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From pandal to plate: Must-try Durgotsav dishes
in Delhi offers a delightful culinary experience. If you’re planning to go pandal-hopping, check out these food recommendations by home chefs
With the arrival of Maa Durga, vibrant pandals are set up across the city, attracting devotees and food enthusiasts alike. From traditional Bengali delicacies to street food delights and fusion creations on offer, Durga Puja pandals are nothing short of a gastronomic adventure. For a true pandal-hopping experience, we ask home chefs for their pujo food recommendations.
Quintessential flavours
When it comes to iconic street food, phuchka and Kolkata-style kathi rolls reign supreme. But, there’s much more to explore. A Bengali meal isn’t complete without biryani and other non-vegetarian preparations. Home chef Poushali Mullick, who prepared green mutton biryani on Panchami for a GK-II pandal, suggests trying dishes like Gondhoraj chicken and Gondhoraj fish fry. Mullick says, “Seafood items like fried squids, prawns and crab curry with rice can also be tried.”
For home chef Moushumi Moitra, pandals are all about trying “unique dishes that are not a part of your regular fare”. She shares, “Beetroot chops and mochar chops are a must-try for vegetarians, while Mughlai parantha with mangsho is a wholesome meal option for non-vegetarians. Some delicacies that should not be missed during include mangsher ghugni and luchi, Radha bollobhi and alur dom.”
For a truly authentic Bengali culinary experience, don’t miss out on the Durga Puja bhog. “It’s a sacred feast offered to the Goddess and shared among devotees,” says home chef Sonali Chatterji, adding, “Featuring dishes like khichuri, mixed vegetable curry, chutney and payesh, each offering is a flavourful representation of Bengali culinary heritage.”
A culinary window into Kolkata
Bringing flavours straight from the streets of Kolkata, Chatterji is serving Chelo Kabab at Vatica City, Sector 49, Gurugram, till October 23. She says, “It’s a nostalgic dish from my childhood pujo shopping trips. I recreated the platter from a famous restaurant on Park Street.” It consists of butter saffron rice, mutton koobideh, chicken chelo kabab and a baked whole tomato.
For those who want something new with a traditional touch, home chef Sharmila Sinha has given a unique twist to the usual dal by making masoor dal paturi, which will be available at Hilton Garden Inn, Saket, till October 23. Also on offer here are dolmas. “Traditionally, potol or pointed gourd is scooped and stuffed with fish or sautéed prawn filling. But, tomatoes filled with the same paste taste heavenly, too,” says Sinha.
To complete your food sojourn, indulge in some classic desserts. In addition to nolen gurer roshogolla, payesh, sandesh and mishti doi, one can also savour nostalgic flavours at the Vatica City pandal, with narkel takti, prepared by home chef Samita. She says, “It is a sweet that our thakurma and didima used to make with grated coconut in shil batta.”
