A FOOD TRADITION

Old Dhaka Cuisine

Old Dhaka cuisine is the historic urban cooking tradition of Dhaka's settled neighborhoods, shaped by Bengali, Mughal, Central Asian and other South Asian influences. It emphasizes rice dishes, breads, meat, aromatic rice, kebabs, rich gravies and elaborate sweets, alongside Bengali fish and vegetable preparations. Techniques include dum cooking, slow reduction, skewering, tawa frying and baking in traditional ovens. Its best-known examples are kacchi biryani, bakarkhani and tehari, with morog polao, kebabs and borhani also associated with celebratory meals. This is a city-based cultural cuisine, not a claim that Mughlai dishes originated exclusively in Bangladesh.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.