Blog
Insights, guides, and stories from the UK curry industry
Paan: The Betel Leaf Ritual That Closes a Subcontinental Meal
Paan is the folded betel-leaf parcel that traditionally ends a meal across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, prized for digestion, fragrance and conviviality. Here is how it works, what goes inside, and how UK curry houses still offer it.
Smoked Hilsa and the Bengali Monsoon: Ilish Bhapa Steamed in Banana Leaf
Ilish bhapa is the gentle steamed cousin of shorshe ilish, hilsa cooked sealed in banana leaf with mustard, green chilli and mustard oil. This is why the monsoon hilsa season is a Bengali obsession and how to cook it well.
Kasundi: Bengal's Fermented Mustard Sauce and Why It Stings the Right Way
Kasundi is Bengal's pungent fermented mustard condiment, sun-cured and sharp enough to clear your sinuses, the perfect foil for fish fry and steamed vegetables. Here is its tradition, its bite, and how UK Bengali kitchens source or make it.
Aloo Posto: The Poppy Seed Paste Dish at the Heart of Bengali Home Cooking
Aloo posto is the quietly beloved Bengali dish of potatoes simmered in a ground poppy-seed paste, gentle, cooling and deeply comforting. Here is its place in Bengali kitchens, why posto suits the summer, and how it is made.
Chingri Bhapa to Doi Maach: How Bengalis Cook with Mustard, Coconut and Yoghurt
Bengali fish and prawn cookery rests on three sauce bases: pungent mustard, rich coconut and tangy yoghurt. This technique-led guide explains when each is used, the dishes they build, and how to balance them.
Sylheti Akhni: The One-Pot Aromatic Rice That Travelled to Britain's Curry Houses
Akhni is the everyday one-pot aromatic rice of Sylhet, the region that gave Britain most of its curry houses. Here is what makes its spice profile distinct from biryani and how it crossed the world into UK home kitchens.
Dhaka's Old Town Street Food: Bakorkhani, Haleem and the Chowk Bazaar Iftar
A walking tour of Old Dhaka's street-food legends, from flaky bakorkhani biscuits and slow-cooked haleem to the roaring Ramadan iftar market at Chowk Bazaar.
Morog Polao: Dhaka's Festive Chicken Pulao for Weddings and Guests
Morog polao is the fragrant, gently sweet Bangladeshi chicken pulao served at weddings and to honoured guests. Here is what makes its ghee-and-milk richness special and how it differs from biryani.
Bhuna Khichuri's Companions: Begun Bhaja, Dim Bhuna and the Rainy-Day Bengali Plate
Khichuri is never eaten alone in Bengal. Meet the supporting cast that completes the plate, from crisp fried aubergine to rich egg bhuna, and the cherished ritual of cooking khichuri when the rain comes down.
Roshogolla to Chomchom: A Tour of Bengal's Chhena Sweet Universe
Bengal's sweets go far beyond rasgulla. This is a guided tour of the chhena, or curdled-milk, universe, from spongy roshogolla and syrup-soaked chomchom to delicate sandesh and the sweet-shop culture of Kolkata.
Biye Bari: The Multi-Course Bengali Wedding Feast and Its Unwritten Menu Order
A Bengali wedding banquet is not a buffet but a procession of courses with a strict, unwritten order. Here is how that progression works, from the bitter shukto that opens the meal to the mishti doi that closes it.
Nabanna: The Bengali Harvest Festival and Its New-Rice Pithas and Payesh
Nabanna marks the first harvest of the winter aman rice, a quiet agrarian festival celebrated with pithas and payesh made from freshly milled grain. Here is the food and feeling of the Bengali harvest, and how diaspora families keep it alive.