Three million people died during the Bengal Famine of 1943, wrought not by a natural calamity like drought but precipitated by the ruinous policies of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The famine impacted the dietary culture of Bengal in ways that haven't perhaps been entirely documented. Writer Arka Roy Chowdhury for instance, notes that dishes such as lau-er khosha bhaja (fried bottle gourd skin) may have their origins during this time of scarce food. So also the Bengali emphasis on using every part of edible plants and fish in their cooking. Pumpkin flowers and taro leaves, hilsa heads and banana stems — unusual foods often owe their ubiquity to unusual circumstances.
Similarly, Rinku Ghosh traces the practice of Durga pujo bhog for all (“sarbojanin”) to the 1943 famine as well, when the “Bhattacharjee family of Howrah began distributing bhog to the people as part of their Durga Puja, a mix of banana stems and green amaranth. From then on, the distribution of bhog was seen as a community service by the big zamindars”.
Since its introduction, the bhog has become an indelible part of Durga Pujo, and while it includes a host of staples like payesh, beguni and labra, the star is undoubtedly the bhoger khichuri.
A mashed preparation of gobindobhog rice (fragrant and short-grained) and sona moong dal, the bhoger khichuri is anything but bland, although it could proudly wear the crown of being comfort food. This, despite the lack of onion and garlic. (Even meat and fish preparations served during Pujo are cooked without onion and garlic.) It has Bengali garam masala, whole spices, and a variety of vegetables that are added to the khichuri: potatoes, peas and so on.
There are few deviations in the bhoger khichuri recipe (especially if it is being served at community pandals), but minor details may differ. Here’s what three writers have to say:
“The mahabhog is almost a standard fare, there isn't much experimentation done with it. It has moong dal, gobindobhog rice, cardamom, bay leaves, cumin seeds, turmeric and ghee. In some houses, they add vegetables too — for instance, cauliflower, green peas, potatoes, tomatoes, beans.
However what differs is the assortment of accompanying food items that go with the khichuri. A lot of families make 5-10 different kinds of bhajias (brinjal, potato, cauliflower, bitter gourd, pointed gourd, pumpkin to name a few). Then there’s a labra/ghyat/chorchori — which is a mixed vegetable dish. It uses vegetables that are high in roughage, fibrous roots and leaves of vegetables etc.
In my father’s house, the khichuri is made without roasting the moong dal, while on my mother’s side, they roast the dal before using it. It changes the taste a bit...but otherwise it’s all the same.” — Suryasarathi Bhattacharya
“The bhog version of khichuri is always denser and drier than the normal, once-in-a-while, at-home variant. The dryness is so evident that it often forms large solidified chunks. In fact, the mahabhog that is served at the Jagannath Temple also has a similarly thick body to it. It’s achieved through this intriguing manner of stacking pots atop each other; the size reduces with each layer going up. But all these pots, the full vertical of it, sometimes as many as 50, cook on a single woodfire. Yet the tiniest one sitting above each of them, is known to always have perfectly cooked grains.” — Shreya Paul
“Many households do not consume anything made out of rice on Sashti, so when you’re served the Ashtami bhog, you effectively break your (sort-of) fast with the khichuri.” — Pratishruti Ganguly
