Bengali food immediately brings to mind tasty fish curries and mouth watering sweets. The fish along with rice forms the normal diet of Bengalis. Therefore Bengal is called the land of fish (maach) and rice (bhaat). The favorite fish of the Bengali is Hilsa. Bhapa Ilish, Sorshe Ilish and Narkol Ilish are some of the cuisines made using this fish. Machaar jhol is also a hot favorite. Fish is so popular in Bengal that even the Bengali Brahmins eat fish.

To give the fish curries a distinct taste most of the time Bengalis fry the fish in mustard oil before cooking them. Mustard oil is also widely used in Bengali cooking. This is quite distinct from most of other parts of India where coconut oil is used for cooking.
Apart from fish, mutton and chicken, Bengali cooking also comprises a variety of vegetables. Eggplant or brinjal and potatoes figure in a number of Bengali dishes. One more specific to Bengali cooking is the use of a seasoning called Panchphoron consisting of five different spices.
Bengali menu is incomplete without its famous sweet dishes. Bengalis excel in sweets which mainly use milk. Chief among them are Gulab jamun, Rasgolla, Sondesh, Mishti Doi etc. Bengalis excel in sweets which mainly use milk.
Bengal is also home to some famous snacks of India. Jhaal-mudi, in which, puffed rice is mixed with peanuts, chilli and onions. To add spice coriander leaves and lemon are added. Puchakka, more famously known as gol gappa or pani puri is also from Bengal.