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Shukto
Shukto ( bn, শুক্তো) is a popular vegetable dish in Bengali cuisine usually served with rice in the West Bengal state of India and in the neighbouring country Bangladesh. It has slightly bitter taste and is especially served in the banquets of Bengali social ceremonies like Annaprasana, Sraddhya or Bengali Wedding as a part of traditional Bengali thali. Shukto has numerous different variations and can be prepared in different ways. The tradition of starting a meal by consuming bitters, considered to have a medicinal value, dates back to the ancient times and was promoted by the authors of Ayurveda. Shukto was consumed as a cooling agent in the hot and humid climates of the ancient kingdoms of undivided Bengal like Anga, Vanga and Kalinga. Shukto is also said to have mentions in Mangal-Kāvya, written during the medieval period and in the biographies of Sri Chaitanya. Variations Dudh Shukto is a popular variant which is prepared with milk to alleviate the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka.", "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turmeric
Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and a considerable amount of Annual rainfall in india, annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered each year for their rhizomes, some for propagation in the following season and some for consumption. The rhizomes are used fresh or boiled in water and dried, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a food coloring#Natural food dyes, coloring and flavoring agent in many Asian cuisines, especially for Curry, curries, as well as for dyeing, characteristics imparted by the principal turmeric constituent, curcumin. Turmeric powder has a warm, bitter, black pepper-like flavor and earthy, mustard plant, mustard-like aroma. Curcumin, a bright yellow chemical produced by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengali Hindu Wedding
Bengali Hindu wedding refers to the traditional Bengali wedding, usually with Hindu rites and rituals native to the Indian subcontinent. See also * Bengali Muslim wedding * Gaye Holud * Culture of West Bengal * Culture of Bangladesh * Wedding in Bangladesh A Bengali Muslim wedding ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমানের বিয়ে ''Bangali Musalmaner Biye'') includes many rituals and ceremonies that can span several days. In most cases, it starts with the ''Paka Dekha'' ceremon ... References {{Indian wedding Wedding Bengali Hindu Marriage in Hinduism Marriage, unions and partnerships in Bangladesh Weddings by culture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Funerals have both normative and legal components. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation. The funeral usually includes a ritual through which the corpse receives a final disposition. Depending on culture and religion, these can involve either the destruction of the body (for example, by cremation or sky burial) or its preservation (for examp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annaprashana
The Annaprashana ( sa, अन्नप्राशन, , bn, অন্নপ্রাশন, ) also known as Annaprashana vidhi, Annaprasan or Anna-prasanam, is a Hindu rite of passage (Saṃskāra) that marks an infant's first intake of food other than milk. The term ''annaprashana'' means "eating of cooked rice". In Vedic Hindu culture the child cannot eat rice until Annaprashana has occurred. Importance is given to rice because of its symbolism as a life-sustaining food and a sacred food in the form of kheer. The Annaprashana remains an important milestone and the ceremony is celebrated in Nepal and India. It is also known as ''MukheBhat'' in West Bengal, ''Choroonu'' in Kerala, and ''Bhath Khulai'' in Himachal Pradesh. In Nepal, it is also called Pasni. Etymology The word Annaprāśana (Devanagari: अन्नप्राशन) is made of two Sanskrit words, ''Anna'' meaning "cooked rice" and ''Prāśana'' meaning "feeding“. The ceremony of the Annaprāśana is referr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banquet
A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes include a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration. They often involve speeches in honor of the topic or guest of honour. The older English term for a lavish meal was a feast, and "banquet" originally meant a specific and different kind of meal, often following a feast, but in a different room or even building, which concentrated on sweet foods of various kinds. These became highly fashionable as sugar became much more common in Europe at the start of the 16th century. It was a grand form of the dessert course, and special banqueting houses, often on the roof or in the grounds of large houses, were built for them. Such meals are also called a "sugar collation". Social meanings Banquets feature luxury foods, often includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourth-most populous and thirteenth-largest state by area in India, as well as the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. As a part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority. The area's early history featured a succession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengali Cuisine
Bengali cuisine ( bn, বাঙ্গালী রন্ধনপ্রণালী) is the culinary style of Bengal, a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent encompassing Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam's Barak Valley. The cuisine has been shaped by the region's diverse history of Bengal, history and climate. It is known for its varied use of flavours, as well as the spread of its confectioneries and desserts. Bengali cuisine has the only traditionally developed full course dinner, multi-course custom in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, South Asia that is analogous in structure to the modern ''service à la russe'' style of French cuisine, with food served in course (food), courses rather than all at once. There is a strong emphasis on rice as a staple, served with fish, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Many Bengali food traditions draw from social activities, such as Adda (South Asian), adda, or the ''Mezban''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vegetarian Cuisine
Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products (such as gelatin or animal-derived rennet). Lacto-ovo vegetarianism (the most common type of vegetarianism in the Western world) includes eggs and dairy products (such as milk and cheese without rennet). Lacto vegetarianism includes dairy products but not eggs, and ovo vegetarianism encompasses eggs but not dairy products. The strictest form of vegetarianism is veganism, which excludes all animal products, including dairy, honey, and some refined sugars if filtered and whitened with bone char. There are also partial vegetarians, such as pescetarians who eat fish but avoid other types of meat. There are a wide range of possible vegetarian foods, including some developed to particularly suit a vegetarian/vegan diet, either by filling the culinary niche where recipes would otherwise have meat, or by ensuring healthy intake of protein, B12 vitamin, and other nutrients ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater. The open ocean has about of solids per liter of sea water, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for life in general, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous food seasonings, and is known to uniformly improve the taste perception of food, including otherwise unpalatable food. Salting, brining, and pickling are also ancient and important methods of food preservation. Some of the earliest evidence of salt processing dates to around 6,000 BC, when people living in the area of present-day Romania boiled spring water to extract salts; a salt-works in China dates to approximately the same period. Salt was also prized by the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from cream (traditionally made by churning the topmost layer of curd, which is also called the ''Bilona'' method), skimming any impurities from the surface, then pouring and retaining the clear liquid fat while discarding the solid residue that has settled to the bottom. Spices can be added for flavor. The texture, color, and taste of ghee depend on the quality of the butter, the milk source used in the process, and the duration of boiling time. Etymology The word ''ghee'' comes from sa, घृत (', ) 'clarified butter', from ''ghṛ-'' 'to sprinkle'. In Dravidian languages, it is also known as te, నెయ్యి '('neyyi''), ta, நெய் or துப்பகம் (''tuppakam''), ml, നെയ്യ് (''ney'') and kn, ತ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
