Despite the oft-bandied stereotype involving mustard drenched fish ensconced in moats of steaming rice, there is an uncontained exuberance about the Bengali approach to food that’s bound to infect you, even if the fish-and-rice routine is what you’re expecting.

Delve a little deeper into the Bengali palate and you’ll find an astonishing range of flavours, textures, and indeed even parts of flora and fauna that you didn’t know could ever dream of seeing the right end of a chef’s palm, much less taste so startling delicious.

Herein lies the ingenuity of Bengali culinary sensibility – an impeccable pulse for blending flavours in a Gestalt-inspired ‘the-whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts’ way. Peels of bottle gourd, stalks of the banana tree, its flowers, leaves and raw fruit plus odds and ends of vegetables – they’re all part of the course – cooked with an uncommon passion to produce exquisite dishes of startling simplicity.

But the vegetarian spread is just the beginning. There are also 40 different kinds of fresh water fish, and myriad ways to that meat can be paired with a platter of rice.

So it’s no wonder that in Bengal, as much attention is paid to the structure of the meal as is to the meal itself. The starter is bitter: neem leaves or bitter gourd fried in oil.

The first course is a shuktoh, a thick and bitter soupy mixture of vegetables in a ginger-mustard sauce, followed by the shaak or leafy vegetables like spinach, chard, fenugreek and amaranth cooked with potatoes or brinjal.

Then there’s daal.

Daal in Bengal acquires a whole new significance, depending on the way in which it's cooked. From watery thin boiled daal to indulgently roasted and pampered preparations, its boundless variety comprises the most wholesome part of a Bengali meal. And, it’s always accompanied by crispy fried potato, brinjal, pumpkin, bitter or pointed gourd, or even a wide selection of fish.

My favourite Bengali daal is a mouth-watering preparation of moong daal made with bay leaves, raisins, cinnamon, cardamom and raw mango, resulting in a deliciously thick preparation. The soft grains of the daal assume the scent of the spices and the mango, blending sweet and savoury tastes in a way I’ve never come across before. But this is just a teaser. A mere trifling compared with what follows.

I can’t say enough about Chingri Maachher Malai Curry. Cooked oh-so-slowly, it is an unforgettable preparation of Jumbo prawns marinated in lime juice and cooked in a paste of onions, cashew nuts, turmeric, poppy seeds, cumin, red chilli powder and milk, garnished with grated coconut. The result is a spicy and succulent masterpiece.

Kasa Mangsho is the ultimate Bengali mutton dish. Marinated in an aromatic mix of turmeric, coriander, red pepper, yoghurt, mustard oil and ginger-garlic and onion paste, the mutton is deep fried in mustard oil.
Cooked at high pressure in gravy made from pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and deep fried potatoes, Kasa Mangsho is the sort of delicacy you’ll find cooked in every home on special occasions.

The meal is closed with deliciously tart chutney made from mangoes, tomatoes, papaya, pineapple, or tamarind, accompanied ideally by crisp papads, giving way to a fascinating range of desserts.

If you’re looking to sample this rare treat, head to the Sheraton Rajputana. There’s a delicious Bengali banquet awaiting your indulgence.

For more on this feast, do visit Gourmet Guide.