Basant Panchami: 7 Bengali dishes to make on Saraswati Puja

Try these seven famous Bengali Saraswati Puja meals.

During this auspicious occasion, people prepare various traditional dishes to offer to the goddess and share with family and friends.

Bengali Mishti Pulao is a sweet, fragrant rice dish made with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, almonds, and raisins.

This classic Bengali meal contains rice, lentils (typically moong dal), potatoes, carrots, peas, and cauliflower. It tastes great with cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves.

Shukto, a Bengali vegetable stew, contains bitter gourd, drumsticks, potatoes, and beans. It's cooked in a mustard and poppy seed mixture combined with additional spices.

Payesh is a Bengali rice pudding made with rice, milk, sugar, cardamom, saffron and nuts. It's cooked till creamy and served as a dessert during Saraswati Puja.

A traditional Bengali meal, cholar dal, is prepared with split chickpeas, coconut, ginger, and whole spices including cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.

Lambra is a mixed vegetable dish made with potatoes, cauliflower, pumpkin, eggplant and beans. 

A simple yet excellent Bengali meal, aubergine slices are fried till crispy. Turmeric, chilli powder, and salt make it tasty and spicy.