Roshogolla tiramisu, apple oats payesh: Traditional Durga Puja treats reimagined

Durga Puja is not just about pandal-hopping and dressing up; it’s a celebration that embraces gastronomic extravaganza as well. Here’s how to give pujo dishes a modern twist. "Food during Durga Puja is associated with the fondest memories when everyone gathers and enjoys a lavish meal together," says Avinandan Kundu, head chef at a café in Kolkata


Quirky desserts with khichuri:
Khichuri, which is usually accompanied with chutney and payesh, can be paired with other quirky dishes like:

• K-Pop: Freshly made semi-fluid kesariya kalakand with chopped mangoes
• Orange Blossom: Sweet boondi in rose-flavoured syrup mixed with finely cut, dried rose petals and cardamom, topped with whipped rabri and sprinkled with shredded nuts
• Palm Rose: Thick payesh with a dollop of gulkand, shredded almonds and pistachios

– Anchana Chandak, founder and CEO of a Singapore-based Bengali restaurantMeal and mythologyGoddess Durga celebrates these days without Shiva, and despite feeling sad for him, she doesn’t share her feelings. Instead, she only shares the story of the last meal which is offered. Koyel Roy Nandy, co-head chef at a café in Kolkata says, “We offer a lot of meals as bhog to the Goddess, however, the last meal offered is aluni kochur shaag (colocasia cooked without salt) served with panta bhat (fermented rice), and this is what she goes and tells Shiva.”

‘Stay true to tradition with creative plating’

Contemporary versions of traditional dishes can be created to make pujo meals interesting. But what truly keeps the tradition alive is how these dishes are served.
“Presenting on matir thala (clay plate) and khuri (bowl) enhances the dining experience but also reconnects us to the cultural roots of Bengal,” says Tanmay Karmakar, executive chef at a Kolkata restaurant.

Contemporary food items served as bhog

Traditional Bengali dishes that define Durga Puja bhog include khichuri, labra, bhaja, luchi, aloo dum, payesh etc. Here’s how a contemporary touch can be added to bring a newness to these:
Vegetable fried rice or shyama chaaler pulao (pulao made out of barnyard millet)
Palak fritters
Goyna bori bhaja (a dried dumpling in the form of decorative patterns, made out of lentils, popular in Midnapur district of West Bengal)
Paneer fingers
Aloo tikki
Moong dal pakori
Sago payesh
Luchir rabri
– Rukma Dakshy, cookery columnist and culinary artist

"A dish not to be missed on Navami is Niramish mutton curry, in which the mutton is replaced with jackfruit, and cooked without onion
and garlic," she adds