Dhaka in Dhaka, Bangladesh|left The culinary customs of the nation's capital have been influenced by
Mughlai,
Central Asian,
Armenian,
Persian and native Bengali cuisines. The city's cuisine also has unique local dishes. The
Nawabs of Dhaka brought Mughlai cuisine to Bengal. Mughlai cuisine, which is often lavish and expensive, was out of reach for many people for many centuries. It became more widespread as Bangladesh's economy grew. It is characterised by the use of meat and dairy ingredients, such as lamb, goat, beef, and yogurt together with mild spices. Its dishes include kebab, stuffed breads,
kacchi biriyani, duck, and chicken,
patisapta and others. Kashmiri tea and
korma are still served on special occasions, like
Eid and weddings.
Chowk Bazaar in Old Dhaka is a centuries-old food market and a focal point during Ramadan for the Iftar meal after sunset.
Dhakaiya paratha is a multi-layered bread that found popularity in Kolkata, when immigrants from Dhaka introduced it there following the
Partition of India.
Haji biryani is a rice dish originating from a Dhaka restaurant of the same name. The dish consists of rice, goat meat and spices.
Bakarkhani is a thick, spiced
flat-bread from
Mughlai cuisine often served with tea. is the variant found in Dhaka, where it has been prepared for centuries.
Morog pulao is a signature dish of the city; it is an aromatic rice
pilaf with chicken.
Ilish curry, Dhakai
biryani and
pitha Chittagong Division In Chittagong and the surrounding region, curries are generally highly spiced and often include beef.
Mejbani Gosht is a beef curry for special occasions; made of beef shoulder cooked with spices until dark and tender.
Durus kura or
duroos is a dish comprising a whole chicken cooked in thick broth, served with rice, either as
polao or
khichuri. It is also a part of
Rohingya Cuisine.
Akhni, also commonly known as
Orosher Biriyani is a biriyani variant made with
chinigura rice (an aromatic, short-grained rice). It contains cubes of beef or goat meat with potatoes and dried fruits. Chittagong is near the coast and has several dishes using sea fish, including
rupchanda (
silver pomfret) and
loita (
Bombay duck).
Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts are home to tribes with their own culture and cuisine.
Chakma cuisine uses
sidol, a paste made from fermented shrimps and fish, and
suguni, dried shrimp or fish. Their dishes use more herbs from the hills more than the spices common in Bengali dishes. Rice beer is a popular drink.
Monda is a sweet yogurt patty from
Muktagachhar, first made in 1824. The
Garo people are an ethnic and religious minority in Mymensingh region with their own unique culture and cuisine. Their cuisine is notable for the use of pork, eel, and turtle meat.
Northern Bangladesh Northern Bangladesh has numerous dairy farms that produce yogurt (
doi). Yogurt is also made of evaporated milk which gives it a more intense taste, similar to
kheer.
Catla fish is commonly cooked in doi yogurt. The
Rangpur region has a beef dish cooked with pumpkin. eat crab, pork, squirrel, and fish They produce an alcoholic drink from rice called
hadia. Its peeled and chopped stem and roots are added to meat and fish dishes.
Barisal, a coastal region, uses coconut in cooking.
Sylhet Division The Sylhet area of Bangladesh has a number of characteristic dishes and ingredients. It is home to several citrus fruit varieties such as
hatkora and
thoikor, Adajamir or Ada Lebu, and Ashkul Lebu or Ashkoni Lebu that are commonly used in the region's fish and meat dishes. Although Ashkul Lebu or Ashkoni Lebu is unheard of amongst many Sylhetis due to lack of knowledge on it, and it is most likely to be nearly extinct; the juices of Ashkul Lebu is used to make
Tenga or
Khatta.
Rice dishes Akhni is a
mixed rice dish similar to
biryani or
polao, made with meat and/or vegetables. Red and white
Birin rice (also transliterated as
Biroin or
Bireen) is found only in the Sylhet region. It is eaten in savoury and sweet dishes and is the main ingredient for
Chunga Pitha, a traditional rice cake prepared by stuffing
sticky rice inside young bamboo and smoking it slowly. The rice cake is removed from the tube and has the shape of a candle. The dish may also be made with milk, sugar, coconut, and rice powder.
Khichuri is a rice dish similar in consistency to
porridge. During the holy month of Ramadan, it is served as a staple food for
Iftar. It consists of aromatic rice mixed with spices, ghee, cumin and fenugreek. It is also offered to sick people mixed with ginger.
Meat dishes Beef Hatkhora is a traditional festive dish of beef cooked with hatkora juice.
Aash Bash is a traditional dish using duck and bamboo shoots. It is also known as Aash ar Khoril.
Fish dishes Fish is eaten both curried and fried. Dried and fermented fish called
shutki also known by many locals of Sylhet as
hutki or
hukoin, and hatkora, a bitter and fragrant citrus fruit are used in fish curries. Extremely hot
Naga Morich peppers are used in broths. Some local dishes incorporate
hidol, a pungent chutney of dried fish matured in earthenware pots. This includes
Hutki Shira, a fish curry with vegetables.
Thoikor Tenga is a dish fish cooked with thoikor, a bitter citrus fruit that grows in the Sylhet region.
Other foods from Sylhet Bakarkhani is a flatbread that resembles
porota and is commonly eaten during Iftar, the evening meal during the month of Ramadan
Handesh is a snack made of deep-fried dough sweetened with molasses or sugar. It is served on special occasions such as the festival of
Eid al-Fitr.
Nunor Bora is a savoury snack made of rice flour and with onion, ginger and turmeric, fried to a golden colour.
Tusha Shinni is a dessert
halwa made from sweetened dough with nuts and raisins that is usually served on special occasions.
Seven Color Tea is a colourful drink with multiple different layers of flavoured tea. == Bangladeshi-run restaurants in Great Britain ==