Boiled rice is our staple food. It is served with a variety of vegetables, curry, lentil soups, fish and meat. Fish is the main source of protein. Fishes are now cultivated in ponds. Also we have fresh-water fishes in the lakes and rivers. More then 40 types of fishes are common. Some of them are carp, rui, katla, magur (catfish), chingri (prawn or shrimp). Shutki or dried ffishes are popular. Hilsha is very popular among the people of Bangladesh.
Panta ilish is a traditional platter of Panta bhat. It is steamed rich soaked in water and served with a fried hilsha slice, often together with dried fish, pickles, lentil soup, green chilies and onion. It is a popular dish on the Pohela Boishakh.
The people of Bangladesh are very fond of sweets. Almost all Bangladeshi women prepare some traditional sweets. Pitha, a type of sweets made from rich flour, sugar, molasses and sometimes milk, is a traditional food loved by the entire population. During winter pitha Utsab, meaning pitha festival, is organized by different groups of people.
Sweets of Bangladesh are mostly milk-based. The common ones are roshgolla, sandesh, rasamalai, gulap, kalo jamun and chom-chom. There are hundreds of different varieties of preparations. Sweets are therefore an important part of the day-to-day life of Bangladeshi people.
