Bong Eats: Saptarshi and Insiya’s mission to take Bangalee cuisine to the world

Saptarshi Chakraborty and Insiya Poonawala, the creative couple at Bong Eats, left their jobs as a software engineer and an editor, respectively, to become full-time content creators. Interestingly, when they first thought of launching their channel in 2014-15, they were inspired by Bangladeshi cooking channels. 

"We observed that there were many good cooking channels based on Bangladeshi cuisine. But on our side, there were not many such channels, at least at that time. Moreover, we decided to make videos with English descriptions because when we were living in the USA for a brief time, we realised people there were not very aware of Bangalee cuisine," said Saptarshi.

"They know Indian cuisine for butter chicken, tandoori chicken and a few other North Indian dishes. But many have no idea how much we love to consume fish or how diverse South Asian cuisine is," he added.

For the uninitiated, Bong Eats is a Kolkata-based cooking channel on YouTube, committed to creating hearty Bangalee meals that our moms cook for us every day. The channel has equal acceptance among Bangladeshi audiences. 

"As I learned from different tutorials myself, I know the importance of details in perfecting a dish. So we try to show every process starting from washing, cutting, cooking, etc to serve an ultimate tutorial for cooking Bangalee dishes and make cooking accessible to all," 

Insiya Poonawala

Bong Eat's aesthetically pleasing and in-depth culinary content can motivate any novice to cook. Currently, Bong Eats has 1.47 million subscribers on YouTube. So far they have uploaded over 200 recipes on their channel.

"Bong Eats is a passion project of both Insiya and I. From editing to cooking we do everything by ourselves. For a brief period, we had someone to write and update our website with new recipes, but now it's only the two of us," added Saptarshi.

Saptarshi and Insiya founded Bong Eats in 2016 with the sincere intent of promoting the goodness of Bangalee cuisine. For anyone who wanted to explore Bangalee cuisine, Bong Eats simplified the procedure for them. 

"In 2015 we started to prepare videos but we were sceptical as we never had any prior experience. It took a year for us to get ready for this journey," said Saptarshi.

Recently, they launched another channel called Bong Eats Bangla, dedicated to people who enjoy cooking tutorials in Bangla. The videos hold similar setups with voiceovers. It's certainly a step up as Saptarshi's calming voice, accompanied by a soothing, very ASMR-like sound of cooking, leaves a mesmerising sensation for the audience to feel. 

Insiya and Saptarshi both enjoy cooking, and they experiment with recipes together while filming. However, in videos, we mainly see Insiya's hand as Saptarshi shoots. Additionally, Insiya edits the contents.

"From our college days, we were into cooking. We initially decided to start blogging. However, after a few years, the trend of watching content on YouTube rose and we also managed to buy some gear and started making cooking videos," said Saptarshi.

Growing up in a Bangalee joint family, participating in the kitchen was very natural for Saptarshi from his childhood. Moreover, before the partition, his family lived in Bikrampur, Dhaka. 

In Insiya's case, her parents moved to West Bengal in the 70s. They belong to a Bohra Muslim family from Gujrat. Even though she was not brought up by Bangalee parents, growing up in Kolkata made her fall in love with the simplicity and taste of Bangalee cuisine.

"I was initially not into cooking but while studying in college I had to cook for myself. So, intending to be self-dependent, I started to enjoy the process of cooking," said Insiya.

While popular cooking channels like Tasty or Food Fusions focus on short videos for both learning and micro entertainment purposes, Bong Eats' target audience is those who genuinely want to learn the step-by-step process of cooking. Therefore, their videos are lengthy and informative.

"As I learned from different tutorials myself, I know the importance of details in perfecting a dish. So we try to show every process starting from washing, cutting, cooking, etc to serve an ultimate tutorial for cooking Bangalee dishes and make cooking accessible to all," said Insiya.

Bong Eats videos feature background music by the band Bemanan, which has become a signature characteristic of their contents. Using calming music goes well with Bangalee cooking tutorials so the couple decided to add music that symbolises their culture and is also contemporary.

The duo said that channels like Chefsteps inspired them. They also spoke highly about Bangladeshi cooking channels like Rumanar Rannaghor, Banglar Rannaghor and Spice Bangla. They were even planning to visit Bangladesh before the pandemic.

"Before the Pandemic we and Spice Bangla duo Toma and Britto were supposed to visit Bangladesh to explore Bangladeshi cuisine. And then we decided we would give them a food tour of Kolkata. But the pandemic ruined the plan," said Insiya.

The duo think that while the foods are quite similar in the two Banglas, there are some differences as well. 

"Most of the dishes are common but Bangladesh has more diversity in vorta items I think," said Saptarshi.

Apart from traditional recipes, Bong Eats also makes videos on Kolkata street foods. Moreover, Bong Eats added a special segment to their channel called 'Rannaghore Ke'. The show features guests who are friends of the creators but also features celebrities. Nobel laureate Abhijit Banarjee appeared as a guest in one episode. 

Lastly, we asked what their ideal Durga Puja delights were. They both said, "We love to eat Biryani in Dashami. Then we roam around a lot in the streets eating rolls."

