Vijayadashami

2026: What Bengalis Cook To Bid Farewell To Maa Durga

Quick Summary

Vijayadashami 2026 falls on 20 October, with Bengal's panjika (Hindu almanack) placing Bijoya Dashami on 21 October. Homes prepare simpler meals with more sweets added to the menu, as tear-filled people bid farewell to Maa Durga, reluctant to let her go back, and distribute sweets among their loved ones as well as local communities. Panta bhaat, khesari daal, stir-fried kochu saag and a chalta chutney are often cooked on this occasion, as families rest after a period of revelry.

Deep Dive

In Bengali homes, Durga is a daughter who returns to her paternal home for a few days, which is why the final day is an emotional affair as the chaos of the week dies down, and the food also reflects that. All the other days of Durga Puja, the Bhog would feed communities after the Devi was served and catered to. By Dashami, the table turns to simple, seasonal food and to sweets made in batches for the visitors who arrive after the immersion. The calendar has a small wrinkle this year. Vijayadashami 2026 falls on Tuesday, 20 October across India, but Bengal's panjika places Bijoya Dashami, visarjan and Sindoor Khela in Kolkata on Wednesday, 21 October. Check the date your puja committee follows before planning the food menu. 

The Dashami Spread At A Glance

Panta Bhaat And Its Companions

An answer to leftover rice, panta bhaat is usually a summertime rejuvenating meal that is also eaten when one is too tired to cook a hearty meal in the morning or later. Cooked rice is left to soak in water overnight, and on Dashami it comes with a set of simple sides. Depending on the household, these include khesari daal, kochu shaak (taro) ground with coconut, lentil fritters, fish such as koi or sol, and a tangy chutney of chalta (elephant apple) made a day ahead. Some families just stick to white rice instead and cook it fresh for lunch on the same day. Vijayadashami 2026 remains incomplete without this meal.

Panta bhaat method

1. Cook rice and drain off the starch.

2. Cover the rice with water and leave it overnight.

3. Serve it the next day, with the sides below.

Kochu shaak er ghonto (niramish)

This mashed taro dish is cooked without onion and garlic. Boil the leaves or stems thoroughly and discard the water, because raw taro can irritate the throat. Temper mustard oil with nigella seeds and green chillies, fry the taro with turmeric, then add boiled kala chana and grated coconut. Finish with tamarind paste, sugar, salt and a last handful of coconut.

Chaltar chutney

Chalta is a sour autumn fruit. Cook the peeled, prepped fruit with sugar until it turns soft and syrupy, and take it off the heat while it is still runny, since it thickens as it cools. Some family versions add Indian olives (jolpai), fragrant rice and grated coconut for body.

Fish and the other sides

Khesari daal and fried lentil fritters sit alongside. Fish varies by region of origin. East Bengali (Bangal) families often cook ilish on Dashami, while many Ghoti families skip it and keep to kochu shaak instead.

The Bijoya Platter Of Ghugni, Narkel Naru And Nimki

Once the immersion is over, Bengalis visit each other to wish Shubho Bijoya to each other, and also those they meet outside, and no visit is complete without mishti. Most tend to buy from their local mishtir dokan (sweet shop), and some families who can muster the energy often make their sweets at home, mostly sandesh. The sweets range from rosogolla, sandesh (golap, kesar, aam) or chamcham bought from the neighbourhood shop.

• Niramish ghugni: yellow peas simmered until soft, finished with grated coconut and a sprinkle of freshly ground bhaja masala. It is cooked without onion and garlic, and it is the dish that most often takes centre stage on the Bijoya platter.

• Narkel naru: small balls of fresh coconut made with a mixture of grated fresh coconut and jaggery or sugar, cooked in a kadhai. East Bengali homes often use khejur gur (date palm jaggery), and the balls keep well in a tin.

• Kucho nimki: flaky diamonds made from strips of maida and ghee, flecked with nigella seeds and fried slowly until crisp. Their savoury crunch balances the sweetness of the naru.

• Gaja: a crisp, flaky fried sweet finished with sugar crystals, made at home by some families as part of the Bijoya spread.

How to make them

• Narkel naru: Melt about 150 g jaggery over low heat, add about 200 g grated coconut and stir for 12 to 15 minutes until the mixture turns sticky and holds a ball. Roll into balls with ghee-greased palms while it is still warm. Low heat keeps the naru soft and the jaggery from turning bitter.

• Kucho nimki: Rub about 4 tablespoons of ghee into 250 g maida with half a teaspoon of nigella seeds and a little salt until the flour holds its shape when pressed. Knead with about half a cup of water into a stiff dough and rest it for 20 minutes. Roll 2 to 3 mm thick, cut into diamonds, prick with a fork and fry on medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes until light golden.

• Niramish ghugni: Soak 1 cup of dried yellow peas overnight and pressure-cook until soft but still whole. Temper oil with a bay leaf, cumin seeds and a dried red chilli; add ginger paste, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders, then the peas with a pinch of sugar and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, mashing a few peas to thicken the gravy, and finish with grated coconut and bhaja masala.

Many houses might have their own signature dish that appears only on Bijoya Dashami, which is why recipes passed down through the family matter so much on this day.

Why These Dishes Are Important To Vijayadashami 2026

The food on Dashami is an extension of how Bengalis see the goddess – as a daughter who is pampered while she is home. Much of the earlier Bhog expresses that through abundance. The final day does it through restraint. Panta bhaat, kochu shaak and a sour chutney are the kind of plain, home-style meal a family would share with a daughter before she leaves.

The tradition has deep roots. A 1931 study of fish in Bengal records that in Dacca district, a meal of rice kept overnight in water, with a chutney of lotus stalk, was served on the final day of the puja. In at least one old North Kolkata family puja, the women of the house eat a meal of shukto, greens, fish and pickle before they perform the Baran, the farewell ritual.

The Bijoya table then turns the mood from parting to togetherness. Ghugni, narkel naru and nimki are made to be handed over to visitors, which makes the kitchen part of the ritual of greeting. The sweet and the savoury sit side by side, and every plate carries a family's own recipe. That is why these preparations stay home-cooked even in a city full of sweet shops.

Planning A Dashami Spread At Home

1. Soak the rice for panta bhaat the night before Dashami.

2. Make chaltar chutney a day ahead.

3. Prepare nimki first, since it keeps the longest, then narkel naru.

4. Cook ghugni and kochu shaak on the day of the visits.

However, the menu is built around Vijayadashami 2026, a good moment to cook the dishes that rarely appear on restaurant menus and to share them with the people who visit.