This blogger creates Bangladeshi inspired fusion foods
Bangladeshi Americans are creating new food traditions
Food is what connects us to our ancestors. For many Bangladeshis, we have heard stories of our parents, grandparents, or relatives living by growing their own food and fishing to survive. During summer trips, we may have seen women cut vegetables with a da, a large all-purpose cutting instrument, or wash fish at the family furki, or pond, before preparing it for the family.
The men would catch a rickshaw to the local bazaar where merchants lay out their finest fruits, vegetables, spices and other household items to take home for the day. The women cooked daily from whatever the men brought home.
Food was not simply a meal but a way of living.
As families moved to countries like the United States, family food rituals also moved in different directions. While Bangladeshi Americans may enjoy traditional curries and baazis, vegetable dishes, some enjoy American foods, and others enjoy both together. We can now find foods like chicken 65 burgers, or order homemade cakes baked with Bangladeshi themed decorations.
In this edition of Saa Nasta, I spoke to a food blogger who’s on a mission to mix and match fusion foods, borrowing spices from the flavor palette of Bangladeshi dishes to teach people about the Bangladeshi cuisine. Learn more about why he’s cooking up a storm, and check out his recipe for a hearty curry.
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Hi, I am Nargis Rahman, a Bangladeshi journalist who’s been writing about Bangladeshi food culture since 2018. If you’re new here, learn more at nargisthewriter.com.
With Saa Nasta, I hope to bring you Bangladeshi food and culture stories. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @thesaanasta. Email tips and ideas to thesaanasta@gmail.com.
Share your food stories using the hashtag #SaaNasta.
P.S. Thank you to our reader Nilima Khan for sharing this week’s story tip.
Lifestyle blogger celebrates Bangladeshi heritage through fusion foods
by Nargis Rahman
When Mohammed Razon was 8-years-old, his father would wake his siblings and him up to get ready for forah, the local Sunday program at the masjid (mosque) where children learn Quran and Islamic studies. Before heading off to the masjid, Razon who also goes by Rajon, would sometimes make a quick baath biran, fried rice made using day-old rice as his mother slept-in.
Over the years his older brother and he would have competitive cook-offs. “We were making a pasta bake-off with me and my older brother, adding Mr. Naga [a habanero pepper pickle], incorporating that into the meat. It kind of inspired the fusion food situation for me,” says the food and lifestyle blogger.
Razon wanted to become a dermatology nurse. He worked as a floating nurse at Beaumont for three years and hated it. He also worked as a professional wedding photographer for Wedding Stories. Then he switched to a business major, quit his photography role, and landed a job as a senior mortgage underwriter at United Wholesale Mortgage.
“I’ve always wanted to be a creator for the longest time but couldn’t devote the time, energy and efforts because of school and work,” he says.
Razon was looking for a creative outlet when he realized he already had one. “No matter how busy I got, I always somehow found the time to cook.”
He says food is a necessity that helps connect people to their roots, and “nourishes the soul.” Razon incorporates his photography skills by taking pictures of what he cooks for his Instagram feed @m_rajon (using iPhone photography!).
He says as a Bangladeshi American it can be hard to juggle different parts of your identity.
“Living in America, it can be very easy to get lost in the sauce of the melting pot that we live in. As we grow generations deep, we see our family and friends begin to assimilate to American culture and society, which is necessary, but many lose their identities along the way,” he says.
However, he says growing up in Hamtramck during the 1990s helped. His parents encouraged him to speak Bangla with relatives and learn how to read and write in Bangla. His family also mostly cooked and ate Bangladeshi foods.
“Those were the days that everyone and their moms went to Asian Market for groceries and Aladdin to pick up mithai [sweets] on the way to dawats and get-togethers.”
Now he says cooking and eating Bangladeshi foods helps him feel connected. “Cooking traditional dishes are the easiest way to pay homage to your ethnicity and culture.”
However, sometimes he wanted to try other foods.
“My parents didn't know how to cook anything except Bengali food. And you grow up and you see all these amazing dishes and cooking shows.”
Razon says he began experimenting with fusion foods to introduce Bangladeshi cuisine to people and, “inspire others to explore their palettes and to cook something that is new but not foreign to their taste buds.”
His parents also enjoy foods he makes from cuisines that use similar spices like cumin, such as in Mexican and Middle Eastern foods. He often makes curries and rice-based dishes for his parents.
“Our parents used to make us feel as if we didn’t eat rice, did we really eat?,” he jokes.
“Making something desi and getting approval from someone older… nothing beats that.”
West-African Style Goat Curry
Courtesy of Mohammed Razon
Ingredients:
· 4 Roma Tomatoes
· 2 Red Peppers
· 1 Red Onion
· Handful of Cilantro (about 80g)
· 2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers*
· 1 Tbs Garlic Paste
· 3 Tbs Tomato Paste
· 2 Tsp Salt or to Taste
· 2 Lbs Mutton Bone-in (Goat)
· ½ Cup Water
· ¼ Cooking Oil
· 1 Cinnamon Stick
· 1 Tsp Rosemary
· 1 Tsp Thyme
· 1 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
· 2 Tsp Curry Powder
· 2 Cubes Chicken Bouillon
· 2 Bay Leaves
*Can substitute ½ a red Naga/Ghost Pepper or 2 Red Habaneros.
Directions:
1. Prepare the mutton into bite-size pieces, keeping the bones in-tact, and set aside.
2. In a food processor, blend the tomatoes, red onion, scotch bonnets, and cilantro and side aside as well.
3. In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil. Add in the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, garlic paste, and blended mixture. Keep covered as it may start to splatter and cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. This usually takes about 5-8 minutes or more, depending on your cooktop.
4. Add the meat, salt, rosemary, and thyme and simmer on medium until the meat starts to release moisture. This typically can take up to 20 minutes, depending on the meat and cooktop.
5. Once the liquids in the pot has reduced by at least half, add in the remaining spices, bouillon cubes, and water. Cook until the meat is tender, the curry has turned a vibrant red and thickened. This should take about 15 minutes. If it starts to catch or dry too quickly, add in ¼ cup of water. Serve with white rice or Jollof rice.
You go Rajon! Always been a fan of your food posts & photography!
Have to try this recipe 🤤😍