SLC-S31W1-"My taste My Culture/ Panta Ilish!"

Hello Steemian friends! "Happy Bengali New Year" to everyone. Today I am very happy to participate in the Season-31 challenge. Today I will discuss my tastes, our culture.

Thumbnail Photo Panta Ilish

Food is an integral part of the thousand-year-old culture of Bengalis. Bengali in fish and rice this eternal truth identifies our roots. Although many things have changed with the touch of modernity, a plate of Panta Ilish on the morning of Pohela Baishakh satisfies the soul of a Bengali. Today, I am presenting to you the method of preparing my favorite root dish Panta Ilish and its cultural importance.

Ingredients for making Panta Ilish
Below is a list of what is required to make this delicious my taste my culture Dish Panta Ilish:

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice	1000gm
Ilish	1 Pieces
Potatoes, eggplant	500gm
Eggplant	1 Pieces
Dried chilies	100 gm
Mustard oil	200 gm
Onions	1000gm
Salt and turmeric powder	As per Needed

All Ingredient Photo

Step 1:First, boil the rice in a clean pot and cook it until it is smooth. When the rice has cooled down a bit after removing the rice starch, add enough clean cooking water to it so that the rice is completely submerged. Soaking it in this way for 1-2 hours will make the traditional Panta rice.

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Step 2:I have cut the hilsa fish into small pieces and washed and cleaned them. I have marinated them with salt and turmeric powder in moderation for 15-20 minutes. Then I have heated mustard oil in the stove and fried the fish until they turn reddish. The aroma of mustard oil has enhanced the taste of hilsa many times. It is better if it is mustard oil in any oil.

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Step 3:Now I have peeled the onions and chopped them separately. Then I fry the dried chilies in oil until they turn black and then drain them. These will be used to make the stuffing.

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Step 4: I boiled the potatoes in a separate bowl. Peel the boiled potatoes and grate them separately. Then I mixed them with fried dry chilies, chopped onions, salt to taste and a little raw mustard oil and mixed them well to make a delicious potato filling.

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Step 5: I boiled the eggplant in a separate pot. I took the boiled eggplant and chopped it. Then I mixed it well with fried dry chilies, chopped onion, salt to taste and a little raw mustard oil to make a delicious eggplant stuffing.

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✅Why is this food important to your people? When is it traditionally eaten? (Is it festive, ceremonial, daily, or symbolic?). What does it represent culturally? How does it reflect the lifestyle, values, and history of your people?

Panta Hilsa is not just a food, it is one of the main symbols of the Bengali national festival Pohela Baishakh. It is very popular with Bengalis spread all over the world including Bangladesh and India. Usually on the first day of Bengali New Year, people of all religions organize this food in a festive atmosphere. In the past, farmers used to eat this easily available food in the morning before going to the field, Panta Bhat and Bharta, which has become a part of our nobility and tradition with the evolution of time. So everyone organizes some delicious Bharta along with it. The main food here is Panta and Hilsa.

This food reminds us of the simple lifestyle of our ancestors and their close relationship with nature. It is a bridge between our history and tradition. Since my childhood, I have seen my grandfather and father celebrate this day with great enthusiasm. It is our responsibility to ensure that our future generations can also maintain this culture. I am celebrating it in its continuation.

My Selfie

✅What memories do you personally associate with it and the price of the ingredients in steem and local currency?

I have very colorful and somewhat painful memories associated with Panta Hilsa. When we lived in the village as a child, it was difficult to find good quality Hilsa in our local market. My father used to travel about 150 kilometers from his workplace in Dhaka to bring fresh, iced Hilsa home. My father's hard work and love, just to bring smiles to our faces on the first day of Baishakh, have made Panta Hilsa a food of utmost passion for me.

However, along with this favorite food, a sad memory also comes to my mind. I heard from my father that his colleague Barek's uncle once got a hilsa fish bone stuck in his throat and unfortunately died while undergoing surgery. That incident, which I heard as a child, still lingers in the corner of my mind when I eat fish. So, while I feel satisfied every time I eat Hilsa, I also take a lot of precautions because of that painful memory.

Below are the prices of today's event ingredients in local currency (BDT) and STEEM:

Ingredients	Quantity	Price (BDT)	Price (STEEM)
Rice	1000gm	100.00	12.90
Ilish	1 Piece	700.00	90.32
Potatoes	500gm	15.00	1.93
Eggplant	1 Piece	15.00	1.93
Dried Chilies	100gm	20.00	2.58
Mustard Oil	200gm	100.00	12.90
Onions	1000gm	50.00	6.45
Salt & Turmeric	As Needed	30.00	3.87

I wrote my username and date on a piece of paper and presented the recipe in an attractive way below.

Final Presentations With Tag

Inviting Friends to Participate:
I would like to my friends to join the contest:

Invited Friend	@mahadisalim, @shahid76 & @sojib1996