There is no doubt that we Bengalis love our food and “মাছ মিষ্টি & মোর” is the tagline for our unconditional love towards food. So for all us, Khaddo Roshik Bangalis government of West Bengal under the supervision of our honourable chief minister Mamata Banerjee organized a food fair named “Ahare Banlga” in New Town Mela Ground. The fair was going on from 20th to 25th November.
This fair was for all of us who want to enjoy the taste of the world under one single roof. The whole ground was filled with stalls of various types of food some of which you might not even heard before. Along with the stalls, there were four big halls each having different types of foods. The different cuisines on offer were varying from Continental to Mughlai, Chinese to Russian and also Japanese and Thai food. All the stalls were on the sides of the ground and there were many seats and tables available for you to sit and enjoy your food.
Seeing so much food you can easily get confused which one to eat and which one to leave. So when we started checking out the prices of the foods we realized the difference between a govt. fair and a fair initiated by Govt. The prices were fairly high and not all could afford everything. So if you want to try out some of the unique items on offer it will for sure burn a hole in your pocket.
Now coming to the things which were actually worth giving a try. Food and food habits are becoming a trend these days so the young generation or the youth, as usual, attracted toward the fast foods and snacks. Many popular fast food stalls like Nizam, Zeeshan, Ali Baba, Apan Jon etcetera had their stalls. Most of the people just came to spend time with friends and have a chat while eating some snacks the main courses were a bit too expensive.
But the Bong inside me forcing me to write more about the Bengali foods on offer. If you also are a “মাছে ভাতে বাঙালী” like me then there were a lot of stalls where you can get a full Bengali meal with Dal, Bhat, Machh Bhaja, Alu Bbhaja, Papad.
This was a haven for fish lovers many fish related items like Fish cutlet, Fish chop, Fish Batter Fry, Fish curry everything was there. We also tried Fish Momo which was very different that to in a good way. Along with many popular restaurants, West Bengal Govt. also had a stall there to serve fish.
Bengalis need “শেষ পাতে মিষ্টি” so for that reason there was completely a different ground for sweets. All the big sweet shops of Bengal along with some traditional Bengali sweets had their stall over there. Sita Bhog, Mihi Dana from Bardhaman, Langcha from Shaktigarh, Shor Bhaja Sandesh, Jol Bhora Sandesh and many other very popular sweet dishes were available.
There was so many types of Rashogollas baked, Tulshi and many more. Another very traditional Bengali food on offer was Pitha Puli. Many women were making pitha pulis and the varieties like Dudh Puli, Mango Patishapta, Chocolate Pithe were very innovative and also delicious.
Lastly, Bangalis also love to try new food, so there was a lot for us to try. Russian cookies, cakes and many other dishes were there. Thai food many different Chinese dishes were there too. Japanese sushi grabbed a lot of attention.
Many were interested to try out these exotic foods. One other section was there for pickles and some handmade stuff like bags and some earrings, necklaces etcetera.
This was the fourth year for Ahare Bangla and it happens once every year. If you guys missed this year make sure to visit next year. Keep an eye on Ahare Bangla website and they also have an android app on the play store.
Hope you guys liked our coverage if you also visited Ahare Bangla 2018 share your thoughts on comments. For more content follow us at Facebook and Instagram.