Bengal's food festival 'Ahare Bangla' offers variety of dishes

Celebrating state's culinary heritage, the annual food festival, 'Ahare Bangla', organised by the West Bengal government, is offering the gourmet a wide variety of dishes from Bengali to continental, officials said on Wednesday.

About 152 food stalls have been installed to cater visitors in the six-day festival which was inaugurated on Tuesday, they said.

As many as 46 well known hotel and restaurant brands are taking part in the festival and sweets will be sold from 32 stalls, the officials said.

One can savour delicacies from the state and across the country and sumptuous items ranging from 'Black Chicken' 'Hyderabadi Biryani' to sweetmeats like 'Khirpai', 'Shaktigarer Lancha' and 'Krishnanagarer Sarpuria' are being served, they said.

The festival, which will continue till November 24, will help reviving the interest for some of our lost Bengali recipes, said the official of the state animal resources development department which is organising the event at the Salt Lake Central Park.

The food festival will also help people to know about the agricultural produce like 'Tulaipanji chal' (a variety of rice) and 'Dhekir chal' (rice processed indigenously), said an official of the agriculture marketing department.

Various state government's departments such as food processing, agriculture marketing, fisheries, industries and horticulture, panchayat and rural development have set up stalls in the food festival to showcase their products and promote self-help groups.