Bangladeshi Cuisine

Read the text and answer questions 1 and 2. 

Bangladeshi cuisine is rich and varied with the use of many spices. We have delicious and appetizing food, snacks and sweets.

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 than 40 types of fishes are common. Some of them are carp, rui, katla, magur (catfish), chingri (prawn or shrimp). Shutki or dried fishes are popular. Hilsha is very popular among the people of Bangladesh.

Panta ilish is a traditional platter of Panta bhat. It is steamed rice 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 rice flour, sugar, syrup, 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 are distributed among close relatives when there is good news like births, weddings, promotions, etc.

Sweets of Bangladesh are mostly milk-based. The common ones are roshgolla, sandesh, rasamalai, gulap jamun, kalo jamun and chom-chom. There are hundreds of different varieties of sweet preparations. Sweets are therefore an important part of the day-to-day life of Bangladeshi people. [Unit 1; Lesson 5]

1. Choose the correct answer to each question from the alternatives given and write the corresponding number of the answers in your answer script: 1×7=7

a. The word ‘cuisine’ in the text means ____.  

i) a style of cooking

ii) a special kind of food

iii) cooking spicy dishes

iv) a combination of different dishes

b. The words ‘staple food’ in the text mean ____.

i) food that is highly rich in protein

ii) food that is very expensive

iii) food that constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet

iv) food that is eaten for good health 

c. Fish is the ____ source of protein.

i) main

ii) only

iii) subsidiary

iv) minor

d. The word ‘platter’ in the text means ____.

i) a large plate to serve food

ii) a meal served on a large plate

iii) a dish with a variety of food items on it

iv) all of the above

e. Celebrating Pahela Boishakh with eating panta ilish is closely related to our ____.  

i) tradition

ii) habit

iii) traditionally

iv) traditional

f. What type of nutrition do we get from fish? 

i) carbohydrate

ii) energy

iii) protein

iv) mineral

g. The word ‘cultivate’ in the text means ____.

i) to prepare a land for use

ii) to improve one's mind

iii) to foster the growth of

iv) to grow crops

2. Answer the following questions from your reading of the above text. 2×4=8

a. What has made Bangladeshi food so special? 

b. What is our staple food? How is it served? 

c. When and how is ‘panta ilish’ served? 

d. How do people celebrate their good news?