Bites of Dhaka

Bites of Dhaka

Megacity Dhaka's street food has evolved a lot over the past decade or so. While some of the items are traditional, there are a few new inductees in the Hall of Names. Writes Faizul Khan Tanim

We Bangladeshis love to associate our food, especially snacks with conversations, laid-back attitude and nostalgic walks. And if these addas (conversations) can fetch all the different snacks between breakfast, lunch and dinner...then why not? Let us take a look at some of the newer Dhaka street snacks which evolved during the past one or two decades mainly. Although consumption of these food items in large quantity is not recommended, especially with the ones who have weak stomachs, but a word of caution – you cannot escape having only one!

The Evolving Taste of our Street Food Authenticity
The idea of ‘fusion’ has not only passed musical boundaries and it is in fact one of the innate features of food business today. For instance, who would think we would have less calorie healthy food as snacks? That is right. Gulshan-2 circle features a tomato preparation by one Mojibor Rahman, affectionately a.k.a Tomato Mama, one of those mobile jhalmuri/chanachur peddlers. When my brother introduced him to me the first time, he looked morbid...without a smile...but as soon as my brother said, “Mammaaa amar bhai re apner special tomato ta khawan toh (Mama meaning maternal uncle, has become a local affectionate call for the Bangladeshi psyche to show that you care. Please treat my brother your special tomato delight)”, I could see a smirk from a rugged man wearing a sock cap sporting Marvel Comics’s The Punisher look.  He usually comes at 5:00 pm, leaves by 10 and in between treats people with a menu of his own creation - Tomato Delight. The tomato cut in beautiful finger food portion and then stuffed with his secret ingredients - green coriander leaves, plenty of green chilli slices, lemon zest, and a dash of achar/tok (pickle) - what happens when it reaches a connoisseur’s taste bud? It indulges in an affair with a spirited combustion of both hot and sweet bursting into a unique zest in your mouth and the connoisseur will say Amen! If its winter, voilà...one bite and the chill will dissapear. At taka 15 it is absolutely worth it.

And then there is our Gorib er Burger – a term coined to depict the most influential impact of the western fastfood hamburger on our local street food. This gorib er burger (poor man’s burger), also called bhel puri is actually a unique item – puri stuffed with lentil mix, salads and tamarind paste. Another explosive of an item which evolved during the past decade in the newer parts of Dhaka and is very popular right now. One would not see a single bhel puri mama sitting idle and they usually cost Taka 3 and one would find lots of them peddling on the city’s Elephant Road.

And talk about evolving taste, a new form of jhalmuri bhorta and chanachur makha has hit an intersection of Dhaka produced by Mohammad Alom. The Shahbagh intersection, right in front of Public Library beside Charukola (Institute of Fine Arts) sports this amazing puffed rice mix, believed to have gained a strong reputation, almost as strong as BBKP (boro baap er polay khay) from Chawk Bazar of Puran Dhaka. This unique jhalmuri/chanachur has some essential mixtures such as chicken kima (mince), gravy, achar (pickle), boiled egg and few other secret ingredients. And what makes this special? Well it’s a newer and evolved jhalmuri/chanachur makha (puffed rice mix) but moreover...it does taste good.


The Ingredients of Royal Addas
Adda is a chit-chat / tête-à-tête /informal conversation sessions enjoyed by almost all Bengalis. It has been an inherent part of our culture, one not to be messed with, and it is usually accompanied by crunchy food ranging from kolijar shingara, jhalmuri but most essentially, and cannot be replaced by anything else, a good chaa (tea).

Although malai chaa (tea topped with stewed milk cream) made its mark a long time back and hard to find, there is another preparation where boiling fresh milk is used to make tea and honestly, it tastes really amazing. And such tea is available at Dhanmondi Rabindra Sarovar’s tea stall. Served in one-time cups, they are an epitome of quality tea and probably the reason behind such hot cups of warmth is that one or two spices are mixed with the tea leaves.

Another item which has caught the attention of Dhaka foodies is a special bhapa pitha available in Puran Dhaka around Kazi Alauddin Road. Now this steamed pie has its reason to be famous. It is the perfect end of your stomach’s trip in a whole day, a well-deserved desert and of course, reaching Puran Dhaka on peak times can be tiring. So if you arrive there by 1:30 to 2:00 in the morning and if it’s cold, not only will you savor a bustling Puran Dhaka, but it’s a different experience altogether. Ranging from Taka 10 to 150, one of the highest selling commodities is the very special khejur-er gur er bhapa pitha. Although it sounds as if the pie is only made of date molasses but the more price you pay, the special it gets. And the most sinfully amazing piece I devoured, had molasses, coconut shred, different nuts, moist raisin, khirsha (a special kind of milk cream) and maybe something more – the consequence? A sugar high of anthemic proportion and by God, the sweets from the sweet shops did not ever taste sweeter and better than that pie of love and warmth. And your adda can finally come to an end.

*This article was first published in The Independent Weekend Magazine Friday Jan 18 2013 - http://theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=34&date=2013-01-18