September 30, 2025
DHAKA – In this collection of seven recipes, we celebrate the spirit of Durga Puja through the flavours that unite households, generations, and memories. Each dish is more than food; it is a piece of the festival itself, carrying the essence of one of Bengal’s grandest celebrations to every table.
DOI POTOL
With its creamy yoghurt-based gravy and tender pointed gourds, doi potol, reflects the subtle elegance of Puja meals. Unlike heavier festive dishes, this one offers a balance of richness and lightness, making it a favourite during Navami feasts when the heart longs for variety but the stomach seeks comfort.
Ingredients
½ cup yoghurt
1 tsp sugar
½ tbsp gram flour (besan)
6-8 black peppercorns
500g pointed gourd
½ tbsp ginger paste
3-4 green chillies
1 bay leaf
3 cloves
2-inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
1 pinch of cardamom powder
Salt to taste
½ cup of water, for gravy
Oil for cooking
Method
For the sauce —
Add ½ cup yoghurt in a blender. Add sugar (it helps to cut the sourness of yoghurt). Add gram flour and black peppercorns. Whisk for 30 seconds until smooth. Set aside.
For the curry —
Cut both edges of all the pointed gourds. Peel the skin. Split the vegetable slightly with the help of a knife, from the sides (it should not get cut into pieces). Wash the pointed gourds and set them aside.
Heat a pan and make it completely dry. Now, add oil and wait until it gets hot. Add bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon sticks, and let them crackle. Add the pointed gourds and cook them on medium-high flame for 2 minutes. Flip the pointed gourds and fry the other side for another 2 minutes. Add salt, and turmeric powder, and give a nice mix. Add the ginger paste.
Cook in a low flame until the raw smell goes away. Add green chillies and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook on low flame for another 5 minutes or until they become tender. Stir occasionally in between.
Add cumin powder, and coriander powder and give a nice mix. Cook the masala on low flame for a minute. Add the yoghurt sauce to the pan and mix it properly. Cook for a minute on low flame. Add water and give a nice stir. Cover the pan and put the flame on high until the gravy simmers. Switch off the flame and add garam masala powder and cardamom powder into the curry. Stir the masala into the curry evenly. Doi potol is ready.
MOCHAR GHONTO (BANANA FLOWER CURRY)
Cooked with patience and precision, mochar ghonto carries with it the earthy aroma of ghee and garam masala, pairing perfectly with plain rice. During Puja days, when vegetarian meals take centre stage, this dish symbolises an offering of love that feels deeply rooted in the soil of Bengal.
Ingredients
1 medium mocha
½ cup chopped coconut
2 bay leaves
6-8 dry red chillies
½ tsp cumin seeds
2-3 clove
1-inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
2 tbsp ghee, Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Method
Clean and chop the mocha. Be careful while you are cleaning. Remove the leaves and tiny black stick inside the flowers. Wash and cook the flower in a pan with pinch of turmeric powder, salt, clove, cinnamon and 1 cup of water. Once flowers become tender, drain the water and keep the flower aside. Temper the hot oil with dry red chillies, bay leaves and cumin seeds. Don’t forget to add a little sugar in the smoking hot oil. It will give the dish a nice caramelised colour. When they start to crackle, add pre-cooked banana flowers and mix well. Sprinkle turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and give it a good stir. After 2 minutes add coconut and continue mixing. Now add garam masala powder and ghee. Mix well. Mochar Ghonto is ready to be served with steaming-hot plain rice.
PHOTO: THE DAILY STAR
DAAL
No Puja spread is truly complete without daal, as it ties together the many flavours on the plate, offering both comfort and balance. During Puja, when bhog is shared among friends, family, and strangers alike, daal becomes more than food. It is a symbol of community and togetherness.
Ingredients
¼ cup maskalai daal
¼ cup cholar daal
¼ cup moong daal
¼ cup masoor daal
¼ cup arhar daal
¼ cup chopped onion
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
½ tsp turmeric powdered
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seed
3 pieces green chilli
2 pieces large tomatoes
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp coriander leaves
A pinch of asafoetida powder (hing)
Salt to taste
Method
Mix, pick, rinse several times and soak the lentils in water for 2 hours. In a deep pan add mixed lentils, salt, turmeric powder and water, cover the pan and cook for 30-40 minutes. Stir the daal occasionally. Add some more water if needed. In a separate pan, pour ghee and let it heat up. Carefully add a pinch of hing and cumin seeds. When cumin is brown, add ginger-garlic paste, sauté well; then add onions and sauté again till brown in colour.
