Dhaka

[Edward]

Hello Everybody,

In about 12 weeks (I will soon be counting the days) I will be in Dhaka and am wondering if anyone knows where to get great food.

I am especially interested in good Dhakai Parota, Rezala and Maacher Biriyani.

Any tips will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Edward

[bong]

Never been to Dhaka (other than on a brief stop-over), so can't help you here, sorry.

Dont miss anything prepared with "Illish Maach" (Hilsa fish), there is a great rivalry among people in west bengal (where I am from) and people in Bangladesh about whose Illish tastes better... I will concede that on this point the Bangladeshis are right and Illish from Padma river in general tastes better....

Unfortunately, by the time you go, the Hilsa season would be over.

Try to see if you can eat at someone's home -- chances are, it will be a far better experience than eating at a restaurant.

And, of course, dont forget to post a report when you are back!

Hope you have a great trip, both culinarily and otherwise.

[Vikram]

If you don't already have Chitrita Banerji's Life and Food in Bengal, try and get your hands on a copy. She has very interesting descriptions of food in Dhaka - all sounding more rich than its equivalent in West Bengal. She mentions a Duck cooked with oranges that sounds interesting, if only to see what a Bengali version of Duck a l'orange is like. Also lots of dishes made from the meat of castrated goats - I forget the Bengali term at the moment - and other things like egg halva.

Vikram

[bong]

castrated goats

"Khasi"

[Edward]

Never been to Dhaka (other than on a brief stop-over), so can't help you here, sorry.

Dont miss anything prepared with "Illish Maach" (Hilsa fish), there is a great rivalry among people in west bengal (where I am from) and people in Bangladesh about whose Illish tastes better... I will concede that on this point the Bangladeshis are right and Illish from Padma river in general tastes better....

Unfortunately, by the time you go, the Hilsa season would be over.

Try to see if you can eat at someone's home -- chances are, it will be a far better experience than eating at a restaurant.

And, of course, dont forget to post a report when you are back!

Hope you have a great trip, both culinarily and otherwise.

I will be staying with a friend while there and since he is there alone without his family, who are all now in Bethesda, he has a cook. So this will give me the chance to both eat and cook home-made meals. Yes, the Hilsa will be gone, but there will be no shortage of other fish!

[Edward]

If you don't already have Chitrita Banerji's Life and Food in Bengal, try and get your hands on a copy. She has very interesting descriptions of food in Dhaka - all sounding more rich than its equivalent in West Bengal. She mentions a Duck cooked with oranges that sounds interesting, if only to see what a Bengali version of Duck a l'orange is like. Also lots of dishes made from the meat of castrated goats - I forget the Bengali term at the moment - and other things like egg halva.

Vikram

I do have that book. It is one of my all time favorites.

I have been told that the ultimate dish made with Khashi is the Kaccha Biriyani. This is where the rice and meat are both sealed in the pot raw and cooked together at the same time. Egg halva is a unique one. When I was learning Indian music, my music teacher's wife (she is a Bangladeshi) made it for a holiday dinner.

What I am really hoping to bring back with me is olive pickle. Not the oily kind you can find it jars at Bengali stores here in the US, but the dry kind. It is sweet, salty and bitter. Sort of like dry pickled Ber. I love it!!!