazine.... See this mail below which I wrote on 5th Dec 2016 at 10.28 PM

Durga Puja is not just a festival .Its a big canvas of life where very sweep of the brush ushers fusion of cosmic energies and conspicuous spirit of joy. Every Bengali waits for this celebration and remain lingered to get submerged in this extreme celebration of life. None can stay away from the the fun, food and the fervour that Durga Puja brings in .

The gregarious Bengali community greets this celebration as a stage where people gather from all walks of life and participate in few days of sheer joy.

The festival dots various celebrations from offering puja to Goddess, wearing new clothes, travelling from far away locations and uniting with family, cultural extravaganza, showcasing creative talents and off course the multi cuisine Bengali delicacies.

Food occupies the centre stage in Durga Puja. Food acts as a medium of intimacy for the gregarious Bengali community and what better occasion can it be other than the Durga Puja.

The fast foods of prominence include fish fry and mutton Kabiraji, Bengal’s obsession with the crumb coated, deep fried delights takes a whole new meaning during Durga Puja. Not to forget the famous luchi with aloo dum forms the archetypal Bengali’s favourite breakfast.

The famous  Bhog’er Khichuri served at various Puja Pandals form the star attraction and unmatched nostalgia. Young neighborhood men clad in traditional pajama Punjabi gladly take up the tiring job of serving khichuri bhog to the hundreds who gather to feast on the delightful sweet and spicy mix of rice and lentils, served on plates made of banana or sal leaves, typically accompanied by brinjal fry (bejuni), a spicy medley of seasonal vegetables (chocchori) chutney, papad

The food culture of a Bengali is earmarked and synonymous with fish in its various forms. Amongst the delicacies which finds fkavour in this season are the sorshe ilish (hilsa cooked with mustard paste), Ilish paturi is a very popular dish where the banana leaves retain the flavour of the fish as well as the spices, chingri macher malai curry (prawn cooked in coconut milk) is a classic dish.

A Bengali cannot imagine Durga Puja sans mangsho (goat meat). Kosha mangsho – mutton braised with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and a host of warm aromatic spices – is spicy with a hint of sweet and is best enjoyed with phulko luchi or typical Bengali style sweet basanti (yellow) pulao packed with nuts and raisins.

Amongst the other delicacies which finds prominence to meet the insatiable hunger is biriyani with its potatoes and eggs alongside succulent chunks of meat/chicken

Durga puja remains incomplete without the mouth watering Bengali sweet disches. From sandesh,chanar jilipi to mihidana, sitabhog and langcha, roshogollas, kamala bhog, sandesh, and Pantua ,misti doi– iconic in themselves finds flavor everywhere. Few home made sweets like narkel naru( grated coconut in sugar) are invariably made at every home. New generation fusion sweets with chocolate and strawberry are fast catching up too.