Durga Puja 2025: Kolkata chef Dyuti Banerjee recalls the culinary evolution during Durga Puja while growing up

For Kolkata-based chef Dyuti Banerjee, food has always been an innovation, an evolution, a fusion of the traditional roots with the developing trends much like Durga Puja itself. This time, she takes a stroll down the memory lane recollecting stories from her childhood days during Durga Puja, through food, clothes and evolution of the vibe itself as she grew up.

How did your much-loved Kolkata chef Dyuti Banerjee spend her childhood Durga Pujas?

“The earliest memories of Durga Puja are with my grandmother when we used to ride a rickshaw and go pandal hopping in the afternoon when it wasn’t very crowded”, she says, adding that the concept of theme Pujas were non-existent back in 1993 -94. She recalls, “ Every idol more or less looked the same, except maybe their colours. The only variety we had as kids was maybe this Ganesh idol is healthy, and that Ganesh idol is on a diet, or his colour was white or pink etc. And we used to enjoy that a lot.”

Like most Bengali households, a stopover at the relatives was always on the cards. “After pandal hopping, we used to end up in a relative’s house, and pre-Bijoya eating used to start with Nadu and Nimki. I also used to visit my pishi’s (paternal aunt) house, where I could experience a community Durga Puja. Moreover, all the children of the house used to put up programs, and I used to participate there. So, that was a high point.”

Interestingly, she takes us through one of the most common cold drinks today was just introduced to the market when she was about six years old. She mentions, “I remember in one stall a new cold drink was being sampled…and that was Fanta. Before that, we only used to have Gold Spot as the go-to orange drink. If I’m not mistaken, this was in 1995-96. Moreover, Kwality changed to Kwality Walls, the ice cream brand, and the world of ice cream evolved for us. Back then, the ice cream cones used to be very light, airy and orange in colour, starkly different from the waffle cones available today. After one scoop of ice cream, the bottom became so soggy that the challenge was to finish the ice cream before it touched the bottom. It always ended up with a stain in my new clothes.”

When asked about what clothes she preferred, she narrates, “Puja for me has always been about my grandmother buying me exclusive clothes. Back then, there were no malls, so it used to be Gariahat or shops like Wearhouse, which no longer stand today. The song Choli ke peeche was released that year, and I wanted that exact ghaghra choli. I was actually quite angry because I had searched many places but didn’t get it so far. During one such search in a Kolkata market, Hrishikesh Mukherjee happened to be there, and he found me in that state. He had asked me if I would act in his movies, but in that mood ,I had replied a firm no. After everything, in the end I found my ghaghra choli which made me very happy.”

In college, things started changing for her. “It was only after I got into college that pandal hopping with friends became memorable. But everything suddenly started being on a budget, too. As children, we didn’t understand or care about the budget because the family was there to support. But in college, even phuchka was on a budget.” She continues, “I have always remained in Kolkata, and Puja always means being in Kolkata. In my house, street food during Puja was not permitted as children and by the time we grew u,p we realised it probably wasn’t the best thing to eat. After college, shooting balloons became very important. As a chil,d I used to tell my father to burst the balloons, but from college onwards it has been an annual activity for me. I also learnt how to wear a saree due to Puja.”

While Kolkata loves and admires her curated menus, did the Durga Puja special street foods ever inspire her? “I love chops and cutlets a lot. I made an aranchini once which was a combination of rice, laal shag and prawn. Another time it was inspired by the slight spicy and sweet notes of traditional fish chops. I tried to recreate that with betki fish, which had a flavour profile like kalia but the texture was very crispy. Another food which I don’t curate a lot for public pop-ups but make at home is my comfort food, street-style chowmein.”   

Before signing off she divulged her plans for this year, “I will be doing a lot of pandal hopping and eating outside.”

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