The Bengali Dinner Party Full ((exclusive))

You wake up at 2 AM. You are still full. You stumble to the guest room. On the nightstand, there is a glass of water and a single Topa (a giant paan leaf filled with fennel seeds and gulkand). You eat it. Why? Because the dinner party isn't really over until the paan is gone. In the West, a dinner party is a performance. The food is art. The portions are controlled.*

(Will you eat now?)

This is slow-cooked mutton (goat), caramelized with onions, ginger, garlic, and a spice blend that took the host three hours to grind. The meat falls off the bone. The oil separates from the gravy—a sign of success. You eat this with a luchi (deep-fried flatbread) or a crunchy radhaballavi (stuffed poori). the bengali dinner party full