There are about 160,000 Bangladeshis living in Singapore (2020 statistics), most of whom are construction and marine industry labourers. Most are housed in dormitories.
The gathering place for the Bangladeshi community in Singapore is along Desker Road which is nicknamed "Little Bangladesh". Bangladeshis come here for hometown food and groceries on weekends and public holidays, hence they call this area "Mini Mart".
Bangladesh is a country of 150,000 sq km and 200 million people located with India on its west and Myanmar to its east, the Himalayas to its north and the Bay of Bengal in the south.
Bangladesh has two major rivers. Which run like a Y-shaped fork from the Himalayas into the Bay of Bengal. From the Himalayas, the Ganges River (which becomes the Padma River in Bangladesh) on its west joins the Brahmaputra River in the east - together they run into the Ganges Delta, into the Bay of Bengal.
Bengal was once the realm of powerful Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms and empires. They were strong enough to thwart Alexander the Great's eastward conquests around 325 BC.
When Islam arrived in Bengal around the 13th century, Islamic sultanates took the place of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms. Bengal was ruled as part of the Mughal empire from the 16th century.
The British East India Company ended Mughal rule at the Battle of Plassey in 1757.
In 1905, the British briefly divided Bengal into West and East Bengal with the majority Hindus in the West and Muslims in the East. The colonial era partition was short-lived but planted the seeds of separation.
With the independence and partition of India in 1947, West Bengal became a state of India and East Bengal became East Pakistan (which together with West Pakistan formed the country of Pakistan).
In 1971, East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan and become the independent country of Bangladesh.
Why are all these geography and history relevant?
The ingredients of Bangladesh cuisine reflect the great natural wealth of the Ganges / Padma and Brahmaputra rivers, and the Chittagong highlands. The dishes of Bangladeshi cuisine have Tamil roots with strong Mughal (Central Asian) influences. The British also left their imprint on Bangladeshi cuisine.
The following are some examples of unique Bangladesh dishes which we can find in Singapore's Little Bangladesh.
Bhorta are mash dishes of vegetables, fish and spices. Alu bhorta is mash potato with spices. There are numerous types of bhorta with different combinations of vegetables, meat, fish and spices resulting in different taste profiles. The diversity of bhorta ingredients reflect the diversity of produce from the land, sea and rivers of Bangladesh. The idea of the bhorta is to maximise scarce resources, so leftover meat, peel, and skin are thrown into the mash.
Traditionally, bhorta is eaten with plain rice or panta bhat (watery fermented rice) - it is a staple and comfort dish of Bangladesh. From its humble beginnings, the bhorta has found its way into restaurant menus even beyond Bangladesh because it is delicious.
Panta bhat or water rice is made by soaking and fermenting cooked rice overnight in water. It's another iconic traditional Bangladeshi dish borne out of frugality and the need to make the most out of available food. The dish was created to salvage leftover rice.
The watery gruel is traditionally eaten in the morning with salt, lime, raw onion, raw chili pepper, mustard oil, bhorta such as alu bhorta or mash potato with spices, as well as other side dishes like fried egg.
Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh. It is the gift of Bangladesh's great rivers and the Bay of Bengal. The bony fish is considered a delicacy by Bangladeshis. It is cooked and enjoyed in many ways such as by stewing in curry, and pan frying in mustard oil. Hilsa fish meat is soft, oily, sweet with a subtle earthly taste. Enjoyed with boiled rice.
Changri malai curry (prawn curry). Medium to large prawns shelled* and sautéed in ghee or mustard oil with mashed onion, chili pepper, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, spices, then stewed briefly in coconut milk.
Malai means Malay. This dish was brought back by Indian traders who travelled to the Malay archipelago to trade since the 1st century AD.
*Keeping the head intact would give the curry more umami flavour.
Kacchi biryani is a form of dum biryani where the spice and yogurt marinated meat (chicken or mutton) and basmati rice are cooked together with potato, mace, rose water, saffron, milk, etc., in a sealed pot (traditionally sealed with dough).
Mughlai Paratha is a crisp tender chewy savoury fried bread with vegetables and egg inside its folds. It is eaten with shredded raw cucumber which adds a refreshing sweet taste to the savoury fried bread. Enjoyed with a squeeze of bottled ketchup.
Shingara is the Bangladeshi version of the Central Asian deep fried pastry and close cousin of samosa. Traditionally, the shingara shell is made of multi layered laminated dough (though single layer shortcrust is also often used today). The triangular parcel is filled typically with chopped potato, green pea, carrot and cauliflower marinated with panch poron (Bangladeshi five spice), turmeric, cumin, and other spices. The traditional Bangladeshi shingara differs from their samosa cousin in the ingredients, spices used and its multi layered puff pastry shell. The shingara is also usually smaller in size than the samosa.
Potatoes are essential to the shingara, samosa and many Indian dishes. The Portuguese first brought potatoes to the Malabar Coast of India in the 15th century but it did go far beyond. It was the British who introduced potatoes to the Bengal and across India in the 1800s.
Fuchka (Bengali answer to the Indian panipuri). It's little bite size, crackly crisp fried, semolina flour balls stuffed with spiced vegetables such as yellow peas, potato, onion, and watery sauce (chutney) made with spices such as tamarind, etc. There are many possible types of fillings.
Believed to be created when Bengal was part of the Magadha empire (684 BC - 28 BC), fuchka carts are commonly found today in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
Rasgulla or rosogolla is a popular sweet in India, especially in Bangladesh (and the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha). Rasagolla is made by hand rolling milk curd into small balls which are then sweetened by poaching in syrup.
Paan is a betel nut quid which is betel nut slices, candy, honey, slacked lime, spices, etc., wrapped in a folded raw betel leaf. Many people thought betel nut chewing which was quite commonplace up to the 1970s had been banned in Singapore. But, in reality the habit simply went out of fashion. We can still get it at Desker Road for $1 a quid. The ingredients felt gritty, a bit woody, tannic, and tastes sweet, bitter. Taste and texture varies according to different ingredients in the quid.
The paan stands in Singapore are very humble versions of their lavish counterparts in Bangladesh which can offer over 100 ingredients.
Borhani is a yogurt drink but instead of being sweet like a lassi, it is blended with spices that make it savoury and spicy. The spiciness come from mint, coriander, cumin seed, mustard seed, green chili pepper, etc.
This is a work in progress. What other uniquely Bangladesh dishes can we find in Singapore?
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