Visit: https://bongeats .com/

Durga Puja special Recipes by Bong Eats

NIRAMISH BHUNA KHICHURI : 

Serves 10 

INGREDIENTS

500 g shona moong dal (small-grained moong), ‍500 g aged gobindobhog rice‍, 320 g Bengali-style ghee (see notes)‍, 65 g cashew nuts, 65 g raisins, ‍5 g (12 pcs) dried red chillies‍,3 g (15 pcs) cardamom‍, 2 g (5 pcs) cinnamon‍, 2 g (15 pcs) cloves, 3 g (10 pcs) bay leaves, 8 g (2 tsp) cumin seeds, 6 g turmeric, 2 g garam masala, 70 g ginger paste‍, 5 g, green chilli paste, 5 g slit green chillies, ‍35 g salt, 100 g sugar and 2.2–2.3 L hot water

METHOD

1. Wash and rinse gobindobhog rice 3-4 times until the water runs clear. Spread rice over a cloth, set on a strainer, to air dry for 1 hour.
2. Dry roast shona moong dal on medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir constantly for even roasting. The colour of the grains will change gradually from yellow to pinkish-brown.
3. Once done, wash the dal immediately with water to prevent it from cooking further. Strain and air-dry.
4. Add 50 g ghee to the Kadai. Let it melt. Add the cashew nuts and fry them until golden. Set aside. Fry raisins too, until plump. Set aside.
5. Add 270 g more ghee to the kadai. Temper with dried red chillies, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, and cumin seeds.
6. Add ginger paste and green chilli paste. Fry for 30–40 seconds.
7. Add the washed and dried gobindobhog. Fry on medium heat until rice becomes fragrant, translucent and makes a sputtering sound (about 15 minutes). Don't let it brown.
8. Now add the roasted and drained shona moog, turmeric, and gorom moshla. Fry on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
9. Add hot water, salt, and 2 tbsp of sugar (a little bit of sugar at this stage will prevent the rice from breaking too quickly; don't add all of it now or the rice will remain uncooked).
10. Cover and steam on medium heat for 8 minutes.
11. When khichuri is about 80% cooked, add dried fruits, slit green chillies, and the rest of the sugar.
12. Stir very gently, and as little as possible, so the dal and rice grains don't break. Cover and steam again for 6 minutes.
13. Give it a final taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
14. Turn off the heat, cover and let it rest for at least 2 hours for the best texture.

Serve with: Labra and Begun Bhaja

Kolkata Egg Roll: The city's most iconic street food

INGREDIENTS

For the wrap

‍‍300 g maida (flour)]6 g salt, 6 g salt, 14 g sugar, 16 g dalda (shortening), 180–200 g warm water

For the filling‍

‍‍4 eggs, 150 g onions, 4 pcs green chillies, 1 large lime, 1–2 tsp chaat masala, 1–2 tsp rock salt, 80 g tomato ketchup, 1 pc cucumber (optional), ~ 75 g vegetable oil

METHOD

1. For the outer paratha/wrap, add the flour, salt, sugar, and dalda to a mixing bowl. Combine the ingredients until the fat is well dispersed in the flour. Take your time and rub the flour between your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs in texture. This will lead to a flakier crust.
2. Now add the warm water and knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is soft and smooth. Coat it with oil, cover the bowl, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix together finely sliced onions, chopped green chillies and the juice of half a lime. Pickling the onions in lime juice reduces their sharpness. If using cucumber, peel it and remove the central seeds. Then chop them into thin matchsticks. Create an assembly station where you gather all the items required for the filling. This will allow you to easily put together the roll once the paratha is off the stove.
4. Back to the dough: once it has rested, divide it into 130 g portions. For an extra-flaky exterior, we will roll the dough in the lachcha paratha style, incorporating layers of flour and oil. To do this, form a ball and roll it out to a disc about 12 cm large. Apply a thin layer of oil on the surface and sprinkle some dry flour. Make an incision on the disc along a radius and roll it in the shape of a cone. Press down to flatten. Rest the dough for about 5 minutes to relax it again, after which roll it for a second time to disc 22 cm in diameter.
5. Beat an egg with a pinch of salt and keep it at the ready.
6. Heat about 4 tsp oil (12 g) in a flat frying pan or skillet. Add the paratha and fry it on both sides until golden. Rotate the paratha continuously, flipping often, for a uniform crust. Pay special attention to the sides to ensure that they are crisp too. Once the paratha is completely cooked, spread the beaten egg over it. Before it settles, turn it over to fry the side with the egg. Transfer it to the assembly station, with the egg side facing up.
7. Sprinkle it with chaat masala and rock salt. Add a row of the pickled onions a little off the centre of the paratha. Squeeze some lime juice over it. Top it with cucumber if you like. One of our favourite variations of the egg roll is the egg-potato roll. If we have it on hand, we like to add some leftover spicy potato curry as well. Finish everything off with a few squirts of ketchup.
8. Form a tight roll, making sure the filling is all enclosed within the paratha. Wrap a paper around two-thirds of the roll and tuck any excess at the bottom.

Narkel'er Naru: A coconut-and-jaggery sweetmeat

Serves 25

INGREDIENTS

500 g grated coconut, 300 g soft aakhi Gur (jaggery made from sugarcane) and 100 g sugar (large crystals)

METHOD

1. Scrape the coconut using a narkol kuroni. Be careful not to scrape the woody, brown part.
2. Add the grated coconut and jaggery to a kadai. Mix well using your hands. Then, turn on the heat.
3. Stir frequently on medium-low heat. When not stirring, keep the pan covered.
4. This process is called 'pak dewa' in Bengali. This ensures that the sugar slowly caramelises to produce a sticky, binding syrup.
5. Continue cooking until the mixture darkens and the sugar caramelises. To test whether it's done, take a small portion of the filling, place it on your palm and try to shape it into a small ball. If the mixture does not bind, it means that it is not done yet.
6. This process (pak) should take about 20 to 25 minutes. When the pak is nearly complete, add 25 g of sugar. We're adding this last to ensure that the sugar crystals don't all melt, and provide crunch when you bite into a Naru.
7. Once the mixture is ready, you should be able to form a tight ball.
8. Roll Naru quickly (in tiny, ~12 g portions), while the mixture is still hot.