Crunch Through The Durga Puja Feast With 7 Crispy

Telebhaja Recipes

Telebhaja, which literally translates to "fried in oil," or fritters, happens to be one of the most famous Bengali snacks. These deep-fried fritters, made from a variety of vegetables, fish, or meat, hold a special place during Durga Puja. Every telebhaja recipe, from beguni to chops, uses a besan batter or spiced mash, and the Durga Puja bhog feast feels incomplete without these golden bites. This finger-licking Bengali snack is sold at almost every street corner in Kolkata.

Among all telebhaja varieties, beguni is the crispy center of the collection, beloved Durga Pujo Bhog. Slices of brinjals are coated with spiced gram flour, sometimes mixed with a bit of rice flour, and then fried to crispiness while keeping the brinjal slice soft. This dish can be seen as the batter-coated version of begun bhaja, which is merely a salted and turmeric-dusted slice. In bhog khichuri, it complements its softness with a crispy bite.

Aloor chop is one of the popular dishes found at Kolkata’s roadside stands, influenced by Kolkata’s historical fondness for cutlets and chops. Spiced mashed potatoes, typically spiced up with ginger and green chillies, are shaped into circles, dipped in gram flour batter, and fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is similar to North Indian aloo tikki, but it is distinctly different from its other counterpart. Aloor chop can be found at every Durga Puja pandal stall and is also eaten in Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Bangladesh.

Mochar Chop is a vegetarian telebhaja which converts banana flower into a delicacy. The preparation process of the dish requires some time as it involves cleaning, chopping, and boiling of the flower. This process is required for making the flower bitterless. After the flower gets cooked in spices such as Sunrise Red Chilli Powder, cumin powder and sometimes potato and coconut are added to it; it is made into patties, coated with crumbs, and fried until it becomes golden brown. It is a famous Durga Puja snack which goes well with kasundi.

"Dim-er Devil" is the Bengal version of a Scotch egg and a very popular street food item in Kolkata. It consists of a boiled egg that is first wrapped in a paste of mashed potatoes or minced meat, and then it is breaded and deep-fried. It offers a crispy crust and soft filling with a gooey yolk inside. Although it is not one of the items served during the Durga Puja Bhog ceremony, it is a popular dish at pandals and parties.

The Mangshor chop, which is a Kolkata speciality, demonstrates how the colonial cutlet culture impacted the snacking habits of the Bengalis. Mince meat is stuffed with a paste of potatoes and then covered in bread crumbs to make it crispy from the outside while making the inside juicy and meaty. This is one of the top selling snack items at pandals during the period of Durga Puja, even though it does not belong to the category of Durga Puja bhog items.

The Ilish-er chop converts Bengal's highly prized hilsa fish into a tender and flaky delight. Since it is famous for having lots of bones, the flesh used in this recipe is carefully deboned and then mashed with potato and other spices before being covered with breadcrumbs for a crispy exterior and a succulent, buttery taste. The arrival of hilsa during the monsoon and autumn coincides with the Durga Puja season. Hence, this dish is very popular during Durga Puja at pandals and homes, although it is not included in the Durga Puja bhog. Among all the telebhajas, it is the most luxurious dish.

The Piyaji is that very humble onion pakoda which cannot be missed from any Durga Puja table spread. The thinly sliced red onions are made into an exquisite dish by dipping them into spiced besan and frying until the edges become crispy and golden brown, while the insides remain sweet and soft. In Bengal, it is accompanied by muri and khichuri and served with piping hot tea. It is one of the most loved telebhaja recipes, especially on occasions like Durga Puja bhog.