Now add tomatoes, green chillies, coriander powder and cook well till oil separates from the mixture. Now just whisk the daal slightly and pour it in the pan. Mix well, add some water if needed and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the daal to a creamy texture. When it is done remove the pan. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with rice or roti.
PHOTO: THE DAILY STAR
CHINGRI MALAI CURRY
Chingri malai curry, with its luxurious blend of coconut milk and prawns, is a crown jewel of Puja feasting. It is the kind of curry that makes conversations linger, plates refill, and memories last well beyond Puja. Its richness embodies the indulgent spirit of the season, a time when joy is best measured in abundance.
Ingredients
10 large size prawn/galda chingri (medium-sized shrimps can also be used)
2 whole cinnamons
2 tsp green chilli paste
8 green cardamoms
500ml liquid milk
5-6 cloves
300g onion paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ghee
1 tsp salt
200ml mustard oil
Masala paste —
1 tsp mustard seed (black)
1 tsp moury
10 cashew nuts
200 ml yoghurt
For the gravy —
300g grated coconut
500ml hot water
Method
Masala paste —
Take a blender. Add mustard seed, moury, nuts, and yoghurt. Make a smooth paste.
For the gravy —
Add coconut and hot water in a blender and whisk for a couple of minutes. Pour the contents into a bowl with a fine strainer, to extract the milk. Press with a spoon on the coconut shreds so that all the milk is strained.
The curry —
Prawns with shells work best for chingri malai curry. Wash them thoroughly and devein each and every prawn before cooking. Now, rub some salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder and leave those for 5 minutes.
Heat oil in a deep vessel. Fry prawns one by one without tempering the shell on medium flame until the prawns turn pink in colour. After straining the prawns from the hot oil, add half of the ghee. Temper the ghee-oil mixture with cinnamon, green cardamoms, and cloves. Add onion paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the paste is cooked properly and turned pinkish-brown in colour. Add garlic-ginger paste and green chilli paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Now, add turmeric powder, sugar, salt, red chilli powder, and masala paste into the mixture. Cook for 5-7 minutes on low flame until oil separates from the mixture. If required add 1 tsp water in between. Add Coconut Milk to the mixture and mix properly. Add liquid milk and bring it to a boil. Finally, add fried prawns to the gravy.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes on low flame until the gravy thickens to a medium consistency. Add garam masala powder and ghee to chingri malai curry and mix properly.
PHOTO: THE DAILY STAR
STEAMED HILSHA WITH BOTTLE GOURD LEAVES (LAU PATAE BHAPA ILISH)
Ingredients
6 pcs bottle gourd leaves (whole)
6 pcs fish fillets (hilsha)
1 tbsp mustard seeds
5 green chillies
¼ cup mustard oil
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp coconut paste (optional)
Salt to taste
Method
Grind mustard seeds and green chillies into a paste. Marinate the fish fillets with mustard paste, salt, turmeric powder, coconut paste, and a dash of mustard oil. Place the marinated fish on a bottle gourd leaf and wrap it securely. Steam the wrapped fish in a steamer or pressure cooker for 10-15 minutes. Serve the fish in the leaf parcel with steamed rice.
PHOTO: THE DAILY STAR
KHEERSHA PULI
No Puja is complete without sweets, and kheersha puli carries with it the warmth of homemade indulgence. Crispy on the outside with a molten heart of kheersha, these little pockets are often made in batches, their aroma filling the kitchen with festive cheer.
Ingredients
1 cup rice flour
1 cup jaggery
1½ cup water
1 cup kheersha
1/8 tsp salt
Oil for deep fry
Method
Boil water and add jaggery and salt to it. Add rice flour to boiling water and keep stirring with wooden spoon to form a firm but soft and not sticky dough. Adjust accordingly. Kneed well for about 3-4 minutes. Take a portion of the dough and roll it out as thick tortilla. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter. Place a small amount of kheersha on each circle. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Brush the edges with water and seal tightly to form a semi-circle. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the kheersha puli in medium heat until the dough is cooked through and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature
PERA SONDESH
Simple yet elegant, this is the quintessential sweet that embodies Puja hospitality. Whether offered to guests dropping in after pandal-hopping or served to children waiting eagerly after anjali, its melt-in-the-mouth texture makes it a universal favourite.
Ingredients
2 cups of milk powder
½ cup milk
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp ghee
¼ tsp cardamom powder
Pistachios for garnish
Method
Heat milk in a pan. Add sugar and mix until dissolved. Stir in milk powder. Mix and mash on low flame. Add ghee and cardamom powder. Turn off the heat and mix well until smooth and soft. Let it cool. Create round balls with the mix, press down in the centre with your thumb, and place a pistachio in the centre before serving. Enjoy.