​

The Sundarbans is often introduced through its most famous inhabitant, the Royal Bengal Tiger. However, beyond it lie stories of its residents who inhabit its rivers, forests and islands. Chef Ananya Banerjee’s Bonobibir Bhoj attempts to bring that story to the table. “The Sundarbans has fascinated me because it is where food, folklore, livelihood and nature are inseparable. The river, the tides, forest and seasons shape the cuisine.”

Residents use waterways to navigate the Sundarbans. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

Once upon a meal

The menu is structured like a journey through its landscape. Dishes such as Bonobibir Ashirbad (blessings of Bonobibi), Boner Ahar (forest’s meal), Nodir Daan (river’s gift), Kankra Dhora (catching crabs), Jowarer Biroti Ghore Fera (returning home at the break of the tide) and Moualer Jhapi (honey collector’s basket) become chapters, moving from the forest and waterways, to the homes and livelihoods of the communities, living at its edges.

Lau Pata Mora Kumro Sheem Paturi, Tomato Pora Chokha, Chitoi Pithe and Begunpoda on a rice crisp

At the centre of that narrative is Bonobibi, the forest guardian revered by Sunderbans’ resident communities, particularly those whose livelihoods depend upon the forest, including fisherfolk and honey collectors. For Banerjee, Bonobibi’s significance is less about recreating a religious ritual and more about the idea of shared survival. A bhoj is about sitting together, sharing what the land and water have provided, and acknowledging the origins of their food,” she explains.

Mangrove produce

Smoked Hilsa on a rice crisp and Modhu Cake, Bonmodhur Payesh, Modhu Narkel Patisapta, and Wild Honey Ice cream

No single flavour defines the Sundarbans, Banerjee points out. Its cuisine reflects its ecology: fish, prawns and crab from the rivers and estuaries; rice and lentils from the agricultural landscape; and a variety of vegetables, leaves and bhortas. Mustard and mustard oil, green mango, tomato, chilli, coriander, tamarind and other souring ingredients bring sharpness and balance, while techniques such as boiling, mashing, smoking and roasting allow simple ingredients to become intensely flavoured.

Mushur Daler Bhorta, Mankochu Bata, Dhonepata Bhorta

In a landscape shaped by tides, cyclones, flooding and increasing salinity, ingredients cannot always be taken for granted. “Every ingredient counts, and preservation and transformation are important,” explains Banerjee. “There is humility to this food. It doesn’t try to overpower the ingredient but understands that when nature is unpredictable, you respect what it gives you.”

From bhorta to smoked hilsa

One of Banerjee’s discoveries during her research was the variety of bata (ground/ crushed paste) and bhorta (mashed and seasoned dish) preparations, something she feels is often overlooked when Bengali food is reduced to fish curries, mustard and sweets. That thinking finds an expression in Bonobibir Ashirbad, where smoked hilsa is served on a crisp rice cracker with kasundi aioli and mustard cress.

Boner Ahar, which Banerjee identifies as the dish that captures the spirit of the Sundarbans, brings together several small preparations with warm binni rice. The non-vegetarian version features Lote fish, Prawn and Chicken Bhortas, while the vegetarian interpretation uses lentil, tomato, potato, raw banana and coriander-leaf preparations. “This food belongs to a community rather than a restaurant kitchen. It is humble, generous and deeply rooted in the landscape,” she reminds.

Nodir Daan, or “the river’s gift”, pairs Lau Pata Mora (traditional Bengali culinary style where small fish or prawns are mixed with spices and mustard oil; wrapped inside tender bottle gourd leaves, and steamed or shallow-fried) and Bhetki Paturi with roasted tomato-potato and mini Chitoi Pitha (Rice flour flatbread). Kankra Dhora, is deliberately more tactile. This mud crab in fiery tomato and red chilli gravy is served in its shell with Sundarbans rice congee and crab oil. The meal progresses towards the forest and its honey collectors.

Honey collector’s basket

The Sundarbans’ honey collectors (mouals), occupy an evocative place in Banerjee’s interpretation. They enter a forest that provides a livelihood but can also be dangerous. “That duality is at the heart of the Sundarbans,” she reminds. “The forest is not a beautiful backdrop. It feeds, protects, challenges and sometimes, threatens. Behind a simple and luxurious ingredient is a human who enters the forest to source it.” That idea culminates in Moualer Jhapi, a dessert course inspired by the honey collector’s basket. Bon Modhur Payesh, Coconut-and-Honey Patisapta, Wild Honey Ice Cream, Honeycomb and Honey Drizzle turn the ingredient into a final reminder of the human labour behind it.

Inspiration, not imitation

The most important distinction in Bonobibir Bhoj is the one Banerjee makes between inspiration and recreation. She doesn’t claim that the meal served in Mumbai is a literal Sundarbans home meal. “Authenticity isn’t about freezing a cuisine in time but about understanding its soul before interpreting it,” she says. This approach also means knowing what not to reinterpret. Banerjee was careful not to turn Bonobibi or sacred traditions associated with her into a dining gimmick, “I wanted to take inspiration from the cultural landscape and the foodways. People should leave feeling that they have experienced a slice of the Sundarbans, its rivers, forests, people, uncertainties and stories.”

Who is Bonobibi?

Bonobibi is extraordinary because she belongs to a particular cultural landscape. As the protector of the community here, she is revered by Hindu and Muslim communities of the Sundarbans.

ON August 23; 12 noon onwards 
AT Ashok Gardens, Tokershi Jivraj Road, Sewri. 
COST Rs 3,450 (Non-Vegetarian) Rs 2,850 (Vegetarian)