Yet another source of happiness that the coronavirus has taken from us is the delectable culinary offerings of a Durga Puja pandal. It’s a yearly tradition for our family to do the rounds of Delhi, gorging on all manner of munchies from the myriad and highly unique pandals that pop up for Pujo – and it definitely stings that we can’t do it this year. But safety first. What we can do however, is look at pictures of all the food we’re missing and feel terrible. Let us proceed.  

1. Some lip-smacking ghugni to prepare the palate for what’s to come. Ohh mago maa!

East Coast Daily

2. Mutton chop, maacher chop, and veg chop. Aar ki chai?

Maunika Gowardhan

3. The downright debaucherous luchi aar kosha maangsho. This hurts me more than it hurts you. 

Outlook India

4. The traditional bhog – a veritable one-man feast that doesn’t just taste divine, but has the greatest memories attached to it.

Times of India

5. The trademark Mughlai paratha – an absolute slammer of a stuffed paratha that’s unique to bongs and will knock you right on your paachha.

Economic Times

6. Sumptious aloo poshto is always a reliable bet. 

Kitchen

7. Begun bhaja with luchi or bhaat or whatever else floats your throat.

Boldsky

8. Mishti doi because how else do you digest your food with flavour to boot?

Youtube

9. Kolkata biryani with its signature aloo never fails to hit the spot.

Zomato

10. Chicken Kabiraji cutlet – a snacker’s delight.

Scroll

11. An extra helping of payesh apart from the one that comes with bhog. Uff, too tasty!

News18

12. Muri ghonto, a fish-head pulao, isn’t always available, but it’s always enjoyable.

Rediff

13. The Bengali-style kathi rolls – one of the most popular dishes. Bheeshon tasty!

NDTV

14. Aloo bhaja, our quintessential side-dish. Goes well with literally everything.

Travle wiser

15. Maacher paturi, a sinful mustard fish preparation where it’s wrapped in a banana leaf. Khoob bhalo! 

Not Out Of The Box

Why did we do this to ourselves? What was the point of torturing our own tastebuds like this? Durga maa, amader ke bachao!