Durga Puja 2025: Chef Ranjan Majumdar Shares Traditional Recipes To Make A Festive Feast

Durga Puja, which is celebrated with one of the grandest ways in India, is much more than just a religious festival. Commemorated with pandals at every corner, dance, music, and unforgettable feasts, the festival dedicated to Goddess Durga is a testament to the Bengali culture and culinary traditions. Be it the traditional khichuri or the irresistible sweets, the festive feasts prepared in homes or served at pandals are well-knit with family recipes and rituals. 

Whether you’re living far from home, wanting to prepare a Pujo spread, or simply exploring some traditional Bengali recipes to add to your curated menu, you’re at the right place. Specially curated by Chef Ranjan Majumdar, the Executive Chef at Mayfair Spring Valley Resort, Guwahati, here are some restaurant-level dishes you can easily recreate at home.

Mishti Pulao (Basanti Pulao)

Ingredients:

• 350 gm Gobindobhog rice
• 75 gm ghee
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 3-4 green cardamoms
• 1 piece of cinnamon
• 4 cloves
• 1-2 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• 59 gm sugar
• 40 gm cashew nuts
• 40 gm raisins
• 2-3 green chillies

Method:

1. Wash and rinse the rice, and leave it to dry in a strainer.
2. Once dry, transfer to a bowl. Add it to all spices and ghee. Mix until rice is well coated with spices and ghee. Cover it for half an hour.
3. Heat the ghee in a pan. Add cashews and fry them until they are lightly coloured. 
4. Now, add the marinated rice and fry it for 4 to 5 minutes on medium flame until the rice has an opaque appearance. 
5. Add raisins, sugar, slit green chillies, and fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. Gently fry the rice, ensuring the rice is not broken.
6. Add hot water along with salt. The amount of water is important.
7. Cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest for some time.
8. Serve Basanti Pulao with a Bengali curry like Kosha Mangsho or Chaner Dalna for a traditional meal.

Kosha Mangsho

Ingredients:

For marination:

• 1 kg mutton
• 5 g garlic, chopped
• 100 g onion
• 100 g yoghurt
• 15 g salt
• 5 g turmeric powder

For the curry:

• 50 ml mustard oil
• 3 cm cinnamon stick
• 2 black cardamoms
• 10-12 green cardamoms
• 6-8 cloves
• 4 dry red chillies
• 50 g ginger paste
• 25 g garlic, chopped
• 5 g coriander powder
• 5 g jeera powder
• 5 g Kashmiri chilli powder
• 150-200 g yoghurt
• Salt to taste
• 10-15 g sugar
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 400 g onion

Method:

1. For marination, add onion, roughly chopped garlic, yoghurt, salt & turmeric powder to the mixer jar and make a smooth paste.
2. Coat all the mutton pieces with the marinade, making sure that the marinade gets all over the meat. Cover and refrigerate the marinated mutton for about 8 hours.
3. Heat oil in a handi and add whole spices (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, and dry red chillies). Fry for 30 seconds till spices crackle.
4. Add the sliced onion and fry for 3 minutes on medium-high heat until soft. Add ginger paste and garlic, and stir for three more minutes.
5. Add jeera powder, coriander powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, and turmeric powder. Fry for 1 minute.
6. Add marinated mutton pieces, mix well with the masala and fry on high heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring continuously until the oil leaves the masala. Add the sliced onion and fry for 3 minutes on medium-high heat until soft.
7. Add grated ginger and garlic and stir for 3 minutes. Add chilli powders and turmeric powder. Fry for 1 minute.
8. Mix in mutton pieces, mix well with the masala and fry on high heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring continuously until the oil leaves the masala. Add the beaten curd (doi) as prepared above and fry on medium-high for 5-6 minutes.
9. Remove the handi from direct heat. Place the handi on a flat pan or tawa, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and place the tawa on medium-low heat. Cook the mutton on indirect heat for 30 minutes or till the meat is tender. No water is to be added for this dish.
10. Serve Kosha Mangsho with steamed rice, Bengali Luchi, or Basanti Pulao for an authentic experience.

Hilsa Bhapa

Ingredients:

• 250-500 g hilsa fish (about four pieces)
• 40 g mustard seeds (brown and yellow mixed), soaked for 2 hours
• 25 g yoghurt, beaten
• 40 g grated coconut
• 8 green chillies
• 20 g mustard oil
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• ¼ tsp sugar

Method:

1. Clean the Ilish fish first. Soaked mustard seeds in water for 02 hours. Strain them from the water, and grind using salt and green chillies to a smooth paste.
2. Combine mustard paste with grated coconut, beaten yoghurt, sugar, turmeric powder, and mustard oil.
3. Coat Hilsa fish pieces with the mixture. Place coated fish in a tiffin box with slit green chillies on top. 
4. Fasten the lid and set the fish aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
5. Heat up your pan and place a stand at the bottom. Pour hot water, making sure it doesn’t reach up to more than half the height of the tiffin, and put the tiffin on the stand. 
6. Cover the pan and steam on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
7. Remove from the pan and allow it to rest for another 5 minutes before serving.

Mochar Ghonto

Ingredients:

• 350 g mocha (banana blossom), cleaned
• 100 g potato
• 25 ml mustard oil
• 1-2 dried red chillies
• 1 clove
• 2 cardamoms
• 1 piece of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp whole jeera
• 20 g grated coconut
• 4 green chillies
• 20 g ginger paste
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 g jeera powder
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 20 g sugar
• 10 g ghee
• 25 g soaked black channa

Method:

1. Cut potatoes into small cubes.  Pour mustard oil in the kadhai. Let it smoke gently and turn a pale yellow colour.
2. Temper mustard oil with dry chillies, bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and cumin seeds. Add potatoes. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add grated coconut and continue frying. Be careful not to burn the coconut.
4. In a small bowl, mix ginger paste, cumin powder, turmeric powder, and red chilli powder with water. Add this slurry to the kadhai.
5. Add salt and sugar. Stir to mix everything well. Add slit green chillies.
6. After 5 minutes, add the boiled and strained mocha when the raw smell of masala is gone. Mix well. 
7. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Add soaked black channa and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. 
8. If the dish looks too dry, you can add 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk. Keep cooking on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. 
9. Stir in ghee and garam masala. Mix everything well. Serve with hot rice and dal.