Kali Puja is a bit different than usual for Subhajit Bhattacharyya of Lost and Rare Recipes this year. He will be missing his annual tradition of a Diwali gathering with friends because the food connoisseur will be at the Dakshineshwar Temple, cooking the mahabhog.
In a chat with My Kolkata, the culinary personality shared with us his favourite Kali Puja bhog, memories from childhood and more. Edited excerpts from the chat follow…
My Kolkata: There are two types of bhog — niramish and amish. How did this differentiation come into being?
Subhajit Bhattacharyya: People who perform puja in Shakta tradition, and especially where there is a tradition of animal sacrifice (boli), have amish or non vegetarian bhog. Now, many such places now ‘sacrifice’ vegetables like white gourd or sugarcane, and offer amish bhog. Those who offer pujo in Vaishnav tradition, offer vegetarian or niramish bhog. Since animal slaughter is banned now, many offer vegetarian bhog, while there are some who offer fish too.
People who perform puja in Shakta tradition, and especially where there is a tradition of animal sacrifice (boli), have amish or non vegetarian bhog Wikimedia Commons
If you cook a complete bhog on Kali Puja, what will the menu comprise?
A bhog menu is more or less fixed. Mine will have khichuri, five/seven/or nine types of fried items because the fried savouries are always offered in odd numbers. Along with that there will be labra, phoolkopi or bandhakopir torkari, bori diye palong shaaker ghanta, pulao, niramish alur dum, luchi, jalpai chutney, payesh, sooji, mishti and fruits. And if it is an amish bhog, then Kalibarir niramish mangsho and maach bhaja.
Lost and Rare Recipes’ special Kalibarir Niramish Mangsho Lost and Rare Recipes/YouTube
What are your three favourite niramish and amish bhog items?
There are not many choices in amish bhog. The mutton recipe is the main one, and in some places maachh bhaja is also offered. When it comes to niramish bhog, I really like labra. The Vikrampur-way of making labra has milk and ghee in it, and tastes mildly sweet. The Maymansigh version has all the spices and vegetables in it. This form of labra does not have ghee, but has mustard in it. I think Maymansigh’s labra is the only recipe that I know which has both mustard and garam masala in it. Other than that, I like phoolkopir torkari.
If someone wants to cook the bhoger mangsho, what are the three things that they must keep in mind?
Go to Lost and Rare Recipes and follow the recipe given there, step by step, ekdom thik hobe (it will be perfect). (laughs)
A memory related to Kali Puja bhog that is still memorable?
You don’t get the Kali Puja bhog on the day of the pujo, it comes the next morning, because Kali Puja usually happens late in the night. In our house, I have always seen mutton being cooked, not in the niramish way but with onion and garlic, when celebrating Kali Pujo and Diwali. Bhog, invariably, would come the next morning, either from the locality or from Kalighat. We used to have breakfast with the bhog, and it was such a joyful experience.
Your favourite Kali Puja memory?
My most favourite Kali Puja memory is from my childhood,— playing with crackers, wearing new clothes and enjoying it with my family. My brother is much younger than me, and when he started to play with crackers, I had already lost my fascination with them. But I used to be with him, to help him and protect him. From the later years, Kali Puja meant a party with friends, and it still happens — our Diwali party. But this year I will have to give it a miss because we are cooking mahabhog in the bhogshala at the Dakshineswar Temple for 1,200 people.
Bhattacharyya will be cooking the mahabhog in the bhogshala at the Dakshineswar Temple for 1,200 people Wikimedia Commons
Which is the one place where the taste and memory of eating bhog remains memorable?
Bhog has always been very auspicious and it has a special taste. I cannot pin a specific place, but whenever I have had bhog, there has always been a distinct taste. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s psychological, maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s spiritual, maybe it is coincidental. But bhog always has a different taste.
